第26章

"Well, as I said, it's the third this week.All of them seemed to be premature blasts.But I've sent for some of the fuses used.I'm going to get at the bottom of this.Here is Sullivan with them now.Come in, Tim," he called, as the Irishman knocked at the door.

"Are they the fuses used in the blasts?" Walter asked.

"They are, sor.An' they mostly burn five minutes, which is plenty of time fer all th' min t' git out of danger.Only this time th' fuse didn't seem to burn more than a minute, an' I lit it meself.""Let's see how long they burn now," suggested Job.

One of the longer fuses was lighted.It spluttered and smoked, while the contractors timed it with their watches.

"Four minutes!" exclaimed Job."That's queer, and they're the regularten minute length.I wonder what this means.

He took up another fuse, and examined it closely.

"Why!" he cried."These aren't our fuses at all.They're another make, and much more rapid in burning.No wonder you've been having premature blasts.They go off in about half the time they should.""I can't understhand thot!" said Tim, thoughtfully."I keep all the fuses locked up, and only take thim out when I need thim.""Then somebody has been at your box, Tim, and they took out our regular fuses and put in these quicker ones.It's a game to make trouble for us among our men, and to damage the tunnel.""Bless my rubber boots!" cried Mr.Damon."Who would do a thing like that?"1

"And be very careful of the fuses," said Job.

"Thot's what I will!" declared Tim."I'll put th' supply in a new place.No wonder there was blasts before th' min could git out th' way! Bad cess t' th' imps thot did this!" and he banged his big fist down on the table.

Since the trouble began a guard had been always posted around the tunnel entrance and surrounding buildings, and this night the patrol was doubled.Tom, Mr.Damon and the two Titus brothers sat up quite late, talking over plans and ideas.

Professor Bumper went to bed early, as he said he was going to set off before sunrise to make a search for the lost city.

"I regard him as more or less of a visionary," said Mr.Job Titus; "but he seems a harmless gentleman, and we'll do all we can to help him.""Surely," agreed his brother.

The night was not marked by any disturbance, and after breakfast, Tom, under the guidance of the Titus brothers, looked over the tunnel with a view to making his first experiment with the new explosive.

The tunnel was being driven straight into the face of one of the smaller ranges of the Andes Mountains.It was to be four miles in length, and when it emerged on the other side it would enable trains to make connections between the two railroads, thus tapping a rich and fertilecountry.

On the site of the tunnel, which was two days' mule travel east from Rimac, the Titus brothers had assembled their heavy machinery.They had brought some of their own men, including Tim Sullivan, with them, but the other labor was that of Peruvian Indians, with a native foreman, Serato, over them.

There were engines, boilers, dynamos, motors, diamond drills, steam shovels and a miniature railway, with mules as the motive power.A small village had sprung up at the tunnel mouth, and there was a general store, besides many buildings for the sleeping and eating quarters of the laborers, as well as places where the white men could live.Their quarters were some distance from the native section.

Powder, supplies, in fact everything save what game could be obtained in the forest, or what grains or fruits were brought in by natives living near by, had to be brought over the rough trail.But Titus Brothers had a large experience in engineering matters in wild and desolate countries, and they knew how to be as comfortable as possible.

Mr.Damon learned that one of the districts whence his company had been in the habit of getting quinine was distant a day's journey over the mountain, so he decided to make the trip, with a native guide, and see if he could get at the bottom of the difficulty in forwarding shipments.

This was a few days after the arrival of our friends.Meanwhile, Tom had been shown all through the tunnel by the Titus Brothers and had had his first sight of the hard cliff of rock which seemed to be a veritable stone wall in the way of progress--or at least such progress as was satisfactory to the contractors.

"Well, we'll try what some of my explosive will do," said Tom, when he had finished the examination."I don't claim it will be as successful as the sample blast we set off at Shopton, but we'll do our best."Holes were drilled in the face of the rock, and several charges of the new explosive tamped in.Wires were attached to the fuses, which were of a new kind, and warning was given to clear the tunnel.The wires ran out to the mouth of the horizontal shaft and Tom, holding the switch in his hand made ready to set off the blast.

"Are they all out?" he asked Tim Sullivan, who had emerged, herding the Indian laborers before him.Tim insisted on being the last man to seek safety when an explosion was to take place.

"All ready, sor," answered the foreman.

"Here she goes!" cried Tom, as his fingers closed the circuit.