been the only person
who had come forward to attempt the recovery of the large property
which was considered to be irretrievably lost; I had devised the whole
of the methods by which a very large portion of it was recovered; I had
endured peril, sickness, toil, and privation during more than a year;
and the work was now reduced to a mere plaything compared with what it
had been, and yet I was not allowed to put the finishing hand to it.
Notwithstanding this, the deep interest I felt in the undertaking
remained unabated, and I was determined that nothing should be wanting
on my part to ensure a successful termination of it."

Quite courteously, Captain Dickinson explained in detail to Commander
the Honorable J. F. F. de Roos the plant and the operations, and even
left for him to fish up a large quantity of treasure already located
and which could be scooped up from the diving bell without difficulty.
"With a feeling which I thought would be appreciated by a brother
officer, I did not attempt to bring up this treasure, but left it for
the benefit of our successors, observing at the time that the world
should not say that I had left them nothing to do but the labor of
removing rocks and rubbish."

The amount subsequently recovered by the _Algerine_ was $161,500, so
that by Captain Dickinson's efforts, and the use of his plans and
equipment, all but one-sixteenth of the lost treasure was restored to
its owners, and of this he himself had raised by far the greater part.
When he returned to England and learned that salvage was to be awarded
to the officers and men who had been engaged in the work, he naturally
regarded himself as the principal salvor. The Admiralty, in its
inscrutable wisdom, chose to think otherwise, and the underwriters of
Lloyd's, taking their cue from this exalted quarter, regarded poor
Captain Dickinson with the cold and fishy eye of disfavor. The case
was argued in the Court of Admiralty, and the agents of Admiral Baker,
he who had been in command of the squadron at Rio, set up the claim
that he was the principal salvor, although the fact was plain that he
had nothing whatever to do with recovering the treasure from the
_Thetis_, and not even visited Cape Frio during the year of active
operations.

The judge could not stomach such a high-handed claim as this, and his
decision set aside the admiral in favor of Captain Dickinson and the
crew of the _Lightning_. The salvage award, however, amounting