Chapter 3

August 26, 1750 – Spain

Jose Perez sat at his desk waiting for the last of his colleagues to leave for the evening. He had received a missive from his counterpart who was located in the New World and was responsible for overseeing the collection of gold, silver, and other riches belonging to the crown. If he was receiving this document today, it meant that the treasure had been handed off to Miguel Santiago weeks ago for shipment. The ship may have already left Cuba by now, Jose though wishfully. It had been scheduled to depart sometime this month, but there were far too many variable to know with certainty if it had yet set sail.

He broke the seal and unfolded the sheet. He retrieved and opened up his ledger then dipped his quill in ink. Carefully, slowly he copied the list of items delivered to the El Salvador in the ledger.

It was treason to steal from the crown, and soldiers guarded against theft by bandits and pirates. But who was watching the soldiers? The conditions at sea and those in the New World were harsh. The life one could buy with even a fraction of the riches traveling from the Americas would cause temptation to fester in the most honorable of men. And those involved with transporting these goods had both the means and the motive to steal from the crown. The desire had to be overwhelming. It must have crossed the mind of more than one man that if something went missing, no one would ever know.

Hence men like Perez and Santiago. Well educated men, who were paid enough that the lure of small riches did not measure up well against the act of treason and men with strong connections to Spain so the thought of being forever cut off from their homeland was an effective deterrent against larger thefts. These men were responsible for monitoring and inventorying the treasure throughout its journey. Different men were responsible at different stages.

Once the ship arrived at port, Jose would receive a second document from Santiago. Then a third such list would arrive. Each list should be the same. The coins would have been counted, weighed, and recorded, as would the gold and silver bars and every other item of value. The first list was created when the treasure was collected, next when it was loaded for shipping, and finally when it was offloaded and delivered to the treasury. Each list was sent independently to Jose whose job it was to transpose the information into the ledgers and checking for discrepancies. Should one of the men who has access to the gold succumb to greed, he would need to convince the others to alter their reports or Jose would discover that a theft had occurred.

No one could altered the reports independently, except of course, Jose. At one time, even the thought of committing such a crime was abhorrent to him. But that was years ago before he had acquired a taste for the card houses. Now, he was heavily in debt and death was imminent if he could not find a solution.

Fortunately Jose, having no access to the gold, had no means to benefit from such an act. At least not until he met Miguel Santiago. Santiago had done his research and knew where the weak links in the system existed. He was aware that Jose had a gambling problem and child on the way. Santiago had devised the scheme and all that was required of Jose was that he subtract 50,000 pesos worth of gold from the figures identified on the first list he would receive. Santiago would do the rest. He would ensure the chest "disappeared" and his list as well as the list of the man receiving the inventory would not reflect what was no longer there. Several people would need to be paid, but Jose would receive enough to settle his debts and if he destroyed all evidence that his ledger was altered, no one should discover his deception. This plan would be implemented on the shipment carried by the El Salvador. Jose would trade his honor for his life.

September 20, 1750 - Spain

"The El Salvador has sunk, you say?"

"Yes. It was taken out in a hurricane."

"And was any of the treasure recovered?"

"No. All $290,000 pesos were lost."

"That is over twenty chests of gold and silver! Nothing was recovered?" The man standing opposite Jose shook his head. "And there is no way to retrieve it?"

"No, sir."

This could be stroke of luck. With the shipment lost no one would spend a great deal of time verifying his numbers. All that mattered was that a large fortune was gone. If the fortune appeared to be $290,000 rather than $340,000, all the better. And his guilt was assuaged. He had only taken that which would have otherwise been lost to the world. It had not occurred , to Perez that Miguel Santiago could have parished.

"We should leave the crew in the Americas for now. They can sail over the next shipment," Jose said, turning to leave.

"Most died in the wreckage, Sir."

This news did not sadden Jose Perez. Faceless men whom were never met and who cannot impact your life are easy to forget. But there was one soul on that galleon that mattered. "Did Miguel Santiago survive?"

"Only four men survived. He was not among them."

"Are you certain?" A nod of the head was his reply. Panic began to set in. "How do you know? Could he have left the site before help arrived?"

"One of the survivors saw him get washed off the deck, Sir. We are certain he did not make it."

"Did he have any last words?"

"I… we… they did not think to ask, —-."

"Well send a letter off to whomever is investigating this disaster, and find out what he said. It is of the upmost importance."

Days turned into weeks and Jose Perez grew more and more despondent. His work suffered, his family suffered, but mostly he suffered. Thoughts filled his mind of what would become of him when they came to collect his debts only to find nothing. It would be a slow and painful death. They might kill his wife and unborn child in front of him, just to make him suffer. Once it became clear that Santiago had said nothing that would enable him to find the 50,000 pesos he had been hidden away, Jose Perez took his own life. Two days later, a letter would arrive. A letter Miguel had left with a friend on the day the El Salvador had set sailed. A letter that would remain unopened and would go in a box with the rest of Jose's personal effects. A letter that would continue to be unread for nearly 70 years.