The Sage crew returns to Panama for the third and final quest to recover the elusive Spanish treasure they discovered along the Las Cruces Trail.
Red Marlo, one of the original crew members of The Sage, learns that their sunken shrimp boat, La Saga, has been discovered by French marine archaeologists who are searching for La Gallega, one of Columbus's caravels that sank near the mouth of the Rio Belen. Red convinces the Sage crew to embark on a third and final quest for the Spanish treasure hidden in the hold of the sunken shrimp boat. They purchase a tuna boat, head for Panama, and offer their salvage services to the French scientists. The efforts of the Sage crew to raise La Saga are thwarted by technical problems. Adding to their difficulties are the curiosity of a husband and wife who fly in supplies to the French camp and who alert their old adversary, Guillermo Castillo, now a PDF Lieutenant, to their presence.
Professional Reviews
Final Quest
This is an exciting conclusion to the Sage Trilogy. The lust for gold has lured the Sage crew back to Panama to make a final attempt on obtaining the nearly 10 tons of Spanish treasure they had discovered on the Las Cruces Trail, the route used by the Spanish to transport treasure across the Isthmus of Panama. Most of the action takes place at the Rio Belen, a river located on the Caribbean coast of Panama. A French marine archeology team is attempting to locate a caravel abandoned by Columbus on this fourth and final voyage to the new world. In the process, the French discover the sunken shrimp boat that the Sage crew had to scuttle after taking refuge from a storm. The French want to raise the sunken boat to use as living quarters as they are currently using tents that at best provide deplorable conditions. The Sage crew, arriving on a boat they purchased to recover the treasure, offers their salvage expertise to raise the sunken vessel. The French accept, not realizing the true intent of the Sage crew is to seize the treasure. The efforts of the Sage crew to raise La Saga are thwarted by technical problems. Adding to their difficulties are the curiosity of a husband and wife who fly in supplies to the French camp and who alert their old adversary, Guillermo Castillo, now a PDF Lieutenant, to their presence. This is a great adventure story and I hope to see a movie version some day.
Forced to put the schooner Heimdall into dry-dock for repairs and modifications, the crew chooses to holiday in Southern Utah so they can rendezvous with the Professor, a brilliant confidant from Rabat. What he shares at the summit stuns the crew and
Book 3 continues the Commander and the Chief's adventures in political intrigue, superstition, old feuds, and the search of Nikola Tesla's missing papers in this Close Encounter of the Weird Kind.
