Part 20 (1/2)
”We'll find theh they looked all along the big shaft, and though the place ell lighted by extra laation started, no trace could be found of the work the blast charges The party reached the rocky heading, in the face of which the powerful explosive had been placed, and not an Indian was in sight Nor, as far as could be told, was there any side niche, or blind shaft, in which they could be hiding
Soo behind a projecting shoulder of rock to wait until the charge had been fired, but now none was in such a refuge
”It is queer,” adone?”
”That's what I want to know!” exclaimed Tim
”Are you sure they didn't come out the mouth of the tunnel?” asked Job titus
”Positive,” asserted To up the fires”
”We'll call the roll, and check up,” decided Job titus ”Get Serato to help”
The Indian foreman had not been in the tunnel with the last shi+ft of et out in time The Indian foreman was called from his supper in the shack where he had his headquarters, and the roll of work, and when this fact beca the others
”Well,” said Mr titus, after a pause ”The men are either in the tunnel or out of it If they're in we don't dare set off the blast, and if they're out they'll show up, sooner or later, for supper I never knew any of 'e were possible,” said Walter titus, ”I would say that our rivals had a hand in this, and had induced our men to bolt in order to cripple our force But we haven't seen any of Blakeson & Grinder's eet the tenthem? It's impossible!”
”Well, what did happen then?” asked Tom
”I'm inclined to think that the men came out and neither you, nor any one else, saw them They ran away for reasons of their own We'll take another look in the , and then set off the blast”
And this was done There being no trace of the es This was done, a great a back when the orders were given to go in and clean up There werethem
”What's the matter?” asked Job titus
”Them afraid,” answered Serato ”Theo in”
”They won't go in, eh?” cried Tim Sullivan ”Well, they will thot! If there's a divil inside there's a worse one outside, an' thot's me! Git in there now, ye black-livered spalapeens!” and catching up a big club the Irish laborers With a howl they rushed into the tunnel, and were soon loading rock into the dump cars
Chapter XVI
On the Watch
The mystery of the disappearance of the tenor passage could be found within the tunnel, it caenerally accepted explanation that the laborers had come out unobserved, and, for reasons of their own, had run away
This habit on the part of the Peruvian workers was not unusual In fact, the titus brothers had to ency in Lima to replace the deserters But they were used to this