"I imagine," replied John, "that they didn't have much confidence in the rest of the world. The manner in which they got most of the money was by acts of piracy on the high seas, and it was necessary to hide the proceeds of the robberies as fast as acquired, because if they should be captured, its possession would at once seal their doom. These hidden treasures are distributed over every part of the world. As to the other part of your question, the vast hoards of gold and silver so distributed, formed a very small part of the wealth of the old world. It is not known how vast a sum Pizarro took from the Inca in Peru, but it is estimated variously at from twelve to twenty tons."
The boys opened their eyes in astonishment.
"How much would that be worth in money?"
"Counting it at the present value of gold, every pennyweight would be worth a dollar."
"Let me see; twenty pennyweights in an ounce, and twelve ounces in a pound; that would be two hundred and forty dollars in a pound."
"That is right."
"And then twenty tons would be 40,000 pounds. And multiplying that by 240 would make $9,600,000. My, what a lot of money!"
"Cortez, at about the same time, conquered Mexico, and secured a much greater amount. All over the western hemisphere, from northern Mexico down to Peru, untold millions of gold and silver were looted by the Spanish and Portuguese navigators, and taken to Europe, and it is estimated that as much more was disposed of in these hidden recesses, and those who deposited them were swept off the seas, and all knowledge of the caches were lost."
"During what times was most of this money deposited?"
"The pirates which infested the coasts of Spanish America and the West Indies, flourished in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Originally the French and English during the wars against Spain used the expedition against her ships, as acts of war, but later on, after peace was established in Europe, the buccaneers continued in their depredations, and it was made unlawful by all the great nations."