Quotation from: Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard

Written by: Joseph Conrad

"Just so, senor. Tell him it is sunk."

"This has the merit of being the truth," the doctor said,
contemptuously. "He will not believe it."

"You tell him that it is sunk where he may hope to lay his hands on it,
and he will believe you quick enough. Tell him it has been sunk in the
harbour in order to be recovered afterwards by divers. Tell him you
found out that I had orders from Don Carlos Gould to lower the cases
quietly overboard somewhere in a line between the end of the jetty and
the entrance. The depth is not too great there. He has no divers, but he
has a ship, boats, ropes, chains, sailors--of a sort. Let him fish for
the silver. Let him set his fools to drag backwards and forwards and
crossways while he sits and watches till his eyes drop out of his head."