e people were
who raised these walls. What do you say, Sir James? Should we be
satisfied with what we have found, or leave it all for to-day?"

"I will go by what the boys say," said Sir James. "What do you think,
boys?"

"Oh, go on!" cried the lads together, and as they spoke Mark caught
sight of the pigmy leaning forward as if to draw his big companion's
attention to what was going on.

"Go on, then, doctor," cried Sir James.

"Well, then," said the doctor, "what I should like to do now would be to
bore right through this cement--tamp it, as the mining people call it--
then ram in the contents of a couple or three cartridges and fire them
with a fuse."

"You mean and blow the floor to pieces?"

"Exactly," said the doctor. "It will save a great deal of time and
labour, and show us whether it is worth while continuing our researches
here."

"Oh, go on, then," cried Mark.

Bob Bacon set to work the next minute tamping a hole diagonally down
from where the large piece of cement had been taken out.

The doctor had been under the expectation that they were nearly through
the cement floor, but the iron bar was driven down lower and lower,
re-pounding the granite into dust, which was fished out by means of a
cleaning rod, till the hole was about eighteen inches deep, measuring
from the surface of the floor. Then gunpowder was put in and rammed
down pretty hard, and the question arose, What was to be done for a
fuse?

"Here, I can soon manage that, gentlemen," said Dan the handy. "I want
a drop of water."

"I have some in my flask," said the doctor.

"Bit of string," continued Dan; and he fished out a piece directly from
his trousers' pocket, and after the doctor had poured a little water
into the cup of his flask the little sailor thrust in a piece of string,
let it soak for a few minutes, and then drew it through his fingers to
squeeze out as much of the water as he could and send it well through
the partly untwisted fibres.

"Now, Mr Mark, sir, got a blank cartridge?"

"No, but I can soon take the ball out of one."

This the boy did, and after removing the wad he poured a little of the
dry powder into Dan's palm. The piece of string was roughly rolled up,
laid upon the pinch or two of powder, and then the little sailor placed
his palms together and gave them a circular, millstone-like movement one
over the other till all the powder was absorbed and his hands as black
as ink.

"There, gentlemen,