Tom Swift and His Big Tunnel; Or, The Hidden City of the Andes

by Victor Appleton

  Chapter XIII

  Tom's Explosive

  "Something has happened!" cried Mr. Titus as he ran forward, followedby Tom, Mr. Damon and Koku. Professor Bumper started with them, but onthe way he saw a curious bit of rock which he stopped to pick up andexamine.

  At the entrance of the tunnel, from which came rushing dirt-stained andpowder-blackened men, Mr. Titus was met by a man who seemed to be inauthority.

  "Hello, Job!" he cried. "Glad you're back. We're in trouble!"

  "What's the matter?" was the question. "This is my brother Walter," hesaid. "This is Tom Swift and Mr. Damon," thus hurriedly he introducedthem. "What happened, Walter?"

  "Premature blast. Third one this week. Somebody is working against us!"

  "Never mind that now," cried Job Titus. "We must see to the poorfellows who are hurt." "I guess there aren't many," his brother said."They were on their way out when the charge went off. Some more ofBlakeson & Grinder's work, I'll wager!"

  They were rushing in to the smoke-filled tunnel now, followed by Tom,Mr. Damon and Koku, who would follow his young master anywhere. Tom sawthat the tunnel was lighted with incandescent lamps, suspended here andthere from the rocky roof or sides. The electric lights were suppliedwith current from a dynamo run by a gasoline engine.

  "Where is it, Serato? Where was the blast?" asked Walter Titus, of atall Indian, who seemed to be in some authority.

  "Back at second turn," was the answer, in fairly good English. "I goget beds."

  "He means stretchers," translated Job. "That's our Peruvian foreman. Agood fellow, but easily scared."

  They ran on into the tunnel, Tom and Mr. Damon noticing that a smallnarrow-gage railroad was laid on the floor, mules being the motivepower to bring out the small dump cars loaded with rock and dirt,excavated from the big hole.

  "Mind the turn!" called Job Titus, who was ahead of Tom and Mr. Damon."It's rough here."

  Tom found it so, for he slipped over some pieces of rock, and wouldhave fallen had not Koku held him up.

  "Thanks," gasped Tom, as on he ran.

  A little later he came to a place where a cluster of electric lightsgave better illumination, and he could see it was there that the damagehad been done.

  A number of men were lying on the dirt and rock floor of the tunnel,and some of them were bleeding. Others were staggering about as thoughshocked or stunned.

  "We must get the injured ones out of here!" cried Walter Titus. "Whereare the men with stretchers?"

  "I sint that Spalapeen Serato for thim!" broke in a voice, rich inIrish brogue. "But he's thot stupid he might think I was after sindin'him fer wather!"

  "No, Tim. Serato is after the stretchers all right," said Walter. "Wepassed him on the way."

  "That's Tim Sullivan, our Irish foreman, though he has only a few ofhis own kind to boss," explained Job Titus in a whisper.

  Some of the workmen (all of whom save the few Irish referred to werePeruvian Indians) had now recovered from their shock, or fright, andbegan to help the Titus brothers, Tom, Mr. Damon and Koku in lookingafter the injured. Of these there were five, only two of whom were,seemingly, seriously hurt.

  "Me take them out," said Koku, and placing one gently over his leftshoulder, and the other over his right, out of the tunnel he stalkedwith them, not waiting for the stretchers.

  And it was well he did so, for one man was in need of an immediateoperation, which was performed at the rude hospital the contractorsmaintained at the tunnel mouth. The other man died as Koku was carryinghim out, but the giant had saved one life.

  Serato, the Indian foreman, with some of his men now came in, and theother injured were carried out on stretchers, being attended to by thetwo doctors who formed part of the tunnel force. Among a large body ofmen some were always falling ill or getting hurt, and in that wildcountry a doctor had to be kept near at hand.

  When the excitement had died down, and it was found that one deathwould be the total toll of the accident and that the premature blasthad done no damage to the tunnel, the two Titus brothers began toconsider matters.

  Tom, Mr. Damon and the two contractors sat in the main office andtalked things over. Koku was eating supper, though the others hadfinished, but, naturally, it took Koku twice as long as any one else.Professor Bumper was busy transcribing material in his note-book.

  "Well, I'm glad you've come back, Job," said his brother. "Things havebeen going at sixes and sevens here since you went to get some new kindof blasting powder. By the way, I hope you got it, for we arepractically at a standstill."

  "Oh, I got it all right--some of Tom Swift's best--specially made forus. And, better still, I've brought Tom back with me."

  "So I see. Well, I'm glad he's here."

  "Now what about this accident to-day?" went on Job.

  "Well, as I said, it's the third this week. All of them seemed to bepremature blasts. But I've sent for some of the fuses used. I'm goingto 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 oftime fer all th' min t' git out of danger. Only this time th' fusedidn'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, whilethe 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 prematureblasts. They go off in about half the time they should."

  "I can't understhand thot!" said Tim, thoughtfully. "I keep all thefuses locked up, and only take thim out when I need thim."

  "Then somebody has been at your box, Tim, and they took out our regularfuses and put in these quicker ones. It's a game to make trouble for usamong our men, and to damage the tunnel."

  "Bless my rubber boots!" cried Mr. Damon. "Who would do a thing likethat?"

  "Our rivals, perhaps, though I do not like to accuse any man on suchsmall evidence," said Walter. "But we must adopt new measures."

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

  "Thot's what I will!" declared Tim. "I'll put th' supply in a newplace. 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 onthe table.

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

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

  "I regard him as more or less of a visionary," said Mr. Job Titus; "buthe 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 aview to making his first experiment with the new explosive.

  The tunnel was being driven straight into the face of one of thesmaller ranges of the Andes Mountains. It was to be four miles inlength, and when it emerged on the other side it would enable trains tomake connections between the two railroads, thus tapping a rich andfertile country.

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

  There were engines, boilers, dynamos, motors, diamond drills, s
teamshovels and a miniature railway, with mules as the motive power. Asmall village had sprung up at the tunnel mouth, and there was ageneral store, besides many buildings for the sleeping and eatingquarters of the laborers, as well as places where the white men couldlive. Their quarters were some distance from the native section.

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

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

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

  "Well, we'll try what some of my explosive will do," said Tom, when hehad finished the examination. "I don't claim it will be as successfulas 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 thenew explosive tamped in. Wires were attached to the fuses, which wereof a new kind, and warning was given to clear the tunnel. The wires ranout to the mouth of the horizontal shaft and Tom, holding the switch inhis hand made ready to set off the blast.

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

  "All ready, sor," answered the foreman.

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