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The story opens in the town of Devonport, now a naval dockyard, in the year 1577, on a light June evening. Two young men, close friends, meet after work, and go for a sail in a lugger borrowed from a boat-builder, but while they are out, there is a violent change in the weather, with the wind reversing and increasing to a point in which the lugger is swamped, and about to sink. They are picked up by a passing vessel, which turns out to be a privateer, and her captain refuses to waste time by landing them. So they are found positions in the crew, and take part in the subsequent events. They do battle with a Spanish vessel, loot her, and let her go. Then they arrive at Cartagena in the West Indies, where they also capture a Spanish galleon carrying a valuable cargo.
By accident the two young men get separated from the English privateer, and this is where their adventures get even more exciting. They are captured by Peruvian Indians, and condemned to a painful death, but are reprieved on the intercession of the wives of the men they killed, who demand them as slaves. They escape, and their adventures become ever more singular as time goes on. Eventually they persuade the locals that one of them is a reincarnation of the Inca, and get them to show where the gold, silver and jewels are hidden. They then say that it is imperative that they get these to their home, meaning England. This is accomplished, and they use their great wealth to buy large estates.