A group of men stole through the darkness like thieves, but they had done nothing dishonest. They were returning to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia after two and a half years. But why weren't they rushing home to see their families and friends? Why were they silently creeping up a steep hill on one of the coldest nights of the year ?
As they climbed, the wind howled and froze their hands to the poles they were carrying. Each pole went through the handle of a large iton weight of the pots that made their shoulders ache, but what was inside. They were carrying 1,014 pounds of gold and 3,812 pounds of silver !
Their leader, Tom Beale, walked ahead of them. He carried only a lantern, which gave off a pale light. Sometimes the men almost lost sight of its small flame.
The man didn't mind that Tom Beale had so much less to carry than they did. He had organized the group a year and a half ago and led the men west to the part of North America owned by Spin in those days. If it hadn't been for Tom Baele, they never would have found the treasure. They owed him a lot, for he had made them all rich.