slow, by nightfall the groove
was half an inch deep.

Stanley and the strongest Burman then went in together and, lying
on their backs again, tried the effect of the heavy axe; but still
without success. Then Stanley told the man to get down and take out
the wedge, at the top of the axe; and to cut away the wood below
the head, so that the latter would slip down, four or five inches;
then to take off the head of the other heavy axe and put it on
above it, and replace the wedge. In a few minutes, the man rejoined
him.

"We must strike it as near the roof as we can," Stanley said. Both
grasped the handle firmly. "We will sway it backwards and forwards
three times and, the third time, strike.

"One, two, three--hooray!"

As the two-headed axe, driven with their united force, struck the
stone, there was a sharp crack.

"That has done it," Stanley said, turning over.

There was a dark line along the groove, and the top of the stone
inclined back, two inches from the perpendicular; being kept in its
place by the rubbish behind it. Stanley put his hand into the hole,
and got his fingers behind the stone; while the Burmese put the
chisel into the crack, and used it as a lever. In two or three
minutes the stone was moved out of its position, taken out of the
hole, and laid down on the steps.

Half an hour later Meinik came up, with a trooper, another guard,
and one of the boys; and was delighted to find that the obstacle,
which had seemed to him fatal to their hopes, had been removed.
Stanley showed how they had carried out the work; and then, with
his party, went down into the rock chambers.

"It was pretty tiring work, Harry," he said, "though we were only
at it about a quarter of an hour, at a time. My wrists and arms and
shoulders are aching, as if I had been beaten with sticks. Tomorrow
I will take up a good supply of firewood. The chisels got blunted
before we had worked an hour; and we should get on a deal faster,
if we could sharpen them frequently."

"Is the stone hard?"

"No; it is a sort of marble, I think. We had the underpart of the
slab on our side, and I did not think of looking when we took it
down. Anyhow, it was not very hard and, with a good strong chisel
and a short, heavy hammer, I am sure we could have done it in an
hour.

"Anyhow, it is a comfort that nothing came down on top of us. I
examined the pile carefully, and there had not been the slightest
movement among the lower stones; so that