“We’re running hard, boss man,” Eric replied. “Linda has us up to thirty-eight knots, and with so few countries trading with Argentina there’s virtually no ship traffic for us to avoid.”

“What’s your ETA at Wilson/George?”

“A tick over three days, provided we don’t hit ice.”

“Encounter ice,” Max corrected. “One encounters ice, one must never hit ice. Bad for the ship.”

“Thanks for the tip, E.J.,” Mark said, using the first two initials of the ill-fated Titanic’s captain.

“So what have you found?” Cabrillo asked.

“You’re not going to believe who those guys were,” Eric said excitedly. “They were the Ronish brothers. Their family owns Pine Island off Washington State.”

Juan blinked in surprise. As a West Coast native, he knew all about Pine Island and its infamous Treasure Pit. It was a story that fascinated him as a boy, as it did all his friends. “You’re sure?”

“No doubt,” Mark replied. “And what do you bet they found a clue in the Teasure Pit that sent them off looking for something hidden in the Amazon rain forest?”

“Hold on. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Tell it to me from the top.”

“There were five brothers. One of them”—Eric glanced down at his notes—“Donald, was killed, get this, on December seventh, 1941, when they tried to reach the bottom of the pit. Right afterward, the three eldest joined the military. The fifth brother was too young. Nick Ronish became one of the most decorated Marines in Corps history. He took part in three island assaults, including being on the first wave at Iwo Jima. Another brother was a paratrooper in the Eighty-first. Ronald was his name. He went in on D-day, and fought all the way to Berlin. The last one, Kevin, joined the Navy, where he became a spotter on blimps flying patrols off the coast of California—”

Mark interrupted, adding, “A couple of years after the war, they bought a surplus blimp, which Kevin had gotten himself licensed to fly, and they headed off to South America.”

“Is there any indication that they found anything on Pine Island?” Juan asked. “I seem to recall a big expedition there in the 1970s.”

“There was. James Ronish, the surviving brother, was reportedly paid a hundred thousand dollars by Dewayne Sullivan to allow him to excavate on the island. Sullivan was like the Richard Branson of his day. He made a ton of money in oil and spent it on all kinds of crazy adventures, like yachting solo around the world or skydiving from a weather balloon from eighty thousand feet.