"What do you make of her, Ben."
The old sailor held the glasses to his eyes for a space of ten seconds or more and then turned to the boys with an excited look on his face.
"Whatever she is, she is no modern ship," he cried, "she's got a high stern on her like a castle, and her masts and rigging are like no ship that sails the sea to-day."
"There's another ship over on the horizon," cried Harry, "looks like a wreck."
Ben took the glasses once more.
"It's the wreck of a barque," he announced. "Guess it's the one that Bluewater Bill was cast away on. If it is, that must be the galleon over yonder, 'cause Bill said she was close to his ship, and I guess vessels don't change their relative positions much in this place."
As the Golden Eagle rapidly approached the ancient vessel the boys went nearly wild with excitement.
The glasses were constantly trained on her and when Harry, who had kept the binoculars fixed on the vessel's stern, announced in a voice that quivered with suspense:
"I can see her name—it's Buena Ventura all right," they all broke into a shout.
[Illustration: "I can see her name—it's Buena Ventura all right.">[