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 Viginia 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 poles they were carrying. Each pole went through the handle of a large iron 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, walk 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 men 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 Spain in those days. If it hadn't been for Tom Beale, they never would have found the treasure. They owed him a lot, for had made them all rich.