or Trinidad for many years to come.

The history of these notable treasures is a knotty skein to
disentangle. Athwart its picturesque pages marches a numerous company
of bold and imaginative liars, every man of them ready to swear on a
stack of Bibles that his is the only true, unvarnished version of the
events which caused the gold and jewels and plate to be hidden.
However, when all the fable and fancy are winnowed out, the facts
remaining are enough to make any red-blooded adventurer yearn to
charter a rakish schooner and muster a crew of kindred spirits.

During the last days of Spanish rule on the west coast of South
America, the wealthiest city left of that vast domain won by the
Conquistadores and held by the Viceroys, was Lima, the capital of Peru.
Founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro, it was the seat of the government
of South America for centuries. The Viceregal court was maintained in
magnificent state, and the Archbishop of Lima was the most powerful
prelate of the continent. Here the religious orders and the
Inquisition had their centers. Of the almost incredible amount of gold
and silver taken from the mines of the country, much remained in Lima
to pile up fortunes for the grandees and officials, or to be fashioned
into massy ornaments for the palaces, residences, churches, and for the
great cathedral which still stands to proclaim the grandeur that was
Spain's in the olden days.

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[Illustration: Lima Cathedral]

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When Bolivar, the Liberator, succeeded in driving the Spanish out of
Venezuela, and in 1819 set up the free republic of Colombia, the ruling
class of Peru took alarm which increased to panic as soon as it was
known that the revolutionary forces were organizing to march south and
assault Lima itself. There was a great running to and fro among the
wealthy Spanish merchants, the holders of fat positions under the
Viceroy, and the gilded idlers who swaggered and ruffled it on riches
won by the swords of their two-fisted ancestors. It was feared that
the rebels of Bolivar and San Martin would loot the city, and
confiscate the treasure, both public and private, which consisted of
bullion, plate, jewels, and coined gold.

Precious property to the value of six million sterling was hurried into
the fortress of Lima for safe keeping and after the capture