"Very well, I want to take my share of the Plan, in the form of silver, or better yet gold, and strike out for the north with them. " He looked back over his shoulder at the crowd of red Xs shuffling along in their wake. "Lately these Spaniards have conquered a new territory up beyond the pissant ditch known as the Rio Grande, which they style New Mexico . It can’t possibly be worse than Old . Word has it that six hundred cavalry are garrisoned in that territory, and each one is paid five hundred pieces of eight a year, but most of that ends up in the coffers of the governor, who sells those soldiers food and other necessaries at outrageous prices. That is upwards of three hundred thousand pieces of eight a year! I am going to go up and sell them victuals at a fair price, and while I’m at it, I’m going to convert every Indian I see to Judaism."