Part 21 (1/2)
”Why is that?”
”They claiht to be”
”Aren't you?”
”Practically, yes There was no set limit of work to be done for the intermediate payments We bonded ourselves to have the tunnel done at a certain date
”If we fail, we lose a large su pre a certain ae before we received certain payovernment representative, claims that ill not be done in ti back money due us I'm sure the rival contractors have set him up to this, because he was always decent to us before
”Another matter, too, makes me suspicious We have tried to raise overn up our funds here But our New York office iswith difficulties They report there is a story current to the effect that we are going to fail, and while that isn't so, you kno hard it is to borrowall we can to fight them, of course, and maybe we'll beat out our rivals yet
”But that isn't all I' toour workers I never knew sothe e us with neorkers And so many of them are unskilled They aren't able to do half the work of the old men, and poor Tim Sullivan is in despair”
”You think so your men?”
”I'm sure of it! I've tried to ferret out who it is, but the spy, for such he ht for a moment Then he said:
”Mr titus, with your permission, I'll see if I can find out about this for you”
”Find out what, To the men to leave I don't believe it's the scare about the ten one But how are you going to get at the botto to do now for the next week We've just set off a big blast, and I've got the powder for the following one all ready Theout the broken rock Nohat I propose to do is to go in the tunnel and work a
”I can understand the language pretty well now, though I can't speak o in the tunnel every day and find out what's going on”
”But you'll be known, and if one of our men, or one e suppose is one, turns out to be a spy, he'll be very cautious while you're in there”
”He won't know o off with Professor bumper the next time he starts on one of his weekly expeditions into the woods But I won't go far until I turn around and couise, and I'll apply to you for work You can tell Tiht let him into the secret, but no one else”
A few days later To with Professor bumper into the interior, presumably to help look for the lost city Mr Da concern, and Koku, to his delight, had been given charge of a stationary hoisting engine outside the tunnel, so he would not coiant into the secret
Then one day, shortly after Professor bued and unkempt white man applied at the tunnel camp for work There was just the barest wink as he accosted Mr titus, inked in turn, and then the new man was handed over to Tian his watch
Chapter XVII
The Condor
Left to hi of Peruvian Indians as company, Tom Swift looked about him There was not much active work to be done, only to see that the Indians filled the dump cars evenly full, so none of the broken rock would spill over the side and litter the tramway Then, too, he had to keep the Indians up to the , for these men were no different from any other, and they were just as inclined to ”loaf on the job” when the eye of the ”boss” was turned away