“At last!” exclaimed Mr. Jenks, as he gazed up at the roof of the dimly-lighted vault in which they found themselves.
“Yes, we’re in the diamond makers’ secret cave,” added Tom. “Now to catch them at work!”
“Come on,” advised Bill, in a low tone, “We’re not safe yet,” and he produced a lantern from some hidden recess, lighted the wick, and led the way. As the others followed they were aware of a subdued noise in the great cavern.
CHAPTER XX
MAKING THE DIAMONDS
“What’s that noise?” asked Tom, as their guide flashed the lantern to show them the way.
“That’s the men getting ready to make diamonds, I guess,” was the answer. “You see it takes quite a while to get the stuff ready. I don’t know what they use—they never tell me any of their secrets.”
“Oh, I know the ingredients well enough,” said Mr. Jenks, “but I don’t know the secret of how they apply the terrific heat and pressure necessary to fuse the materials into diamonds.”
“Well, you’ll soon know,” declared Bill Renshaw. “Of course it isn’t always successful. I’ve known ’em to try half a dozen times before they got any diamonds big enough to satisfy ’em. They gave me some of the small ones when I asked for my wages.
“How did you come to get in with these men?” asked Tom, curious to understand how a person seemingly as honest as Renshaw appeared to be had cast his lot in with the men who had broken faith with Mr. Jenks.
“Oh, I’ve lived around these parts all my life,” was the answer. “I knew of this cave before these diamond fellers came to it. In fact, I showed it to ’em. It was several years ago that a party of men who were prospecting around here came to me and asked if I knew of a small cave near the top of a high mountain, where lightning storms were frequent. I told them about Phantom Mountain, as it was called then, and also of this cave. If there’s any place where they have worse lightning storms than here, I’d like to know it. They scare me, sometimes, like the night when that landslide happened, and I’m sort of used to ’em.
“Well, I took these men to the cave, and they hired me as a sort of lookout. Then they began their work, and at first I didn’t know what they were up to, but finally I caught on. Then Mr. Jenks came, and disappeared mysteriously, though then I didn’t know that they had played a trick on him. I was outside most of the time, pretending I was the ghost. So that’s how I came to get in with ’em, and I wish I was out.”
“You soon will be, I think,” declared Mr. Jenks. “But won’t our talking be heard by the men?”
“No danger. There is a thick wall between this part of the cave, and the part where they live and work. I’ll soon have you well hid, and then you wait until I come back.”
“What about Munson?” asked Tom. “He is evidently on his way here to tell his confederates about us.”
“He won’t know what has happened to us,” said Mr. Jenks, “and he won’t see anything of us. I guess we’re safe enough.”
Through the dark passage they followed Bill Renshaw until he came to a halt in a place that suddenly widened and broadened into a good-sized cave.
“Here’s your stopping place,” said the former ghost. “Now if you follow that passage, off to the left,” and he pointed to it, “you’ll come to the larger part of the cave where the diamond makers are. But go cautiously, and don’t make any noise. I won’t be responsible for what happens.”
“We’ll take all the risk,” interrupted Tom.
“All right. Now there’s a couple of lanterns around here. I’ll light them, and leave you for a while until I can get some grub. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He glided away, after lighting two lanterns, by the gleams of which the adventurers could see that they were in a vaulted cavern that had evidently been fitted up as a living apartment. The sides, roof and floor were of stone. It was clean, and the air was fresh. There were some chairs, a table, and several cots, with pieces of bagging for bedding, though it was warm in the place.
“I guess we can stay here until we discover the secret,” spoke Tom.
“Bless my watch! We can if we have something to eat,” came from Mr. Damon, with something like a sigh. “I’m hungry!”
“And I want to make some observations,” said Mr. Parker. “From what I have seen of this mountain, I would not be surprised if this cave was to be suddenly destroyed by a landslide or a lightning bolt. I will make some further investigations.”
“Well, if it’s going to cause you to make such gloomy prophecies as that, I’d just as soon you wouldn’t look any further,” spoke Tom, in a low voice. But Mr. Parker, taking one of the lanterns, set about examining the rock of which the cave consisted.
In a short time Bill Renshaw returned with enough food to last for two days. He said he was going out on the mountain once more to act the part of a lookout, and would visit the adventurers again the next day.
“In the meanwhile you can do just as you please,” he said. “Nobody is likely to disturb you here, and you can sneak up and take a look at the men in the other cave whenever you’re ready. Only be careful—that’s all I’ve got to say. They’re desperate men.”
It was not very pleasant, eating in the gloomy cavern, but they made the best of it. They cooked on a small oil-stove they found in the place, and after some hot coffee they felt much better.
“Well,” remarked Tom, after a while, “shall we take a chance, and go look at the men at work?”
“I think so,” answered Mr. Jenks. “The sooner we discover this mystery, the better. Then we can go back home.”
“And recover my airship,” added Tom, who was a bit uneasy regarding the safety of the Red Cloud.
“Then, bless my finger-rings! let’s go and see if we can find the big cave your friend the ghost told us of,” suggested Mr. Damon.
Cautiously they made their way along the passage Bill had pointed out. As they went forward the subdued noise became louder, and finally they could feel the vibration of machinery.
“This is the place,” whispered Mr. Jenks. “That sound we hear is one of the mixing machines, for grinding the materials—carbon and the other substances—which go to make up the diamonds. I remember hearing that when I was in the cave before.”
“Then we must be near the place,” observed Tom.
“Yes, but I didn’t have much chance to look around when I was here before. They wouldn’t let me. I never even knew of the small cave Bill took us to.”
“Well, if we’re close to it, we’d better go cautiously, and not talk any more than we’re obliged to,” suggested Mr. Parker, and they agreed that this was good advice.
They walked on softly. Suddenly Tom, who was in the lead, saw a gleam of light.
“We’re here,” he whispered. “I’ll put out our lantern, now,” which he did. Then, stealing forward he and the others beheld a curious sight. The tunnel they were in ended at a small hole which opened into a large cavern, and, fortunately, this opening was concealed from the view of those in the main place.
“The diamond makers!” whispered Tom, hoarsely, pointing to several men grouped about a number of strange machines.
“Yes—the very place where I was,” answered Mr. Jenks, “and there is the apparatus—the steel box—from which the diamonds are taken—now to see how they make them.”
Fascinated, the adventurers looked into the cave. The men there were unaware of the presence of our friends, and were busily engaged. Some attended to the grinding machine, the roar and clatter of which made it possible for Tom and the others to talk and move about without being overheard. Into this machine certain ingredients were put, and they were then pulverized, and taken out in powdery form.
The power to run the mixing machine was a gasoline motor, which chug-chugged away in one corner of the cave.
As the powder was taken out, other men fashioned it into small balls, which were put on pan, and into a sort of oven, that was heated by a gasoline stove.
> “Is that how they make the diamonds?” asked Mr. Damon.
“That is evidently the first step,” said Mr. Jenks. “Those balls of powdered chemicals are partly baked, and then they are put into the steel box. In some way terrific heat and pressure are applied, and the diamonds are made. But how the heat and pressure are obtained is what we have yet to learn.”
He paused to watch the men at work. They were all busy, some attending to the machines, and others coming and going in and out of the cave. In one part a man was apparently getting ready a meal.
Suddenly there rushed into the cave a man who seemed much excited.
“Are you nearly ready with that stuff?” he cried. “There’s a good storm gathering on the mountain!”
“Yes, we’ll be ready in half an hour,” answered one of the men at the mixing machine.
“Good. It will be flashing lightning bolts then, and we can see what luck we have. The last batch was a failure.” The man hurried out again. Mr. Parker touched Tom and Mr. Jenks on their shoulders.
“What is it?” asked Tom.
“I know the secret of making the diamonds,” said the scientist.
“What?” cried Mr. Jenks.
“It is by the awful power of the lightning bolts!” whispered Mr. Parker. “Everything is explained now—the reason why they make diamonds in this lonely place, near the top of the mountain. They need a place where the lightning is powerful. I can understand it now—I suspected it before. They make diamonds by lightning!”
“Are you sure?” cried Mr. Jenks.
“Positive.”
“I agree with you,” said Tom Swift. “I was just getting on that track myself, when I saw the electric wires running to the steel box. That explains the upright rod on the top of the mountain. The man says a storm is coming—very well; we’ll stay here and watch them make diamonds!”
As he spoke there came the mutter of thunder, and the mountain vibrated slightly. The men in the cave redoubled their activity. Tom and his friends felt that the secret process they had so long sought was about to be demonstrated before their eyes.
CHAPTER XXI
FLASHING GEMS
Eagerly the adventurers looked through the opening at the end of the passage into the larger cave. The men opened the small oven in which the balls of white chemicals and carbon mixed, had been baked, and a pile of things, that looked like irregularly-shaped marbles, were placed in the steel box.
This box, which was about the size of a trunk, was of massive metal. It was placed in a recess in the solid rock, and all about were layers of asbestos and other substances that were nonconductors of heat.
“That box becomes red hot,” exclaimed Mr. Jenks, in a whisper. “When things are in readiness, that lever is pulled and the diamonds are made. I pulled it once, but I did not then know the process involved. I supposed that the lightning had nothing to do with making the diamonds.”
“It has—a most important part,” said Mr. Parker. The hidden adventurers could talk in perfect safety now, for the men in the large cave were too excited to pay much attention to them. The muttering of the thunder grew louder, and at times a particularly loud crash told that a bolt had struck somewhere in the vicinity of the cave.
“But, bless my watch-charm!” exclaimed Mr. Damon, “I didn’t know lightning made diamonds.”
“It does not—always,” went on the scientist. “But great heat and pressure are necessary to create the gems. In nature this was probably obtained by prehistoric volcanic fires, and by the terrific pressure of immense rocks. It is possible to make diamonds in the laboratory of the chemist, but they are so minute as to be practically valueless.
“However, these men seem to have hit upon a new plan. They utilize the terrific heat of lightning, and the pressure which is instantaneously obtained when the bolt strikes. I am anxious to see how it is done. Look, I think they are getting ready to make the gems.”
Indeed there seemed to be an air of expectancy among the diamond makers. The mixing machine had now been stopped, and, as it was more quiet in the cave, our friends, in their hiding-place, had to speak in mere whispers. All the men were now gathered about the great steel box.
This receptacle had been closed by a solid metal door, which was screwed and clamped tight. Then one of the men examined a number of heavily insulated electric wires that extended from the box off into the darkness where Tom and his companions could not discern them.
“That’s Folwell—the man I befriended, and who got me into this game,” whispered Mr. Jenks. “He was also one of the first to turn against me. I think he’s one of the leaders.”
Folwell came back, after having gone into a dark part of the cave. He went over to an electrical switch on one of the stone walls.
“It’s almost time,” Tom heard him say to his confederates. “The storm is coming up rapidly.”
“Will it be severe enough?” asked one of the helpers. “We had all our work for nothing last time. The flashes weren’t heavy enough.”
“These will be,” asserted Folwell. “The indicator shows nearly a million volts now, and it’s increasing.”
“A million volts!” exclaimed Tom. “I hope it doesn’t strike anywhere around here.”
“Oh, it will probably be harmlessly conducted down on the heavy wires,” said Mr. Parker. “We are in no danger, at present, though ultimately I expect to see the whole mountain shattered by a lightning bolt.”
“Cheerful prospect,” murmured Tom.
There was a terrific crash outside. The rocky floor of the cave trembled.
“Here she comes!” cried Folwell. “Get back, everybody! I’m going to throw over the switch now!”
The men retreated well away from the steel box. Folwell threw over the lever—the same one Mr. Jenks remembered pulling. Then the man ran to the electric switch on the wall, and snapped that into place, establishing a connection.
There was a moment’s pause, as Folwell ran to join the others in their place of safety. Then from without there came a most nerve-racking and terrifying crash. It seemed as if the very mountain would be rent into fragments.
Watching with eager eyes, the adventurers saw sparks flash from the steel box. Instantly it became red hot, and then glowed white and incandescent. It was almost at the melting point.
Then came comparative quiet, as the echoes of the thunder died away amid the mountain peaks.
“I guess that did the trick!” cried Folwell. “It was a terrific crash all right!”
He and the others ran forward. The steel box was now a cherry red, for it was cooling. Folwell threw back the lever, and another man disconnected the switch. There was a period of waiting until the box was cool enough to open. Then the heavy door was swung back.
With a long iron rod Folwell drew something from the retort. It was the tray which had held the white balls. But they were white no longer, for they had been turned into diamonds. From their hiding-place Tom and the others could see the flashing gems, for, in spite of the fact that the diamonds were uncut, some of them sparkled most brilliantly, due to the peculiar manner in which they were made.
“We have the secret of the diamonds!” whispered Mr. Jenks. “There must be a quart of the gems there!”
The men gathered about Folwell, uttering exclamations of delight. The diamonds were too hot to handle yet.
“That’s going some!” exclaimed the chief of the diamond makers. “We have a small fortune here.”
The was a sudden commotion at one end of the cave. A man rushed in. At the sight of him Tom stared and uttered an exclamation.
“Munson—the stowaway!” he whispered.
“Hello!” cried Folwell, as he saw his confederate. “I thought you were East, keeping Jenks away from here.”
“He got the best of me!” cried Munson, “he and that Tom Swift! I stowed away on their airship, but they found me out by a wireless message, and marooned me in the woods. I’ve been trying to get here ever since! Didn’t you get my messa
ges of warning?”
“No—what warnings?” cried Folwell.
“About Jenks, Tom Swift and the others. They’re here—they must be on Phantom Mountain now. In fact, I shouldn’t be surprised if they were in this cave. I traced them to their camp, but they’re gone. They may be among us now—in some of the secret recesses!”
For an instant Folwell stared at the bearer of these tidings. Then he cried out:
“Scatter men, and find these fellows! We must get them before they discover our secret!”
“It’s too late—we know it!” exulted Tom Swift. Then he whispered to the others to hurry to the part of the cave where Bill Renshaw had first hidden them.
CHAPTER XXII
PRISONERS
“Do you think there is any danger of them finding us?” asked Mr. Damon, as he hurried along beside Tom.
“I’m afraid so,” was the answer. “I’ve been worried ever since we saw Munson heading this way. But we couldn’t do any differently.”
“Perhaps Bill Renshaw may be able to conceal us,” suggested Mr. Jenks. “Very likely he knows that Munson is on hand. Perhaps we will be safe for a while. I want to make a few more observations as to how they manufacture the diamonds, and then, with what I already know, I’ll have the secret.”
“And I’d like to make some scientific tests of the sides and bottom rocks of the cave,” spoke Mr. Parker. “I think it will bear out my theory that the mountain will soon be destroyed.”
“Well, you were right about Earthquake Island, and you may be right about this mountain,” said Tom, “but if it is going to be annihilated I hope we get far enough away from it.”
“We can keep our presence here a secret for a few more days, I think that will be long enough,” proceeded Mr. Jenks. “Then we will leave.”
“And, in the meanwhile, they’ll be searching for us,” objected Mr. Damon. “I wish that ghost-chap would come back and tell us what to do. Bless my liver-pin, but we are going to be in considerable danger, I’m afraid! Those men may capture us, and decide to make diamond dust from us.”
“Come on—hurry to the little cave,” urged Tom. “Then we’ll get ready to defend ourselves.”
The Tom Swift Megapack Page 87
