and
thither Tom, the contractors, Mr. Damon and some of the white tunnel
workers went the next day.

The sequestered men, taken completely by surprise, tried to bolt when
they saw that they were discovered, and then, shamefacedly enough,
admitted their part in the trick.

They would not, however, reveal who had helped them escape from the
tunnel. Threats and promises of rewards were alike unavailing, but Tom
and his employers knew well enough who it was. The tunnel workers
seemed rather tired of living in comparative luxury and idleness, and
agreed to come back to their labors.

They packed up their few belongings, mostly cooking pots and pans, and
marched out of the valley to the village at Rimac.

And so the strike was broken.

The reappearance of the missing men, in better health and spirits than
when they went away, acted like magic. The other men, who had missed
their wages, crowded back into the shaft, and the sounds of picks and
shovels were heard again in the tunnel.

Whether the missing ones told the real story, or whether they made up
some tale to account for their absence, Tom and his friends could not
learn. Nor did the bearded man (if he it were who had helped in the
plot), nor any representative of Blakeson & Grinder appear. The work on
the tunnel was resumed as if nothing had happened. But Tom arranged a
bright light so it would reflect on the spot in the roof where the
moving rock was, so that if the evil face of the bearded man, or of
Waddington, appeared there again, it would quickly be seen. A search of
the neighborhood, and diligent inquiries, failed to disclose the
presence of any of the plotters.

And then, as if Fate was not making it hard enough for the tunnel
contractors, they encountered more trouble. It was after Tom had set
off a big blast that Tim Sullivan, after inspecting what had happened,
came out to ask.

"I soy, Mr. Swift, why didn't yez use more powder?"

"More powder!" cried Tom. "Why, this is the most I have ever set off."

"Then somethin's wrong, sor. Fer there's only a little rock down. Come
an' see fer yersilf."

Tom hastened in. As the foreman had said, the effect of the blast was
small indeed. Only a little rock had been shaled off. Tom picked up
some of this and took it outside for examination.

"Why, it's harder than the hardest flint we've found yet," he said.
"The powder didn't make any impression on it at all. I'll have to use
terrific charges."

This wa