ould have been induced to leave in
this way. They're probably being better paid than when earning their
wages; and their relatives must know where they are, and also be given
a bonus to keep still. No wonder they didn't make a fuss.

"And no wonder we couldn't find any opening in the tunnel roof. This
rock must fit in as smoothly as a secret drawer in the kind of old desk
where missing wills are found in stories."

"You say you saw Waddington, or the bearded man?" asked Mr. Damon.

"At the time," replied Tom, "I thought it was a dream. Now I know it
wasn't. He must have opened the shaft just as I awakened from a doze.
He saw me and closed it again. He may have been getting ready then to
take off more of our men, so as to scare the others. Well, we've found
out the trick."

"And what are you going to do next?" asked Mr. Damon.

"Get those missing men back. That will break the hoodoo, and the others
will come back to work. Then we'll get on the trail of Waddington, or
Blakeson & Grinder, and put a stop to this business. We know their
secret now."

"You mean to get the men out of the secret valley, Tom?"

"Yes. There must be some other way into it than down the rock where we
were. How about it, Masni?" and he inquired as to the valley. The
Indian woman gave Tom to understand that there was another entrance.

"Well, close up this shaft now before some one sees us at it--the
bearded man, for example," Tom suggested. He took another look down
into the tunnel, which was now deserted on account of the strike, and
then Masni pressed on the mechanism that worked the stone. She showed
Tom how to do it.

"Just a counter-balanced rock operating on the same principle as does a
window," Tom explained, after a brief examination. "Probably some of
the old Indian tribes made this shaft for ceremonial purposes. They
never dreamed we would drive a tunnel along at the bottom of it. The
shaft probably opened into a cave, and one of our blasts made it part
of the tunnel. Well, this is part of the secret, anyhow. Much obliged
to you, Masni!"

The Indian woman had indeed revealed valuable information. They
covered the secret rock with brush, as it had been, hid the rope and
came away. But Tom knew how to find the place again.

Events moved rapidly from then on. The Titus brothers were more than
astonished when Tom told them what he had learned. Masni had told him
how to get into the secret valley by a round about, but easy trail,