steamer _Breamer_ with a large crew searched where the diviner told
them to go, and several pieces of silver plate were recovered amid the
excitement of all hands.

The _Breamer_ continued work in 1907, but during the next year the
waters of Tobermory Bay were unvexed by the treasure-seekers. Then the
syndicate went into its pockets for more cash, got its second wind, so
to speak, and wrapped its operations in a cloud of secrecy, quite the
proper dodge for a venture of this kind. A new and taciturn crew was
hired for the _Breamer_, and whatever was found under water was hidden
from prying eyes. The additional funds raised amounted to $15,000, and
Captain Burns was told to obtain the best equipment possible. It was
reported in the autumn of that year that "Mr. Cossar, the mineral
expert, by whose skill the scope of the operations was more or less
controlled, had broken down in health owing to the severe strain, and
had gone home to recruit," but John Stears of Yorkshire with his
hawthorn twig was still finding treasure which refused to be found by
divers.

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[Illustration: Diving to find the treasure galleon in Tobermory Bay.
(Photographed in 1909.)]

The salvage steamer _Breamer_ equipped with suction dredge, removing a
sandbank from the supposed location of the Florencia galleon in 1909.

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The five-year concession from the Duke of Argyll had expired and was
renewed by a syndicate organized in London, the manager a Col. K. M.
Foss, an American, who appeared in Tobermory and conveyed an impression
of cock-sure Yankee hustle. He announced that his agents were making
historical researches in the libraries and museums of Europe and had
already convinced him that the lost galleon was crammed with treasure;
that the chart relied on in past searches was all wrong, and expressed
his surprise that the extensive salvage operations of recent years
should have failed to locate the exact position of the wreck. In a
word, Scotchmen might know a thing or two, but your up-to-date Yankee
was the man to crack the nut of the lost _Florencia_ and deftly extract
the kernel. The appearance of this Colonel Foss in this storied
landscape of Tobermory Bay has a certain humorous aspect. He hardly
seems to belong in the _ensemble_ of the search for the treasure
galleon which has been carried