Tom Swift And His Big Tunnel ..........................................................................................................................1

Victor Appleton.......................................................................................................................................1

Chapter I. An Appeal for Aid..................................................................................................................1

Chapter II. Explanations..........................................................................................................................5

Chapter III. A Face at the Window ..........................................................................................................8

Chapter IV. Tom's Experiments .............................................................................................................11

Chapter V. Mary's Present.....................................................................................................................16

Chapter VI. Mr. Nestor's Letter.............................................................................................................19

Chapter VII. Off for Peru .......................................................................................................................23

Chapter VIII. The Bearded Man............................................................................................................27

Chapter IX. The Bomb ...........................................................................................................................31

Chapter X. Professor Bumper ................................................................................................................34

Chapter XI. In the Andes.......................................................................................................................37

Chapter XII. The Tunnel ........................................................................................................................41

Chapter XIII. Tom's Explosive..............................................................................................................44

Chapter XIV. Mysterious Disappearances .............................................................................................48

Chapter XV. Frightened Indians ............................................................................................................53

Chapter XVI. On the Watch ...................................................................................................................55

Chapter XVII. The Condor....................................................................................................................58

Chapter XVIII. The Indian Strike..........................................................................................................63

Chapter XIX. A Woman Tells...............................................................................................................66

Chapter XX. Despair ..............................................................................................................................69

Chapter XXI. A New Explosive............................................................................................................74

Chapter XXII. The Fight ........................................................................................................................77

Chapter XXIII. A Great Blast................................................................................................................80

Chapter XXIV. The Hidden City ...........................................................................................................83

Chapter XXV. Success ...........................................................................................................................85

Tom Swift, seated in his laboratory engaged in trying to solve a puzzling question that had arisen over one of

his inventions, was startled by a loud knock on the door. So emphatic, in fact, was the summons that the door

"Hello there!" he cried. "Don't break the door, Koku!" and then he laughed. "No one but my giant would

knock like that," he said to himself. "He never does seem able to do things gently. But I wonder why he is

knocking. I told him to get the engine out of the airship, and Eradicate said he'd be around to answer the

Tom shoved back his chair, pushed aside the mass of papers over which he had been puzzling, and strode to

the door. Flinging it open he confronted a veritable giant of a man, nearly eight feet tall, and big in

proportion. The giant, Koku, for that was his name, smiled in a goodnatured way, reminding one of an

"Hear you, Koku? Say, I couldn't hear anything else!" exclaimed Tom. "Did you think you had to arouse the

whole neighborhood just to let me know you were at the door? Jove! I thought you'd have it off the hinges."

"If me break, me fix," said Koku, who, from his appearance and from his imperfect command of English, was

"Yes, I know you can fix lots of things, Koku," Tom went on, kindly enough. "But you musn't forget what

enormous strength you have. That's the reason I sent you to take the engine out of the airship. You can lift it

without using the chain hoist, and I can't get the chain hoist fast unless I remove all the superstructure. I don't

"No, everything all right, Master. But man come to machine shop and say he must have talk with you. I no let

"That's right, Koku. Don't let any strangers past the gate. But why didn't Eradicate come and call me. He isn't

doing anything, is he? Unless, indeed, he has gone to feed his mule, Boomerang."

"Eradicate, he come to call you, but that black man no good!" and Koku chuckled so heartily that he shook

"What's the matter with Eradicate?" asked Tom, somewhat anxiously. "I hope you and he haven't had another

row?" Eradicate had served Tom and his father long before Koku, the giant, had been brought back from one

of the young inventor's many strange trips, and ever since then there had been a jealous rivalry between the

"No trouble, Master," said Koku. "Eradicate he start to come and tell you strange man want to have talk, but

Eradicate he no come fast enough. So I pick him up, and I set him down by gate to stand on guard, and I

"Oh, I knew it must be something like that!" exclaimed Tom in some vexation. "Now I'll have Eradicate

"Sure. One hand!" boasted the giant. "Eradicate him not be heavy. More as a sack of flour now."

"No, poor Eradicate is getting pretty old and thin," commented Tom. "He can't move very quickly. But you

should have let him come, Koku. It makes him feel badly when he thinks he can't be of service to me any

"Man say he in hurry." The giant spoke softly, as though he felt the gentle rebuke Tom administered. "Koku

"Yes, you banged all right, Koku. Well, it can't be helped, I reckon. Where is this strange man? Who is he?

"Me no can tell, Master. Not sure. But him now be at the outer gate. Eradicate watch."

"All right. I'll go and see who it is. I don't want any strangers poking around here, especially With the plans

Before he left the laboratory Tom swept into a desk drawer the mass of papers and blue prints, and locked the

"No use taking any chances," he remarked. "I've had too much trouble with people trying to get inside

The buildings composing the plant of Tom Swift and his father at Shopton were enclosed by a high, board

fence, and at one of the entrances was a sort of gatehouse, where some one was always on guard. Only those

who could give a good account of themselves, workmen in the plant, or those known to the sentinel were

It happened that the colored man, Eradicate, was on guard at the gates this day when the stranger asked to see

Tom. Koku, working on the airship engine not far away, saw the stranger. Hearing the man say he was in a

hurry and noting the slow progress of the aged Eradicate, who was troubled with rheumatism, the giant took

Tom Swift entered the gatehouse and saw, seated in a chair, a man who was impatiently tapping the floor

"Looks like a detective or a policeman in disguise," thought Tom, for, almost invariably, members of this

profession wear very thicksoled shoes. Opposite the stranger sat Eradicate, a muchinjured look on his

"Oh, Massa Tom!" exclaimed Eradicate, as soon as the young inventor entered. "Dat Koku hehehe done

gone and cotch me by de collar ob mah coat, an' den he lif' me up, an' he sot me down so hardso harddat

he jar loose all mah back teef!" and Eradicate opened his mouth wide to display his gleaming ivories.

"Eradicate, he no can come quick. He walk like so fashion!" and Koku, who had followed the young

inventor, imitated the limping gait of the colored man with such a queer effect that Tom could not help

"Ef I gits holt on yo'ef I does, yo' great, big, overgrown lummox, Ah'llAh'll" began the colored man,

"There. That will do now!" interrupted Tom. "Don't quarrel in here. Koku, get back to that engine and lift out

the motor. Eradicate, didn't father tell you to whitewash the chicken coops today?"

"Well, go and see about that. I'll stay here for a while, and when I leave I'll call one of you, or some one else,

Having thus disposed of the warring factions, Tom turned to the stranger and after apologizing for the little

"I hope you will pardon a stranger for calling on you," resumed the man, "but I'm in a lot of trouble, and I

"Contracting troubletunnel blasting, to be exact. But if you have a few minutes to spare perhaps you will

Tom Swift considered a moment. He was used to having appeals for help made to him, and usually they were

of a begging nature. He was often asked for money to help some struggling inventor complete his machine.

In many cases the machines would have been of absolutely no use if perfected. In other cases the inventions

were of the utterly hopeless class, incapable of perfection, like some perpetual motion apparatus. In these

cases Tom turned a deaf ear, though if the inventor were in want our hero relieved him.

"Contracting troubleblasting," repeated the youth, as he mused over what he had heard.

"That's it," the man went on. "Permit me to introduce myself" and he held out a card, on which was the name

"I am glad to meet you, "Mr. Titus," Tom said warmly, offering his hand. "I don't know anything about the

contracting business, but if you do blasting I suppose you use explosives, and I know a little about them."

"So I have heard, and that's why I came to you," the contractor went on. "Now if you'll give me a few minutes

"You had better come up to the house," interrupted Tom. "We can talk more quietly there."

Calling a young fellow who was at work near by to occupy the gatehouse, Tom led Mr. Titus toward the

"I realize that," returned Mr. Titus. "This is a sort of last chance I'm taking. My brother and I have heard a lot

about you, and when he wrote to me that he was unable to proceed with his contract of tunneling the Andes

Mountains for the Peruvian government, I made up my mind you were the one who could help us if you

"Yes. The firm represented by my brother and myself have a contract to build a railroad for the Peruvian

government. At a point some distance back in the district east of Lima, Peru, we are making a tunnel under

the mountain. That is, we have it started, but now we can't advance any further."

"Because of the peculiar character of the rock, which seems to defy the strongest explosive we can get. Now I

Mr. Titus paused in his explanation, for at that moment there arose such a clatter out on the front piazza as

effectually to drown conversation. There was a noise of the hoofs of a horse, the fall of a heavy body, a tattoo

"Whoa there! Whoa! Stop! Look out where you're kicking! Bless my saddle blanket! Ouch! There I go!"

Tom Swift did not answer. Instead he jumped up from his chair and ran toward the front door. Mr. Titus

Standing on the front porch, which he seemed to occupy completely, was a large horse, with a saddle twisted

underneath him. The animal was looking about him as calmly as though he always made it a practice to come

Off to one side, with a crushed hat on the back of his head, with a coat split up the back, with a broken riding

crop in one hand and a handkerchief in the other, sat a dignified, elderly gentleman.

That is, he would have been dignified had it not been for his position and condition. No gentleman can look

dignified with a split coat and a crushed hat on, sitting under the nose of a horse on a front piazza, with his

raiment otherwise much disheveled, while he wipes his scratched and bleeding face with a handkerchief.

"Bless mybless my" began the elderly gentleman, and he seemed at a loss what particular portion of his

anatomy or that of the horse, to bless, or what portion of the universe to appeal to, for he ended up with:

"I heartily agree with you, Mr. Damon!" cried Tom. "But what in the world happened?"

"That!" exclaimed Mr. Damon, pointing with his broken crop at the horse on the piazza. "I was riding him

when he ran awayjust as my motorcycle tried to climb a tree. No more horses for me! I'll stick to airships,"

and slamming his riding crop down on the porch floor with such force that the horse started back, Mr. Damon

arose, painfully enough if the contortions on his face and his grunts of pain went for anything.

"Let me help you!" begged Tom, striding forward. "Mr. Titus, perhaps you will kindly lead the horse down

"Certainly!" answered the tunnel contractor. "Whoa now!" he called soothingly, as the steed evinced a

The horse finally allowed himself to be led down the broad front steps, sadly marking them, as well as the

"No, I've just got what oldfashioned folks call a 'crick' in it," explained the elderly horseman. "But it feels

"How did it happen?" asked Tom, as he led his guest toward the hall. Meanwhile Mr. Titus, wondering what

it was all about, had tied the horse to a post out near the street curb, and had reentered the library.

"I was riding over to see you, Tom, to ask you if you wouldn't go to South America with me," began Mr.

"Yes, South America. Why, there isn't anything strange in that, is there? You've been to wilder countries, and

"Let me get where I can sit down," begged Mr. Damon. "I think that crick in my back is running down into

my legs, Tom. I feel a bit weak. Let me sit down, and get me a glass of water. I shall be all right presently."

Between them Tom and Mr. Titus assisted the horseman into an easy chair, and there, under the influence of

a cup of hot tea, which Mrs. Baggert, the housekeeper, insisted on making for him, he said he felt much

better, and would explain the reason for his call which had culminated in such a sensational manner.

And while Mr. Damon is preparing his explanation I will take just a few moments to acquaint my new

readers with some facts about Tom Swift, and the previous volumes of this series in which he has played such

Tom Swift was the son of an inventor, and not only inherited his father's talents, but had greatly added to

Mr. Swift was a widower, and he and Tom lived in a big house in Shopton, New York State, with Mrs.

Baggert for a housekeeper. About the house, from time to time, shops and laboratories had been erected, until

now there was a large and valuable establishment belonging to Tom and his father.

The first volume of this series is entitled, "Tom Swift and His Motor Cycle." It was through a motor cycle

that Tom became acquainted with Mr. Wakefield Damon, who lived in a neighboring town. Mr. Damon had

bought the motor cycle for himself, but, as he said, one day in riding it the machine tried to climb a tree near

The young inventor (for even then he was working on several patents) ministered to Mr. Damon, who,

disgusted with the motor cycle, and wishing to reward Tom, let the young fellow have the machine.

Tom's career began from that hour. For he learned to ride the motor cycle, after making some improvements

in it, and from then on the youth had led a busy life. Soon afterward he secured a motor boat and from that it

The medium of the air having been conquered, Tom again turned his attention to the water, or rather, under

the water, and he and his father made a submarine. Then he built an electric runabout, the speediest car on the

It was when Ton Swift had occasion to send his wireless message from a lonely island where he had been

shipwrecked that he was able to do Mr. and Mrs. Nestor a valuable service, and this increased the regard

which Miss Mary Nestor felt for the young inventor, a regard that bid fair, some day, to ripen into something

Tom Swift might have made a fortune when he set out to discover the secret of the diamond makers. But Fate

intervened, and soon after that quest he went to the caves of ice, where he and his friends met with disaster.

In his sky racer Tom broke all records for speed, and when he went to Africa to rescue a missionary, had it

not been for his electric rifle the tide of battle would have gone against him and his party.

Marvelous, indeed, were the adventures underground, which came to Tom when he went to look for the city

of gold, but the treasure there was not more valuable than the platinum which Tom sought in dreary Siberia

Tom thought his end had come when he fell into captivity among the giants; but even that turned out well,

and he brought two of the giants away with him. Koku, one of the two giants, became devotedly attached to

the lad, much to the disgust of Eradicate Sampson, the old negro who had worked for the Swifts for a

generation, and who, with his mule Boomerang, "eradicated" from the place as much dirt as possible.

With his wizard camera Tom did much to advance the cause of science. His great searchlight was of great

help to the United States government in putting a stop to the Canadian smugglers, while his giant cannon was

a distinct advance in ordnance, not excepting the great German guns used in the European war.

When Tom perfected his photo telephone the last objection to rendering telephonic conversation admissible

evidence in a law court was done away with, for by this invention a person was able to see, as well as to hear,

over the telephone wire. One practically stood face to face with the person, miles away, to whom one was

The volume immediately preceding this present one is called: "Tom Swift and His Aerial Warship." The

young inventor perfected a marvelous aircraft that was the naval terror of the seas, and many governments,

recognizing what an important part aircraft were going to play in all future conflicts, were anxious to secure

Tom's machine. But he was true to his own country, though his rivals were nearly successful in their plots

The Mars, which was the name of Tom's latest craft, proved to be a great success, and the United States

government purchased it. It was not long after the completion of this transaction that the events narrated in

Mr. Damon and Tom had been firm friends ever since the episode of the motor cycle, and the eccentric

gentleman (who blessed so many things) often went with Tom on his trips. Besides Mary Nestor, Tom had

other friends. The one, after Miss Nestor, for whom he cared most (if we except Mr. Damon) was Ned

Newton, who was employed in a Shopton bank. Ned also had often gone with Tom, though lately, having a

"Yes, very much, thank you. Bless my pen wiper! but I thought I was done for when I saw my horse bolt for

your front stoop. He rushed up it, fell down, but, fortunately, I managed to get out of his way, though the

saddle girth slipped. And all I could think of was that my wife would say: 'I told you so!' for she warned me

"But he never ran away with me before, and I was in a hurry to get over to see you, Tom. Now then, let's get

"Excuse me," interposed Tom, "I don't believe, in the excitement of the moment, I introduced you gentlemen.

"You see, Tom, I have lately invested considerable money in a wholesale drug concern. We deal largely in

Peruvian remedies, principally the bark of the cinchona tree, from which quinine is made. Of late there has

been some trouble over our concession from the Peruvian government, and the company has decided to send

"Of course, as soon as I made up my mind to go I thought of you. So I came over to see if you would not

accompany me. All went well until I reached your front gate. Then my horse became frightened by a yellow

toy balloon some boy was blowing up in the street and bolted with me. I suppose if it had been a red or green

balloon the effect would have been the same. However, here I am, somewhat the worse for wear. Now Tom,

what do you say? Will you go to South Americato Peruwith me, and help look up this Quinine

"What is the matter?" asked Mr. Damon, catching the glance between Tom and the contractor. "Is there

anything wrong with South AmericaPeru? I know they have lots of revolutions in those countries, but I

"But it's something!" insisted Mr. Damon. "Bless my ink bottle! but it's something. As soon as I mention

Peru, Tom, you and Mr. Titus eye each other as if I'd said something dreadful. Out with it! What is it?"

"It's justjust a coincidence," Tom said. "But go on, Mr. Damon. Finish what you have to say and then we'll

"Well, I guess I've told you all you need to know for the present. I went into this wholesale drug concern,

hoping to make some money, but now, on account of the trouble down in Peru, we stand to lose considerable

"Well, it means that our concern secured from the Peruvian government the right to take this

quinineproducing bark from the trees in a certain tropical section. But there has been a change in the

government in the district where our men were working, and now the privilege, or concession, has been

withdrawn. I'm going down to see if I can't get it back. And I want you to go with me."

"And I came here for very nearly the same thing," went on Mr. Titus. "That is where the coincidence comes

"Well, Tom's a valuable helper!" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "I know him of old, for I've been on many a trip

"This is the first time I have had the pleasure of meeting him," resumed the tunnel contractor, "but I have

heard of him. I did not ask him to go to South America for us. I only wanted to get some superior explosive

for my brother, who is in charge of driving the railroad tunnel through a spur of the Andes. I look after

"As I told Mr. Swift, I had read of his invention of the giant cannon and the special powder he used in it to

send a projectile such a distance. The cannon is now mounted as one of the pieces of ordnance for the defense

"Having heard of you, and the wonderful explosive used in your big cannon," the contractor went on, "I wrote

"You see," he resumed, "this is the situation. Back in the Andes Mountains, a couple of hundred miles east of

Lima, the government is building a short railroad line to connect two others. If this is done it will mean that

the products of Peruquinine bark, coffee, cocoa, sugar, rubber, incense and gold can more easily be

transported. But to connect the two railroad lines a big tunnel must be constructed.

"My brother and I make a specialty of such work, and when we saw bids advertised for, our firm put in an

estimate. There was some trouble with a rival firm, which also bid, but we secured the contract, and bound

ourselves to have the tunnel finished within a certain time, or forfeit a large sum.

"That was over a year ago. Since then our men, aided by the native Indians of Peru, have been tunneling the

"A snag in the shape of extra hard rock," replied the tunnel contractor. "Briefly, Paleozoic rocks make up the

eastern part of the Andean Mountains in Peru, while the western range is formed of Mesozoic beds, volcanic

ashes and lava of comparatively recent date. Near the coast the lower hills are composed of crystalline rocks,

syenite and granite, with, here and there, a strata of sandstone or limestone. These are, undoubtedly, relics of

the lower Cretaceous age, and we, or rather, my brother, states that he has found them covered with marine

"Now this Mesozoic band varies greatly. Porphyritic tuffs and massive limestone compose the western chain

of the Andes above Lima, while in the Oroya Valley we find carbonaceous sandstones. Some of the tuffs may

be of the Jurassic age, though the Cretaceous period is also largely represented.

"Now while these different masses of rock formation offer hard enough problems to the tunnel digger, still

we are more or less prepared to meet them, and we figured on a certain percentage of them. Up to the present

time we have met with just about what we expected, but what we did not expect was something we came

"What did you find?" asked Tom, who knew enough about geology to understand the terms used. Mr. Damon

did not, however, and when Mr. Titus rolled off some of the technical words, the drug investor softly

"We found," resumed Mr. Titus, "after we bad bored for a considerable distance into the mountain, a mass of

volcanic rock which is so hard that our best diamond drills are dulled in a short time, and the explosives we

use merely shatter the face of the cutting, and give us hardly any progress at all.

"It was after several trials, and when my brother found that he was making scarcely any progress, compared

to the energy of his men and the blasting, that he wrote to me, explaining matters. I at once thought of you,

"Now then, will you sell us some of your powderexplosive or whatever you call itMr. Swift, or tell us

Mr. Titus paused to draw on a piece of paper a rough map of Peru, and the district where the tunnel was being

constructed. He showed where the two railroad lines were, and where the new route would bring them

together, the tunnel eliminating a big grade up which it would have been impossible to haul trains of any

"What do you say, Mr. Swift?" the contractor concluded. "Will you let us have some of your powder? Or,

better still, will you come to Peru yourself? That would suit us immensely, for you could be right on the

ground. And you could carry out your plan of going with your friend here," and Mr. Titus nodded toward Mr.

"Well, I was thinking of it," Tom admitted. "Mr. Damon and I have been on so many trips together that it

seems sort of natural for us to 'team it.' I have never been to Peru, and I should like to see the country. There

"What is it?" asked Mr. Titus quickly. "If it is a question of money dismiss it from your mind. The Peruvian

government is paying a large sum for this tunnel, and we stand to make considerable, even if we were the

lowest bidders. We can afford to pay you wellthat is, we shall be able to if we can complete the bore on

time. That is what is bothering me nowthe unexpected strata of hard rock we have met with, which seems

impossible to blast. But I feel sure we can do it with the explosive used in your giant cannon."

"That is just the point!" Tom exclaimed. "I am not so sure my explosive would do."

"Yes, it is powerful enough, but whether it will have the right effect on volcanic rock is hard to say. I should

"I can telegraph to have some sent here to you," said Mr. Titus eagerly. "Meantime, here is a description of it.

I can read you that"; and, taking a letter from his pocket, he read to Tom a geological description of the hard

"Hum! Yes," mused Tom, as he listened. "It seems to be of the nature of obsidian."

"Obsidian is a volcanic rocka sort of combination of glass and flint for hardness," Tom explained. "It is

brittle, black in color, and the natives of the Admiralty Islands use it for tipping their spears with which they

"Obsidian was also used by the ancient Mexicans to make knives and daggers," Tom went on. "When Cortez

conquered Mexico he found the priests cutting the hearts from their living victims with knives made from this

volcanic glass like rock, known as obsidian. It may be that your brother has met with a vein of that in the

"In that case," Tom stated, "I may have to use a new kind of explosive. That used for my giant cannon would

"Then will you accept the contract, and help us out?" asked Mr. Titus eagerly. "We will pay you well. Will

Tom pondered for a moment. He was about to answer when the tunnel contractor, who was looking from the

As he rushed from the room, Tom and Mr. Damon had a glimpse of a face at one of the low library

windowsa face that had an evil look. It disappeared as Mr. Titus ran from the room.

"Bless my looking glass, Tom, what does that mean?" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "That face!"

"I don't know," answered the young inventor. "But the sight of some one looking in here seemed to disturb

"Perhaps he saw your giant Koku looking in," suggested the odd, little man who blessed everything he could

think of. "The sight of his face, to any one not knowing him, Tom, would be enough to cause fright."

"It wasn't Koku who looked in the window," said Tom, decidedly. "It was some stranger. Come on."

The young inventor and Mr. Damon hurried out after the tunnel contractor, who was running down the road

"I can't see any one," reported Mr. Damon, who had run down to the gate, at which his horse was still

standing. Mr. Damon had washed the dirt from his hands and face, and was wearing one of Mr. Swift's coats

Tom joined the eccentric man and together they looked down the road after the running Mr. Titus. They were

in half a mind to join him, when they saw him pull up short, raise his hands as though he had given over the

"I guess he got away, whoever he was," remarked Tom. "We'll walk down and meet Mr. Titus, and ask him

Shortly afterward they came up to the contractor, who was breathing heavily after his run, for he was

"I beg your pardon, Tom Swift, for leaving you and Mr. Damon in such a fashion," said Mr. Titus, "but I had

to act quickly or lose the chance of catching that rascal. As it was, he got away, but I think I gave him a scare,

"Well, I didn't have as close a look as I could have wished for," the contractor said, as he walked back toward

the house with Tom and Mr. Damon, "but I'm pretty sure the face that peered in at us through the library

"And who is he, if it isn't asking information that ought not be given out?" inquired Mr. Damon.

"Oh, no, certainly. I can tell you," said the contractor. "Only perhaps we had better wait until we get back to

"Since one of their men was seen lurking around here there may be others," went on Mr. Titus, when the

three were once more seated in the Swift library. "It is best to be on the safe side. The face I saw, I'm sure,

was that of Waddington, who is a tool of Blakeson Grinder, rival tunnel contractors. They put in a bid on this

Andes tunnel, but we were lower in our figures by several thousand dollars, and the contract was awarded to

"Blakeson Grinder tried, by every means in their power, to get the job away from us. They even invoked the

aid of some Peruvian revolutionists and politicians, but we held our ground and began the work. Since then

they have had spies and emissaries on our trail, trying their best to make us fail in our work, so the Peruvian

"But, so far, we've managed to come out ahead. This Waddington is a sort of spy, and I've found him dodging

me several times of late. I suppose he wants to find out my plans so as to be ready to jump in the breach in

"Do you think your rivals had anything to do with the difficulties you are now meeting with in digging the

"The present difficulties are all of Nature's doing," he said. "It's just the abnormally hard rock that is

bothering us. Only for that we'd be all right, though we might have petty difficulties because of the mean acts

"How do you think this Waddington, if it was he, knew you were coming here?" asked Tom.

"I can only guess. My brother and I have had some correspondence regarding you, Tom Swift. That is, I

announced my intention of coming to see you, and my brother wrote me to use my discretion. I wrote back

"Our main office is in New York, where we employ a large clerical and expert force. There is nothing to

prevent one of our stenographers, for instance, turning traitor and giving copies of the letters of my brother

"Mind you, I don't say this was done, and I don't suspect any of our employees, but it would be an easy matter

for any one to know my plans. I never thought of making a secret of them, or of my trip here. In some way

Waddington found out about the last, and he must have followed me here. Then he sneaked up under the

"I wouldn't be surprised. We took no pains to lower our voices. But, after all, he hasn't learned much that he

didn't know before, if he knew I was coming here. He didn't learn the secret of the explosive that must be

used, and that is the vital thing. For I defy him, or any other contractor, to blast that hard rock with any

known explosive. We've tried every kind on the market and we've failed. We'll have to depend on you, Tom

"And I'm not sure that will work," said the young inventor. "I think I'll have to experiment and make a new

"Oh, you'll go all right!" declared Mr. Titus with a smile. "I can see that you are eager for the adventures I am

"That's what I do, Tom!" exclaimed the odd man. "Bless my excursion ticket, but you must come!"

"That's what I like to hear!" exclaimed Mr. Titus. "It shows you are thinking of coming with us."

"I am so anxious to get the proper explosive," Went on Mr. Titus, "that I would even purchase it from our

rivals, Blakeson Grinder, if I thought they had it. But I'm sure they have not, though they may think they can

"That may be the reason they are following me so closely. They may want to know just when we will fail,

and have to give up the contract, and they may think they can step in and finish the work. But I don't believe,

"Well, I'll say this," interrupted Tom, "first come, first served with me, other things being equal. You have

applied to me and, like a lawyer, I won't go over to the other side now. I consider myself retained by your

firm, Mr. Titus, to invent some sort of explosive, and if I am successful I shall expect to be paid."

"Very good," Tom went on. "You needn't fear that I'll help the other fellows. Now to get down to business. I

must see some samples of this rock in order to know what kind of explosive force is needed to rend it."

"I have some in New York," went on the contractor. "I'll have it sent to you at once. I would have brought it,

"Did that fellowWaddington, I believe you called him get away from you?" asked Mr. Damon.

"It doesn't matter much," Tom said. "He didn't hear anything that would benefit him, and I'll give my men

"Bless my turkey wishbone! I'm sure I passed that chap when I was riding over to see you a while ago,

"Yes, on the highway. He inquired the way to your place. But there was nothing strange in that, since you

employ a number of men, and I thought this one was coming to look for work. I can't say I liked his

"No, he isn't a very prepossessing individual," commented Mr. Titus. "Well, now what's the first thing to be

"I'll do that. And now let us consider about going to Peru. For I'm sure you will be successful in your

"We can go together." said Mr. Damon. "I shall certainly feel more at home in that wild country if I know

Tom Swift is with me, and I will appreciate the help of you and your friends, Mr. Titus, in straightening out

The three then talked at some length regarding possible plans. Tom sent out word to one of his men to keep a

sharp watch around the house and grounds, against the possible return of Waddington, but nothing more was

Mr. Titus drew up a sort of tentative agreement with Tom, binding his firm to pay a large sum in case the

young inventor was successful, and then the contractor left, promising to have the rock samples come on later

Mr. Damon, after blessing a few dozen more or less impersonal objects, took his departure, his fractious

"I wonder what I've let myself in for now," the youth mused, as he went back to his laboratory. "It's a new

But of the strange adventure that was to follow his agreement to help Mr. Titus, our hero, Tom Swift, had not

Tom went back to his labors over the gyroscope problem, but he could arrive at no satisfactory conclusion,

He strolled through the Shopton streets, and as he reached the outskirts of the town, he saw just ahead of him

"Oh, Tom! How you startled me!" she exclaimed, turning around. "I was just thinking of you."

"If I did I might not get an invitation. So I'm going to invite myself, and then I'm going to invite you in here

to have an ice cream soda," and he and Miss Nestor were soon seated at a table in a candy shop.

Tom had nearly finished his ice cream when he glanced toward the door, and started at the sight of a man

Mary turned in time to see an excited man hurry out of the candy shop after a hasty glance at Tom Swift.

"Ieroh, some one I thought I knew, but I guess I don't," said Tom, quickly. "Have some more cream,

Tom was glad she did not care for any, as he was anxious to get outside, and have a look at the man, for he

thought he had recognized the face as the same that had peered in his window. But when he and Miss Nestor

"I guess he came in to cool off after his run," mused Tom, "but when he saw me he didn't care about it. I

"Peru!" she cried. "Oh, what a long way to go! And when you get there will you write to me? I'm collecting

Three days later he received a box from New York. It contained the samples from the Andes tunnel, and Tom

at once began his experiments to discover a suitable explosive for rending the hard stone.

"It is compressed molten lava," said Mr. Swift. "You'll never get an explosive that will successfully blast that,

Outside a rudelyconstructed shack, in the middle of a large field, about a mile away from the nearest of the

buildings owned by Tom Swift and his father, were gathered a group of figures one morning. From the shack,

trailing over the ground, were two insulated wires, which led to a pile of rocks and earth some distance off.

Out of the temporary building came Koku, the giant, bearing in his arms a big rock, of peculiar formation.

"No, Master, me no drop," the giant said, as he strode off with the heavy load as easily as a boy might carry a

Koku placed the big rock on top of the pile of dirt and stones and came back to the hut, just as Eradicate, the

colored manofallwork, emerged. Koku was not looking ahead, and ran into Eradicate with such force that

"Heah now! Whut yo' all doin' t' me?" angrily demanded Eradicate. "Yo' done gone an' knocked de breff

outen me, dat's whut yo' all done! I'll bash yo' wif a rock, dat's what I'll do!"

Koku, laughing, tried to explain that it was all an accident, but Eradicate would not listen. He looked about

for a stone to throw at the giant, though it was doubtful, with his feeble strength, and considering the great

frame of the big man, if any damage would have been done. But Eradicate saw no rocks nearer than the pile

in which ended the two insulated wires, and, with mutterings, the negro set off in that direction, shuffling

"I'se gwine t' git a rock, Massa Tom, an' bash de haid ob dat big lummox ob a giant! He done knocked de

"You come back from that stone pile!" Tom ordered. "I'm going to blow it up in a minute, and if you get too

near you'll have the breath knocked out of you worse than Koku did it. Come back, I say!"

But Eradicate was obstinate and kept on. Tom, who was adjusting a firing battery in the shack, laughed, and

"Koku, go and get him and bring him back. Carry him if he won't come any other way. I don't want the dear

old chump to get the fright of his life, and he sure will if he goes too close. Bring him back!"

He ran toward Eradicate, who, seeing his tormentor approaching, redoubled his shuffling pace toward the

stone pile. But he was no match for the giant, who, ignoring his struggles, picked up Eradicate, and, flinging

"No, sah! No, sah, Massa Tom! II'se gwine t' git a rock an'an' bash his haiddat's what I'se gwine t'

"Look out now!" cried Tom, suddenly. "If things go right there won't be a rock left for you to 'bash' anybody's

The three cowered inside the shack, which, though it was rudely made, was built of beavy logs and planks,

Tom turned a switch. There was a loud report, and where the stone pile had been there was a big hole in the

ground, while the air was filled with fragments of rock and dirt. These came down in a shower on the roof of

"Amam de world comin' to de end, Massa Tom?" he asked. "Am dat Gabriel's trump I done heah?"

"No, you dear old goose!" laughed the young inventor. "That was just a charge of my new explosivea

He ran from the shack to the place where the rock pile had been, and picked up several small fragments.

"Busted all to pieces!" exulted Tom Swift. "Not a piece left as big as a hickory nut. That's going some! I've

got the right mixture at last. If an ounce did that, a few hundred pounds ought to knock that Andes tunnel

Leaving Koku and Rad to collect the wires and firing apparatus, there being no danger now, as no explosive

"No, Dad! Success! This time I turned the trick. I seem to have gotten just the right mixture. Look, these are

some of the pieces left from the big rockone of the samples Mr. Titus sent me. It was all cracked up as

"That's better, Tom," he said. "I didn't think you could get an explosive that would successfully shatter that

"All worked out, Dad. I only made a small quantity, but the same proportions will hold good for the larger

Tom struck an attitude, such as some old discoverer might have assumed, and then he hurried into the house

to telephone a telegram to the Shop' ton office. The message was to Mr. Titus, and read:

"Thirteen words," repeated Tom, as the operator called them back to him. "I hope that doesn't mean bad

The experiment which Tom Swift had just brought to a successful conclusion was one of many he had

As soon as Tom had received the samples of the rock he had begun to experiment. First he tried some of the

explosive that was so successful in the giant cannon, As he had feared, it was not what was needed. It cracked

the rock, but did not disintegrate it, and that was what was needed. The hard rock must be broken up into

fragments that could be easily handled. Merely to crack it necessitated further explosions, which would only

So Tom tried different mixtures, using various chemicals, but none seemed to be just right. The trials were

not without danger, either. Once, in mixing some ingredients, there was an explosion that injured one man,

and blew Tom some distance away. Fortunately for him, there was an open window in the direction in which

he was propelled, and he went through that, escaping with only some cuts and bruises.

Another time there was a hangfire, and the explosive burned instead of detonating, so that one of the shops

But Tom would not give up, and finally, after many trials, he hit on what he felt to be the right mixture. This

he took out to the big lot, and having made a miniature tunnel with some of the sample rock, and having put

some of the explosive in a hole bored in the big chunk Koku carried, Tom fired the charge. The result we

A day after receiving Tom's message Mr. Titus came on and a demonstration was given of the powerful

"Tom, that's great!" cried the tunnel contractor. "Our troubles are at an end now."

Tom at once began preparations for making the explosive on a large scale, as much of it would be needed in

the Andes tunnel. Then, having turned the manufacturing end of it over to his men, Tom began his

Mr. Damon was also getting ready, and it was arranged that he, with Tom and Mr. Titus, should take a vessel

from San Francisco, crossing the continent by train. The supply of explosive would follow them by special

"We might have gone by Panama except for the slide in the canal," Tom said. "And I suppose I could take

you across the continent in my airship, Mr. Titus, if you object to railroad travel."

"No, thank you, Tom. If it's just the same to you, I'd rather stay on the ground," the contractor said. "I'm more

A day or so before the start for San Francisco was to be made, Tom, passing a store in Shopton, saw

something in the window he thought Mary Nestor would like. It was a mahogany workbox, of unique

He knew the young lady who had waited on him, and, for reasons of his own, he did not want her to know

Carrying the present to his laboratory, Tom prepared to wrap it up suitably to send to Mary, with a note. Just,

however, as he was looking for a box suitable to contain the gift, he received a summons to the telephone.

"Here, Rad!" Tom called. "Just box this up for me, like a good fellow, and then take it to Miss Nestor at this

address; will you?" and Tom handed his man the addressed letter he had written to Mary. "Be careful of it,"

"Got t' git a good strong box fo' dish yeah," murmured Eradicate, as he looked at the beautiful mahogany

present Tom had turned over to him to take to Mary. "Mah Landy! Dat suttinly am nice; Ah! Um! Jest laik

some ob de old mahogany furniture dat was in our fambily down Souf." Eradicate did not mean his family,

"Yassum, dat shore am nice!" he went on, talking to himself as he admired the present. "I shore got t' put dat

in a good box! An' dish year note, too. Let's see what it done say on de outside."

Eradicate held the envelope carefully upside down, and reador rather pretended to readthe name and

address. Eradicate knew well enough where Mary lived, for this was not the first time he had gone there with

"Massa Tom shore am a fine writer," mused the negro, as he slowly turned the envelope around. "I cain't read

Had Eradicate been strictly honest with himself, he would have confessed that he could not read any writing,

or printing either. His education had been very limited, but one could show him, say, a printed sign and tell

him it read "Danger" or "Five miles to Branchville," or anything like that, and the next time he saw it,

Eradicate would know what that sign said. He seemed to fix a picture of it in his mind, though the letters and

figures by themselves meant nothing to him. So when Tom told him the envelope contained the name and

He rummaged about in some odds and ends in the corner of the laboratory, and brought out a strong, wooden

"Dat'll be de ticket!" Eradicate exclaimed. De mahogany present will jest fit." Eradicate took some excelsior

to pad the box, and then, dropping inside it the gift, already wrapped in tissue paper, he proceeded to screw

There was something printed in red letters on the outside box, but Eradicate could not read, so it did not

"Dat Miss Nestor shore will laik her present," he murmured. "An' I'll be mighty keerful ob it' laik Massa Tom

Screwing on the cover, and putting a piece of wrapping paper outside the rough, wooden box. with the letter

in his hand, Eradicate, full of his own importance, set off for Miss Nestor's house. Tom had not returned from

The message was an important one. The contractor said he had received word from his brother in Peru that

"Could you arrange to get off sooner than we planned, Tom?" asked Mr. Titus. "I am afraid something has

"Yes, that went three days ago. It ought to arrive at Lima soon after we do. Why yes, I can start tonight if

"I wish you would," came from Mr. Titus. "And say, Tom, do you think you could take that giant Koku with

"Well, I think he'd come in handy. There are some pretty rough characters in those Andes Mountains, and

"All right. I was thinking of it, anyhow. Glad you mentioned it. Now I'll call up Mr. Damon, and I'll let you

"Bless my hair brush, yes, Tom!" exclaimed the eccentric man, when told of the change in plans. "I can leave

Word to this effect was sent on to Mr. Titus, and then began some hurrying on the part of Tom Swift. He told

Koku to get ready to leave for New York at once, where he and the giant would join Mr. Titus and Mr.

"Rad, did you send that present to Miss Nestor?" asked Tom, later, as he finished packing his grip.

"That's good! I guess I'll have to say goodbye to Mary over the telephone. I won't have time to call. I'm glad

"Yes, I sent that," Tom said. "Sorry I won't he able to call and say goodbye, but I'm in a terrible rush. I'll see

"Do," urged Mrs. Nestor. "We'll all be glad to hear from you," for Tom and Mary were tentatively engaged to

Tom and Koku went on with their hurried preparations to leave for New York. Eradicate begged to be taken

along, but Tom gently told the faithful old servant that it was out of the question.

"Besides, Rad," he said, "it's dangerous in those Andes Mountains. Why, they have birds there, as big as

"Of course it is! You get the dictionary and read about the condors of the Andes Mountains."

"Dat's what I'll do, Massa Tom. Birds as big as cows what kin pick up a man in dere beaks, an' carry him off!

Shortly before Tom and Koku departed for the railroad station, where they were to take a train for New York,

"Tom called you on the telephone to say goodbye," her mother informed her, "and said he was sorry he

In it Tom begged Mary to accept the little token, and to think of him when she used it.

Mary cut the string of the outside paper, and folded back the wrapper. A wooden box was exposed to view, a

solid, oblong, wooden box, and on the top, in bold, red letters Mary, her father and her mother read:

"Dynamite! Handle with care!" repeated Mr. Nestor, in a sort of dazed voice. "Quick! Get a pail of water!

Dump it in the bathtub! Soak it good, and then telephone for the police. Dynamite! What does this mean?"

He rushed toward the kitchen, evidently with the intention of getting a pail of water, but Mary clasped him by

"Excited!" he cried. "Who's excited? Dynamite! We'll all be blown up! This is some plot! I don't believe Tom

"You are, Daddy dear!" said Mary calmly. "This is some mistake. Tom did send thisI know his writing.

"Yes, my dear. But your father is right. Let him put it in water, then it will be safe. Oh, we'll all be blown up.

"No!" cried Mary. "There is some mistake. Tom wouldn't send me dynamite, There must be a present for me

in there. Tom must have put it in the wrong box by mistake. I'm going to open it."

Mary's calmness had its effect on her parents. Mr. Nestor cooled down, as did his wife, and a closer

examination of the outer box did not seem to show that it was an infernal machine of any kind.

After some delay one was found, and Mr. Nestor himself opened the box. When the tissue paper wrappings of

the mahogany gift were revealed he gave a sigh of relief, and when Mary undid the wrappings, and saw what

"Oh, how perfectly dear! Just what I wanted! I wonder how he knew? Oh, I just love it!" and she hugged the

"Humph!" exclaimed Mr. Nestor, a slowly gathering light of anger showing in his eyes. "It is a nice present,

"Putting a present in a box labeled Dynamite, and giving us such a scare," went on her father.

"Well, maybe he didn't! He may have thought it a joke, and he may not have! But, at any rate, it was a piece

of gross carelessness on his part, and I don't care to consider for a soninlaw a young man as careless as

"Now, now! Tut, tut!" exclaimed Mr. Nestor. "It isn't your fault, Mary, but this Tom Swift must be taught a

lesson. He was careless, if nothing worse, and, for all he knew, there might have been some stray bits of

dynamite in that packing box. It won't do! It won't do! I'll write him a letter, and give him a piece of my

And in spite of all his wife and his daughter could say, Mr. Nestor did write Tom a scathing letter. He

accused him of either perpetrating a joke, or of being careless, or both, and he intimated that the less he saw

"There! I guess that will make him wish he hadn't done it!" exclaimed Mr. Nestor, as he called a messenger

Mary and her mother did not know the con tents of the note, but Mary tried to get Tom on the wire and

explain. However, she was unable to reach him, as Tom was on the point of leaving.

The messenger, with Mr. Nestor's letter, arrived just as our hero was receiving the late afternoon mail from

the postman, and just as Tom and Koku were getting in an automobile to leave for the depot.

"Goodbye, Dad!" Tom called. "Goodbye, Mrs. Baggert!" He thrust Mr. Nestor's letter, unopened, together

with some other mail matter, which he took to be merely circulars, into an inner pocket, and jumped into the

"Well, Tom Swift, you're on time I see," was Mr. Job Titus' greeting, when our hero, and Koku, the giant,

alighted from a taxicab in New York, in front of the hotel the contractor had appointed as a meeting place.

"Oh, all right, yes. Nothing happened to speak of, though we were delayed by a freight wreck. Has Mr.

"Not yet, Tom. But I had a message saying he was on his way. "Come on up to the rooms I have engaged.

Hello, what's all the crowd here for?" asked the contractor in some surprise, for a throng had gathered at the

"I expect it's Koku they're staring at," announced Tom, and the giant it was who had attracted the attention.

He was carrying his own big valise, and a small steamer trunk belonging to Tom, as easily as though they

"I guess they don't see men of his size outside of circuses," commented the contractor. "We can pretty nearly,

though not quite match him, down in Peru though, Tom. Some of the Indians are big fellows."

"We'll get up a wrestling match between one of them and Koku," suggested Tom. "Come on!" he called to the

Koku pushed his way through as easily as a bull might make his way through a throng of puppies about his

heels, and as Tom, Mr. Titus and the giant were entering the hotel corridor, the chauffeur of the taxicab called

"I say, boss, don't you think you ought to pay double rates on that chap," and he nodded in the direction of the

"That's right!" added some one in the crowd with a laugh. "He might have broken the springs."

"All right," assented Tom, goodnaturedly, tossing the chauffeur a coin. "Here you are, have a cigar on the

There was more laughter, and even Koku grinned, though it is doubtful if he knew what about, for he could

not understand much unless Tom spoke to him in a sort of code they had arranged between them.

"Sorry to have hastened your departure," began Mr. Titus when he and Tom sat in the comfortable hotel

rooms, while Koku stood at a window, looking out at what to him were the marvelous wonders of the New

"It didn't make any difference," replied the young inventor. "I was about ready to come anyhow. I just had to

hustle a little," and he thought of how he had had to send Mary's present to her instead of taking it himself.

"Yes, and it will be there almost as soon as we. Other shipments will follow as we need them. My father will

"I'm glad you hit on the right kind of powder," went on the contractor. "I guess I didn't make any mistake in

"Well, I hope not. Of course the explosive worked all right in experimental charges with samples of the

tunnel rock. It remains to be seen what it will do under actual conditions, and in big service charges."

"At twothirty this afternoon. We have just time to get a good dinner and have our baggage transferred to the

Chicago limited. In less than a week we ought to be in San Francisco and aboard the steamer. I hope Mr.

"Oh, you can generally depend on him," said Tom. "I telephoned him, just before I started from Shopton, and

"Bless my carpet slippers!" cried a voice outside the hotel apartment. "But I can find my way all right. I know

"There he is!" laughed Tom, opening the door to disclose the eccentric gentleman himself, struggling to keep

"Ah, TomMr. Titus! Glad to see you!" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "II am a little late, I fearhad an

Yes, but I don't like them. I'd rather walk. And I did carried my valisebellboy tried to take it away from

me every stephere you are, sonit wasn't the tip I was trying to get out of," and he tossed the waiting and

"There, I'm better now," went on Mr. Damon, when Tom had given him a glass of water. "Bless my paper

weight! The drug concern will have to vote me an extra dividend for what I've gone through. "Well, I'm here,

They talked over plans and made sure nothing had been forgotten. Their railroad tickets had been secured by

"I've never been to Peru," Tom remarked shortly before lunch. "What sort of country is it?"

"Quite a wonderful country," Mr. Titus answered. "I have been very much interested in it since my brother

and I accepted this tunnel contract. Peru seems to have taken its name from Peru, a small river on the west

coast of Colombia, where Pizarro landed. The country, geographically, may be divided into three sections

longitudinally. The coast region is a sandy desert, with here and there rivers flowing through fertile valleys.

The sierra region is the Andes division, about two hundred and fifty miles in width."

"Yes. And beyond the Andes (which in Peru consist of great chains of mountains, some very high,

interspersed with table lands, rich plains and valleys) there is the montana region of tropical forests, running

"It is interesting," declared Mr. Titus. "For it is from this tropical region that your quinine comes, Mr.

Damon, though you may not have to go there to straighten out your affairs. I think you can do better

"Well, not many. Of course there are the llamas and alpacas, which are the beasts of burdenalmost like

little camels you might say, though much more gentle. Then there is the wild vicuna, the fleece of which is

"Then there is the taruco, a kind of deer, the viscacha, which is a big rat, the otoc, a sort of wild dog, or fox,

and the ucumari, a black bear with a white nose. This bear is often found on lofty mountain tops, but only

"The condors, of course, are big birds of prey in the Andes. You must have read about them; how they seem

to lie in the upper regions of the air, motionless, until suddenly they catch sight of some dead animal far

down below when they sweep toward it with the swiftness of the wink. There is another bird of the vulture

variety, with wings of black and white feathers. The ancient Incas used to decorate their head dresses with

"Well, I'm glad I'm going to Peru," said Tom. "I never knew it was such an interesting country. But I don't

"Oh, I think you will," commented Mr. Titus. "We don't always have to work on the tunnel. There are

numerous holidays, or holydays, which our Indian workers take off, and we can do nothing without them.

"Good!" exclaimed Tom. "I brought my electric rifle with me, and I may get a chance to pop over one of

"The Indians eat them, I believe, when they can get them, but I wouldn't fancy the meat," said the contractor.

Luncheon over, the three travelers departed with their baggage for the Chicago Limited, which left from the

Pennsylvania Station at Twentythird Street. As usual, Koku attracted much attention because of his size.

The trip to San Francisco was without incident worth narrating and in due time our friends reached the

Golden Gate where they were to go aboard their steamer. They had to wait a day, during which time Tom and

Mr. Titus made inquiries regarding the first powder shipment. They had had unexpected good luck, for the

"So we can take it with us on the Bellaconda," said, Tom, naming the vessel on which they were to sail.

The powder was safely stowed away, and our friends having brought their baggage aboard, putting what was

wanted on the voyage in their staterooms, went out on deck to watch the lines being cast off.

There were hasty goodbyes, a scramble on the part of those who had come to bid friends farewell, and

Just as the tugs were slowly pushing against the Bellaconda to get her in motion to move her away from the

wharf, there was a shout down the pier and a taxicab, driven at reckless speed, dashed up.

"Wait a minute! Hold that gangway. I have a passenger for you!" cried the chauffeur.

He pulled up with a screeching of brakes, and a man with a heavy black beard fairly leaped from the vehicle,

"Take it out of that! Keep the change!" cried the bearded man over his shoulder, tossing a crumpled bill to the

chauffeur. And then, clutching his valise in a firm hand, the belated passenger rushed up the gangplank just in

"Well, we're off for Peru!" exclaimed Mr. Damon, as the vessel moved down the bay.

Travel to Tom and Mr. Damon presented no novelties. They had been on too many voyages over the sea,

under the sea and even in the air above the sea to find anything unusual in merely taking a trip on a steamer.

Mr. Titus, though he admitted he had never been in a submarine or airship, had done considerable traveling

about the world in his time, and had visited many countries, either for business or pleasure, so he was an old

But to Koku, who, since he had been brought from the land where Tom Swift had been made captive, had

gone about but little, everything was novel, and he did not know at what to look first.

The giant was interested in the ship, in the water, in the passengers, in the crew and in the sights to be seen as

And the big man himself was a source of wonder to all save his own party. Everywhere he went about the

decks, or below, he was followed by a staring but respectful crowd. Koku took it all goodnaturedly,

however, and even consented to show his great strength by lifting heavy weights. Once when several sailors

were shifting one of the smaller anchors (a sufficiently heavy one for all that) Koku pushed them aside with a

sweep of his big arm, and, picking up the big "hook," turned to the second mate and asked:

But Koku carried the anchor where it ought to go, and from then on he was looked up to with awe and

From San Francisco to Callao, Peru (the latter city being the seaport of Lima, which is situated inland), is

approximately nine hundred miles. But as the Bellaconda was a coasting steamer, and would make several

stops on her trip, it would be more than a week before our friends would land at Callao, then to proceed to

Lima, where they expected to remain a day or so before striking into the interior to where the tunnel was

The first day was spent in getting settled, becoming used to their new surroundings, finding their places and

neighbors at table, and in making acquaintances. There were some interesting men and women aboard the

Bellaconda, and Tom Swift, Mr. Damon and Mr. Titus soon made friends with them. This usually came about

through the medium of Koku, the giant. Persons seeing him would inquire about him, and when they learned

Tom told, modestly enough, how he had come to get Koku in his escape from captivity, but Mr. Damon was

not so simple in describing Tom's feats, so that before many days had passed our hero found himself regarded

"But bless my fountain pen!" cried Mr. Damon, When Tom objected to so much notoriety. "You did it all;

"Oh, yes they will!" said the odd man. "I'll take good care that they believe it."

The weather was pleasant, if we except a shower or two, and as the vessel proceeded south, tropical clothing

became the order of the day, while all who could, spent most of their time on deck under the shade of

"Did you ever hear anything more of that fellow, Waddington?" asked Tom of Mr. Titus one day.

"Not that I've heard of. Though just what the situation may be down in Peru I don't know. I fancy everything

isn't going just right or my brother would not be so anxious for me to come on in such a hurry."

"That I can't say. I'll be perfectly frank with you, Tom. You know I told you at the time that we were in for

"Oh, I'm not afraid of trouble," Tom hastened to assure his friend. "I've had more or less of it in my life, and

"Well, I can't tell youexactly," went an the tunnel contractor. "Those rivals of ours, Blakeson Grinder, are

unscrupulous fellows. They feel very bitter about not getting the contract, I hear. And they would be only too

glad to have us fail in the work. That would mean that they, as the next lowest bidders, would be given the

job. And we would have to make up the difference out of our pockets, as well as lose all the work we have, so

"I guess not, my boy! Well, it won't happen if we get there in time with this new explosive of yours. That will

"I hope so," murmured Tom. "Well, we'll soon see. And now I think I'll go and write a few letters. We are

Tom started for his stateroom, and rapidly put his hand in the inner pocket of his coat. He drew out a bundle

of letters and papers, and, as he looked at them, a cry of astonishment came from his lips.

"Matter!" cried Tom. "Why here's a letter from Maryfrom Mr. Nestor," he went on, as he scanned the

His memory went back to the day of his departure from Shopton when he had sent Mary the gift, and he

recalled that the letter had arrived just as he was getting into the automobile.

"I stuck it in my pocket with some other mail," he mused, "and I never thought of it again until just now. But

this is the first time I've worn this coat since that day. A letter from Mr. Nestor! Probably Mary wrote,

thanking me for the box, and her father addressed the envelope for her. Well, let's see what it says."

Tom retired to the privacy of his stateroom to read the note, but he had not glanced over more than the first

"Dynamite! Great Scott! What does this mean? 'Gross carelessness! Poor idea of a joke! No person with your

idea of responsibility will ever be my soninlaw!' Box labeled 'open with care!' Whywhywhat does it

Tom read the letter over again, and his murmurs of astonishment were so loud that Mr. Damon, in the next

"Bad news? I should say so! Maryher fatherhe forbids me to see her again. Says I tried to dynamite

them allor at least scare them into believing I was going to. I can't understand it!"

"Tell me about it, Tom," suggested Mr. Damon, coming into Tom's stateroom. "Bless my gunpowder keg!

Thereupon Tom told of having purchased the gift for Mary, and of having, at the last minute, told Eradicate

"Which he evidently did," Tom went on, "but when it got there Mary's present was in a box labeled

Mr. Damon read over Mr. Nestor's letter which had lain so long in Tom's pocket unopened.

"I think I see how it happened," said the old man. "Eradicate can't read; can he, Tom?"

"Why yes, I believe I did. I used dynamite as one of the ingredients of my new explosive."

"Well then, it's as clear as daylight. Eradicate, being unable to read, took one of the empty dynamite boxes in

"That's it," he said, a bit ruefully. "That's the explanation. No wonder Mr. Nestor was roiled. He thought I

"Too slow. I'll send a wireless," decided Tom, and he began the composition of a message that cost him

"That ought to clear the atmosphere," he said when the wireless had shot his message into the ether. "Whew!

And to think, all this while, Mary and her folks have believed that I tried to play a miserable joke on them!

"Better teach him to read if he's going to do up love packages," interrupted Mr. Damon, dryly.

The Bellaconda stopped at Panama and then kept on her way south. Soon after that she ran into a severe

tropical storm, and for a time there was some excitement among the passengers. The more timid of them put

on life preservers, though the captain and his officers assured them there was no danger.

Tom and Mr. Titus, descending from the deck, whence they had been warned by one of the mates, were on

their way to their stateroom, walking with some difficulty owing to the roll of the ship.

As they approached their quarters the door of a stateroom farther up the passage opened, and a head was

"Will you send a steward to me?" a man requested. "I am feeling very ill, and need assistance."

"Certainly," Tom answered, and at that moment he heard Mr. Titus utter an exclamation.

"What is it?" asked Tom, for the man who had appealed for help, had withdrawn his head.

"Thatthat man!" exclaimed the contractor. "That was Waddington, the tool of our rivals."

"Waddington!" repeated Tom, with a look at the now closed door. "Why, the bearded man has that

"And I tell you Waddington is in that room!" insisted the contractor. "I only saw the upper part of his face,

Tom Swift and Mr. Titus withdrew a little way down the corridor, around a bulkhead and out of sight of any

one who might look out from the stateroom whence had come the appeal for help. But, at the same time, they

"Well, perhaps he may be," admitted Tom. "But several times I have seen the bearded man going in there,

"I couldn't tell, as I saw only the upper part of his face. But those were Waddington's shifty eyes, I'm

"If Waddington were on board don't you suppose you would have seen him before this?"

"Not positively, no. If he and the bearded man are one and the same that would account for it. But I haven't

"Nor have I, now that I come to think of it," Tom admitted. "However, there is an easy way to prove who is

"He'll think it's the steward he called for. Come, you know Waddington better than I do. You knock and go

"I don't know Waddington very well," admitted the contractor. "I have only seen him a few times, but I am

"Tell him you have sent for one. I'll go with the message, so it will be true enough. Even if you have only a

momentary glance at him in close quarters you ought to be able to tell whether or not he has on a false beard,

"Yes, I guess that is a good plan. You go for the steward, Tom, and I'll see if I can get in that stateroom. But

I'm sure I'm not mistaken. I'll find Waddington in there, perhaps in the person of the bearded man, disguised.

Or else they are using a single stateroom as a double one." And while Tom went off down the pitching and

rolling corridor to find a steward, Mr. Titus, not without some apprehension, advanced to knock on the door

"If it is Waddington he'll know me at once, of course," thought the contractor, "and there may be a row. Well,

I can't help it. The success of my brother and myself depends on finishing that tunnel, and we can't have

"Is there anything I can do for you?" asked the contractor, bending close over the man. He wanted to see if

the beard were false. Somewhat to his surprise the contractor saw that undoubtedly it was real.

"Steward, will you kindly get meOh, you're not the steward!" the bearded man exclaimed.

"No, my friend and I heard you call," replied the contractor. "He has gone for the steward, who will be here

"Nonot a thing!" was the rather snappish answer, and the man turned his face away. "I beg your pardon,"

he went on, as if conscious that he had acted rudely, "but I am suffering very much. The steward knows just

what I want. I have had these attacks before. I am a poor sailor. If you will send the steward to me I will be

At that moment footsteps and voices were heard in the corridor, and as the door of the bearded man's

"Yes, I'll look after him," the steward said "He's been this way before. Thank you, sir, for calling me."

"I guess the steward has been well tipped," thought Tom. As Mr. Titus came out and the door was shut, the

"No," he answered. "I never was more surprised in my life. I felt sure it was Waddington in there, but it

wasn't. That man's beard is real, and while he has a look like Waddington about the eyes and upper part of his

face, the man is a stranger to me. That is I think so, but in spite of all that, I have a queer feeling that I have

"That I can't say," and the tunnel contractor shook his head. "Whew! That was a bad one!" he exclaimed, as

"Yes, the storm seems to be getting worse instead of better," agreed Tom. "I hope none of the cargo shifts and

comes banging up against my new explosive. If it does, there'll be no more tunnel digging for any of us."

"I won't," promised Tom. "The passengers are frightened enough as it is. But I watched the powder being

The storm raged for two days before it began to die away. Meanwhile, nothing was seen, on deck or in the

Tom and Mr. Titus made some guarded inquiries of the steward who had attended the sick man, and from

him learned that he was down on the passenger list as Senor Pinto, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was

traveling in the interests of a large firm of coffee importers of the United States, and was going to Lima.

"And there's no trace of Waddington?" asked Tom of Mr. Titus, as they were discussing matters in their

"I wish they had, though I don't look for any such good luck. But I'm willing to fight them, now that we have

The storm blew itself out. The Bellaconda "crossed the line," and there was the usual horseplay among the

sailors when Father Neptune came aboard to hold court. Those who had never before been below the equator

were made to undergo more or less of an initiation, being lathered and shaved, and then pushed backward

While Tom enjoyed the voyage, with the possible exception of the storm, he was anxious, and so was Mr.

Titus, for the time to come when they should get to the tunnel and try the effect of the new explosive. Mr.

Damon found an elderly gentleman as fond of playing chess as was the eccentric man himself, and his days

were fully occupied with castles, pawns, knights, kings, queens and so on. As for Koku he was taken in

Senor Pinto had recovered from his seasickness, the steward told Tom and Mr. Titus, but still he kept to his

It was when the Bellaconda was within a day or two of Callao that a wireless message was received for Mr.

"Have information from New York office that rivals are after you. Look out for explosive."

"Well, I presume it means our rival contractors know we have a supply of your new powder on board, and

"To prevent our using it to complete the tunnel. In that case they'll get the secret of it to use for themselves,

when the contract goes to them by default. Can we do anything to protect the powder, Tom?"

"Well, I don't know that we'll need to while it's stowed away in the cargo. They can't get at it any more than

we can, until the ship unloads. I guess it's safe enough. We'll just have to keep our eyes open when it's taken

Tom and Mr. Titus, both of whom were fond of fresh air and exercise, had made it a practice to get up an

hour before breakfast and take a constitutional about the steamer deck. They did this as usual the morning

after the wireless warning was received, and they were standing near the port rail, talking about this, when

they heard a thud on the deck behind them. Both turned quickly, and saw a round black object rolling toward

them. From the object projected what seemed to be a black cord, and the end of this cord was glowing and

For a moment neither Tom nor Mr. Titus spoke. Then, as a slow motion of the ship rolled the round black

Before either of them could do anything, a queer figure of an elderly gentleman stepped partly from behind a

"Look out!" yelled Mr. Titus, crouching low. "That's an explosive bomb! Toss it overboard!"

Fairly fascinated by the spluttering fuse, neither Tom nor Mr. Titus moved for a second, while the deadly fire

crept on through the black stringlike affair, nearer and nearer to the bomb itself.

Then, just as Tom, holding back his natural fear, was about to thrust the thing overboard with his foot, hardly

realizing that it might be even more deadly to the ship in the water than it was on the deck, the foot of the

newcomer was suddenly thrust out from behind the deckhouse, and the sizzling fuse was trodden upon.

It went out in a puff of smoke, but the owner of the foot was not satisfied with that for a hand reached down,

lifted the bomb, the fuse of which still showed a smouldering spark of fire, and calmly pulled out the "tail" of

the explosive. It was harmless then, for the fuse, with a trail of smoke following, was tossed into the sea, and

For a moment neither Tom nor Mr. Titus could speak. They felt an inexpressible sense of relief. Then Tom

The little man who had stepped on the fuse, and had then torn it from the bomb, looked at the object in his

hand as though it were the most natural thing in the world to pick explosives up off the deck of passenger

"Well, perhaps I did. Yes, I think it would have gone off in another second or two. Rather curious; isn't it?"

"Why, yes," went on the little man, in the most matter of fact tone. "You see, most explosive bombs are

round, made that way so the force will be equal in all directions. But this one, you notice, has a bulge, or

"It might have been made that way to prevent its rolling overboard, or the bomb's walls might be weaker near

that bulge to make sure that the force of the explosion would be in that direction. And the bulge was pointed

"I should say I did!" cried Mr. Titus. "My dear sir, you have put us under a heavy debt to you! You saved our

"No, no, I'd better keep it," went on the person who had rendered the bomb ineffective. "You might drop it

And while this ceremony was being gone through with, Tom had a moment to study the appearance of the

man who had saved their lives. He had seen the passenger once or twice before, but had taken no special

Tom beheld a little, thin man, little in the sense of being of the "bean pole" construction. His head was as bald

as a billiard ball, as the young inventor could notice when the stranger took off his hat to bow formally in

response to the greeting of some ladies who passed, while Mr. Titus was shaking hands with him.

The bald head was sunk down between two high shoulders, and when the owner wished to observe anything

closely, as he was now observing the bomb, the head was thrust forward somewhat as an eagle might do. And

Tom noticed that the eyes of the little man were as bright as those of an eagle. Nothing seemed to escape

"I want to add my thanks to those of Mr. Titus for saving our lives," said Tom, as he advanced. "We don't

know what to make of it all, but you certainly stopped that bomb from going off."

"Yes, perhaps I did," admitted the little man coolly and calmly, as though preventing bomb explosions was

"I am Professor Swyington Bumper," said the bombholder, with a bow, removing his hat, and again

"And we are more than glad," said Tom, fervently, as he glanced at the explosive.

"Now that the danger is over," went on Mr. Titus, "suppose we make an investigation, and find out how this

"Just what I was about to suggest," remarked Professor Bumper. "Bombs, such as this, do not sprout of

It needed but a casual examination on the part of one who had done considerable experimenting with

explosives to disclose the fact that it had every characteristic of a dangerous bomb. Only the pulling out of

"If it had gone off," said Tom, "we would both have been killed, or. at least, badly injured, Mr. Titus."

"I'm glad I could be of service, gentlemen," the scientist remarked, in an easy tone. "Explosives are out of my

line, but I guessed it was rather dangerous to let this go off. Have you any idea how it got here?"

"Not in the least," said Tom. "But some one must have placed it here, or dropped it behind us."

"Waddington!" murmured the contractor. "If he were on board I should say he might have done it to get us

out of the way, though I would not go so far as to say he meant to kill us. It may be this bomb has only a light

"I will," the young inventor promised. "I beg your pardon," he went on to Professor Bumper. "We have been

talking about something of which you know nothing. Briefly, there is a certain man who is trying to interfere

in some work in which Mr. Titus and I are interested, and we think, if he were on board, he might have

"No. And that is what makes it all the more strange," said Mr. Titus. "At one time I thought he was here, but I

Tom took the now harmless bomb to his stateroom, and there, after taking the infernal machine apart, he

The bomb contained no missiles, and though it held a quantity of explosive, it was of a slow burning kind.

Had it gone off it would have sent out a sheet of flame that would have severely burned him and Mr. Titus,

"They just wanted to disable us," said the contractor. "That was their game. Tom, who did it?"

"And did it strike you as curious that he should happen to be so near at hand when the bomb fell behind us?"

"I hadn't thought of that," admitted the contractor. "Do you mean that he might have dropped it himself?"

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say that," replied Tom, slowly. "But I think it would be a good idea to find

Professor Swyington Bumper seemed to live in a region all by himself. Though he was on board the

Bellaconda, he might just as well have been in an airship, or riding along on the back of a donkey, as far as

his knowledge, or recognition, of his surroundings went. He seemed to be thinking thoughts far, far away,

and he was never without a bookeither a bound volume or a notebook. In the former he buried his

hawklike nose, and Tom, looking over his shoulder once, saw that the book was printed in curious

characters, which, later, he learned were Sanskrit. If he had a notebook the baldheaded professor was

"After you have been in the contracting business as long as I have you'll distrust every one," was the answer.

"Waddington isn't on board, or I'd distrust him. That Spaniard, Senor Pinto. seems to be out of consideration,

But Professor Bumper proved to be above suspicion. Carefully guarded inquiries made of the captain, the

purser and other ships' officers, brought out the fact that he was well known to all of them, having traveled on

"He is making a search for something, but he won't say what it is," the captain said. "At first we thought it

was gold or jewels, for he goes away off into the Andes Mountains, where both gold and jewels have been

found. He never looks for treasure, though, for though some of his party have made rather rich discoveries, he

"No one knows, and he won't tell. But whatever it is he has never found it yet. Always, when he comes back,

unsuccessful, from a trip to the interior and goes back North with us, he will remark that he has not the right

"Back he comes next season, as full of hope as before, but only to be disappointed. Each time he goes to a

new place in the mountains where he digs and delves, so members of the parties he hires tell me, but with no

success. He carries with him something in a small iron box, and, whatever this is, he consults it from time to

time. It may be directions for finding whatever he is after. But there seems to be something wrong."

"It certainly is. But Professor Bumper is a fine man. I have known him for years."

"This seems to dispose of the theory that he planted the bomb, and that he is one of the plotters in the pay of

Tom had a theory, which he did not disclose to Mr. Titus, that, after all, the somewhat mysterious Senor Pinto

might, in some way, be mixed up in the bomb attempt. But a close questioning of the steward on duty near

the foreigner's cabin at the time disclosed the fact that Pinto had been ill in his berth all that day.

"Well, unless the bomb fell from some passing airship, I don't see how it got on deck," said Tom with a shake

They had kept the matter secret, not telling even Mr. Damon, for they feared the eccentric man would make a

fuss and alarm the whole vessel. So Mr. Damon, occasionally blessing his necktie or his shoe laces, played

That Professor Bumper not only had kept his promise about not mentioning the bomb, but that he had

forgotten all about it, was evident a day or two after the happening. Tom and Mr. Titus passed him on deck,

and bowed cordially. The professor returned the salutation, but looked at the two in a puzzled sort of fashion.

"I beg your pardon," he remarked, "but your faces are familiar, though I cannot recall your names. Haven't I

"You have," said Tom, with a smile. "You saved our lives from a bomb the other day."

"Oh, yes! So I did! So I did!" exclaimed Professor Bumper. "I felt sure I had seen you before. Are you all

"Yes. There haven't been any more bombs thrown at us," the contractor said. "By the way, Professor Bumper,

"Well, I am digging a tunnel in that vicinity," went on Mr. Titus, "and if you ever get near Rimac, where the

first cutting is made, I wish you would come and see meTom too, as he is associated with me."

"RimacRimac," murmured the professor, looking sharply at the contractor. "Digging a tunnel there? Why

"Why, the Peruvian government engaged me to do it to connect the two railroad lines," was the answer. "Do

"Not so much as I hope to later on," was the unexpected answer. "As it happens I am going to Rimac, and I

"No, though that was odd. But I suppose he is forgetful, or pretends to be. I mean it's queer he is going to

"Well, I don't know exactly what I mean," went on the tunnel contractor, "but our tunnel happens to start at

"Maybe the professor is a geologist," suggested Tom, "and he may want to get some samples of that hard

"Maybe," admitted Mr. Titus. "But I shall keep my eyes on him all the same. I'm not going to have any

strangers, who happen to be around when bombs drop near us, get into my tunnel."

A few days after this, when Tom and Mr. Titus were casually discussing the weather on deck and wondering

how much longer it would be before they reached Callao, Mr. Damon, who had been playing numberless

"Mr. Damon," called Tom, "come over here and meet a friend of ours, Professor Bumper," and he was about

to introduce them, for the two, as far as Tom knew, had not yet met. But no sooner had the professor and Mr.

"Mr. Damon!" cried the professor. "I am delighted to see you again. I did not know you were on board!"

"Nor I you. Bless my apple dumpling! Are you still after those Peruvian antiquities?"

"Professor Bumper saved the lives of Mr. Titus and myself," said Tom, "or at least he saved us from severe

"Pray do not mention it, my friends," put in the professor, casually. "It was nothing."

Then, naturally, Mr. Damon had to be told all about the bomb for the first time, and his wonder was great. He

"And to think it should be my old friend, Professor Bumper, who saved you," said the odd man to Tom and

"Very well indeed. Our drug concern sells him many chemicals for his experiments."

"Well, if you know him I guess he can't be what I thought he was," the contractor went on. "I'm glad to know

"Oh, for many years he has been interested in collecting Peruvian antiquities. He has a certain theory in

regard to something or other about their ancient civilization, but just what it is I have, at this moment,

forgotten. Only I know you can thoroughly trust Professor Bumper, for a finer man never lived, though he is

Thus the last lingering doubt of Professor Bumper was removed. Mr. Damon told something of how the

scientist had been honored by degrees from many colleges and was regarded as an authority on Peruvian

In due time Callao, the seaport of Lima, was reached and our friends disembarked. Tom saw to the unloading

of the explosive, which was to be sent direct to the tunnel at Rimac. Mr. Titus, Tom and Mr. Damon would

Professor Bumper disembarked with our friends, and stopped at the same hotel. Tom kept a lookout for Senor

Pinto, but did not see him, and concluded that the Spaniard was ill, and would be carried ashore on a

Lima, the principal city and capital of Peru, proved an interesting place. It was about eight miles inland and

was built on an arid plain about five hundred feet above sea level. Yet, though it was on what might be

termed a desert, the place, by means of irrigation, had been made into a beauty spot.

Tom found the older part of the city was laid out with mathematical regularity, each street crossing the other

at right angles. But in the new portions there was not this adherence to straightness.

"Bless my transfer! Why, they have electric cars here!" exclaimed Mr. Damon, catching sight of one on the

"Oh, you'll find a deal of civilization here," the contractor said. "Of course much of the population is negro or

Indian, but they are often rich and able to buy what they want. There is a population of over 150,000, and

there are two steam railroads between Callao and Lima, while there is one running into the interior for 130

miles, crossing the Andes at an elevation of over three miles. It is a branch of that road, together with a

Tom found some beautiful churches and cathedrals in Lima, and spent some time visiting them. He and Mr.

Three days after reaching the capital, Mr. Titus having attended to some necessary business while Mr. Damon

set on foot matters connected with his affairs, it was decided to strike inland to Rimac, and to try the effect of

The journey was to be made in part by rail, though the last stages of it were over a rough mountain trail, with

As Tom, Mr. Damon, Koku, and Mr. Titus were going to the railroad station they saw Professor Bumper also

"I believe our roads lie together for a time," said the baldheaded scientist, "and, if you have no objections, I

It was a day later when they left the train at a small station, and struck off into the foothills of the great Andes

Mountains, where the tunnel was started, that the professor again mentioned his object.

"Friends," he said, as he gazed up at the towering cliffs and crags, "I am searching for the lost city of Pelone,

Mr. Damon, of the three who heard Professor Bumper make this statement, showed the least sign of

astonishment. It would have been more correct to say that he showed none at all. But Tom could not restrain

"I have reason to hope that it is," went on the professor. "The golden tablets are very vague, but I have tried

many locations, and now I am about to try here. I hope I shall succeed. At any rate, I shall have agreeable

company, which has not always been my luck on my previous expeditions seeking to find the lost city."

"Oh, Professor, are you still on that quest?" asked Mr. Damon, in a matteroffact tone.

"Yes, Mr. Damon, I am. And now that I look about me, and see the shape of these mountains, I feel that they

conform more to the description on the golden plates than any location I have yet tried. Somehow I feel that I

"Did you know Professor Bumper was searching for a lost city of the Andes?" asked Tom, of his eccentric

"Why, I never thought of it. Bless my memorandum book! it never occurred to me. I did not think you would

And though Tom and Mr. Titus were both anxious to hear about the lost city, they, too, had much to do to get

The beginning of the tunnel under one of the smaller of the ranges of the Andes lay two days journey from

the end of the railroad line. And the trip must be made on mules, with llamas as beasts of burden, transporting

"We'll only need to take enough food with us for the two days," said Mr. Titus. "We have a regular camp at

the tunnel mouth, and my brother has supplies of grub and other things constantly coming in. We also have

shacks to live in; but on this trip we will use tents, as the weather at this season is fine."

It was quite a little expedition that set off up the mountain trail that afternoon, for they had arrived at the end

of the railroad line shortly before dinner, and had eaten at a rather poor restaurant.

Professor Bumper had made up his own exploring party, consisting of himself and three native Indian diggers

with their picks and shovels. They were to do whatever excavating he decided was necessary to locate the

Several mules and llamas, laden with the new explosive, and burdened with camp equipment and food, and a

few Indian servants made up the cavalcade of Tom, the contractor, Mr. Damon and Koku. The giant was

almost as much a source of wonder to the Peruvians as he had been on board the ship. And he was a great

help, too. For some of the Indians were undersized, and could not lift the heavy boxes and packages to the

But Koku, thrusting the little men aside, grasped with one hand what two of them had tried in vain to lift, and

The way was rough but they took their time to it, for the trail was an ascending one. Above and beyond them

towered the great Andes, and Tom, gazing up into the sky, which in places seemed almost pierced by the

"Condors," said Mr. Titus, when his attention was called to them. "Some of them are powerful birds, and they

sometimes pick up a sheep and make off with it, though usually their food consists of carrion."

They went into camp before the sun went down, for it grew dark soon after sunset, and they wanted to be

prepared. Supper was made ready by the Indian helpers, and when this was over, and they sat about a camp

"I wish I could explain about it," began the scientist. "For years I have dreamed of finding it, but always I

"Do you think it may be near here?" asked Mr. Titus, motioning toward the dark and frowning peaks all about

"It may be. The signs are most encouraging. In brief, the story of the lost city of Pelone is this. Thousands of

years agoin fact I do not know how manythere existed somewhere in Peru an ancient city that was the

centre of civilization for this region. Older it was than the civilization of the Mexicansthe

"It is many years since I became interested in Peruvian antiquities, and then I had no idea of the lost city. But

some of the antiques I picked up contained in their inscriptions references to Pelone. At first I conceived this

to be a sort of god, a deity, or perhaps a powerful ruler. But as I went on in my work of gathering ancient

things from Peru, I saw that the name Pelone referred to a citya seat of government, whence everything

"Then I got on the track more closely. I examined ancient documents. I found traces of an ancient language

and writings, different from anything else in the world. I managed to construct an alphabet and to read some

of the documents. From them I learned that Pelone was a city situated in some fertile valley of the Andes. It

had existed for thousands of years; it was the seat of learning and culture. Much light would be thrown on the

lives of the people who lived in Peru before the present races inhabited it, if I could but locate Pelone.

"Then I came across two golden tablets on which were graven the information that Pelone had utterly

"The golden tablets did not say. They simply stated the fact that Pelone was lost, and one sentence read: 'He

who shall find it again shall be richly rewarded.' But it is not for that that I seek. It is that I may give to the

"I do not know. Whether it was destroyed by enemies, whether it was buried under the ashes of a volcano,

whether it still exists, deserted and solitary in some valley amid the mountain fastnesses of the Andes, I do

not know. But I am certain the city once existed, and it may exist yet, though it may be in dustcovered ruins.

That is what I seek to find. See! Here are the tablets telling about it. I got them from an old Peruvian grave."

He took from a box two thin sheets of yellow metal. They were covered with curious marks, but Tom and the

others could make nothing of them. Only Professor Bumper was able to decipher them.

"And that is the story of the lost city of Pelone as much as I know," he said. "For years I have sought it. If I

"If the people of that city wrote on golden tablets, the yellow metal must have been plentiful," commented

"Well, I have," the contractor said, with a laugh. "That's why I'm putting through this tunnel. And if my

brother and I don't do it we'll be in a bad way financially. We have struck traces of gold, but not in paying

quantities. I should like to see this lost city of yours, Professor Bumper. It may contain gold."

"You may have all the gold, if I am allowed to keep the antiquities we find," stipulated the scientist. "Then

"As much as we can spare time for from the tunnel work," promised Mr. Titus. "I'll instruct my men to keep

The night passed uneventfully enough, if one excepts the mosquitoes which seemed to get through the nets,

making life miserable for all. And once Tom thought he heard gruntings in the bush back of the tent, which

noises might, he imagined, have been caused by a bear. Toward morning he heard an unearthly screech in the

woods, and one of the Indians, tending the fire, grunted out a word which meant pumas.

"I can see it isn't going to be dull here," Tom mused, as he turned over and tried to sleep.

Breakfast made them all feel better, and they set off on the final stage of their journey.

"If all goes well we'll be at the tunnel entrance and camp tonight," said the contractor. "This second half of

There was no need of saying that, for it was perfectly evident. The trail was a most precarious one, and only a

mule or llama could have traveled it. The mules were most surefooted, but, as it was, one slipped, and came

But no real accident occurred, and finally, about an hour before sunset, the cavalcade turned down the slope

As Tom rode nearer the cliff he could make out around it groups of rude buildings, covered with corrugated

Then, in the face of the cliff there showed something blacklike a blot of ink, though more regular in

"The mouth of the tunnel," said Mr. Titus to Tom. "Come on over to the office and I'll introduce you to my

Tom dismounted from his mule, an example followed by the others. Professor Bumper gazed up at the great

"A blast," answered Mr. Titus. "But I never knew them to set off one so late before. I hope nothing is wrong!"

And, as he spoke, panicstricken men began running out of the mouth of the tunnel, while those outside

"Something has happened!" cried Mr. Titus as he ran forward, followed by Tom, Mr. Damon and Koku.

Professor Bumper started with them, but on the way he saw a curious bit of rock which he stopped to pick up

At the entrance of the tunnel, from which came rushing dirtstained and powderblackened men, Mr. Titus

"What's the matter?" was the question. "This is my brother Walter," he said. "This is Tom Swift and Mr.

"Never mind that now," cried Job Titus. "We must see to the poor fellows 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 of Blakeson

They were rushing in to the smokefilled tunnel now, followed by Tom, Mr. Damon and Koku, who would

follow his young master anywhere. Tom saw that the tunnel was lighted with incandescent lamps, suspended

here and there from the rocky roof or sides. The electric lights were supplied with current from a dynamo run

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

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

They ran on into the tunnel, Tom and Mr. Damon noticing that a small narrowgage railroad was laid on the

floor, mules being the motive power to bring out the small dump cars loaded with rock and dirt, excavated

"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 would have fallen had not Koku held him up.

A little later he came to a place where a cluster of electric lights gave better illumination, and he could see it

A number of men were lying on the dirt and rock floor of the tunnel, and some of them were bleeding. Others

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

"I sint that Spalapeen Serato for thim!" broke in a voice, rich in Irish brogue. "But he's thot stupid he might

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

"That's Tim Sullivan, our Irish foreman, though he has only a few of his own kind to boss," explained Job

Some of the workmen (all of whom save the few Irish referred to were Peruvian Indians) had now recovered

from their shock, or fright, and began to help the Titus brothers, Tom, Mr. Damon and Koku in looking after

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 left shoulder, and the other over his right, out

And it was well he did so, for one man was in need of an immediate operation, which was performed at the

rude hospital the contractors maintained at the tunnel mouth. The other man died as Koku was carrying him

Serato, the Indian foreman, with some of his men now came in, and the other injured were carried out on

stretchers, being attended to by the two doctors who formed part of the tunnel force. Among a large body of

men some were always falling ill or getting hurt, and in that wild country a doctor had to be kept near at

When the excitement had died down, and it was found that one death would be the total toll of the accident

and that the premature blast had done no damage to the tunnel, the two Titus brothers began to consider

Tom, Mr. Damon and the two contractors sat in the main office and talked things over. Koku was eating

supper, though the others had finished. but, naturally, it took Koku twice as long as any one else. Professor

"Well, I'm glad you've come back, Job," said his brother. "Things have been going at sixes and sevens here

since you went to get some new kind of blasting powder. By the way, I hope you got it, for we are practically

"Oh, I got it all rightsome of Tom Swift's best specially made for us. And, better still, I've brought Tom

"Well, as I said, it's the third this week. All of them seemed to be premature blasts. But I've sent for some of

the fuses used. I'm going to get at the bottom of this. Here is Sullivan with them now. Come in, Tim," he

"They are, sor. An' they mostly burn five minutes, which is plenty of time fer all th' min t' git out of danger.

Only this time th' fuse didn't seem to burn more than a minute, an' I lit it meself."

One of the longer fuses was lighted. It spluttered and smoked, while the contractors timed it with their

"Four minutes!" exclaimed Job. "That's queer, and they're the regular ten minute length. I wonder what this

"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 premature blasts. They go off in about half the time they should."

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

"Then somebody has been at your box, Tim, and they took out our regular fuses and put in these quicker

ones. It's a game to make trouble for us among our men, and to damage the tunnel."

"Our rivals, perhaps, though I do not like to accuse any man on such small evidence," said Walter. "But we

"Thot's what I will!" declared Tim. "I'll put th' supply in a new place. 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 on the table.

Since the trouble began a guard had been always posted around the tunnel entrance and surrounding

buildings, and this night the patrol was doubled. Tom, Mr. Damon and the two Titus brothers sat up quite

Professor Bumper went to bed early, as he said he was going to set off before sunrise to make a search for the

"I regard him as more or less of a visionary," said Mr. Job Titus; "but he seems a harmless gentleman, and

The night was not marked by any disturbance, and after breakfast, Tom, under the guidance of the Titus

brothers, looked over the tunnel with a view to making his first experiment with the new explosive.

The tunnel was being driven straight into the face of one of the smaller ranges of the Andes Mountains. It was

to be four miles in length, and when it emerged on the other side it would enable trains to make connections

On the site of the tunnel, which was two days' mule travel east from Rimac, the Titus brothers had assembled

their heavy machinery. They had brought some of their own men, including Tim Sullivan, with them, but the

other labor was that of Peruvian Indians, with a native foreman, Serato, over them.

There were engines, boilers, dynamos, motors, diamond drills, steam shovels and a miniature railway, with

mules as the motive power. A small village had sprung up at the tunnel mouth, and there was a general store,

besides many buildings for the sleeping and eating quarters of the laborers, as well as places where the white

Powder, supplies, in fact everything save what game could be obtained in the forest, or what grains or fruits

were brought in by natives living near by, had to be brought over the rough trail. But Titus Brothers had a

large experience in engineering matters in wild and desolate countries, and they knew how to be as

Mr. Damon learned that one of the districts whence his company had been in the habit of getting quinine was

distant a day's journey over the mountain, so he decided to make the trip, with a native guide, and see if he

This was a few days after the arrival of our friends. Meanwhile, Tom had been shown all through the tunnel

by the Titus Brothers and had had his first sight of the hard cliff of rock which seemed to be a veritable stone

wall in the way of progressor at least such progress as was satisfactory to the contractors.

"Well, we'll try what some of my explosive will do," said Tom, when he had finished the examination. "I

don't claim it will be as successful as 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 the new explosive tamped in. Wires were

attached to the fuses, which were of a new kind, and warning was given to clear the tunnel. The wires ran out

to the mouth of the horizontal shaft and Tom, holding the switch in his hand made ready to set off the blast.

"Are they all out?" he asked Tim Sullivan, who had emerged, herding the Indian laborers before him. Tim

insisted on being the last man to seek safety when an explosion was to take place.

There was a dull, muffled report, a sort of rumbling that seemed to extend away down under the earth and

then echo back again until the ground near the mouth of the tunnel, where the party was standing, appeared to

rock and heave. There followed a cloud of yellow, heavy smoke which made one choke and gasp, and Tom,

"Down! Down, everybody! There's a back draft, and if you breathe any of that powder vapor you'll have a

The tunnel contractors and their men understood the danger, for they had handled explosives before. It is a

wellknown fact that the fumes of dynamite and other giant powders will often produce severe headaches,

and even illness. Tom's explosive contained a certain percentage of dynamite, and he knew its ill effects.

Stretched prone, or crouching on the ground, there was little danger, as the fumes, being lighter than air, rose.

"Well, I wonder how much rock your explosive tore loose for us, Tom," observed Job Titus, as he looked at

the thin, yellowish cloud of smoke that was still lazily drifting from the tunnel.

"Can't tell until we go in and take a look," replied the young inventor. "It won't be safe to go in for a while

yet, though. That smoke will hang in there a long time. I didn't think there'd be a back draft."

"There is, for we've often had the same trouble with our shots," Walter Titus said. "I can't account for it

unless there is some opening in the shaft, connecting with the outer air, which admits a wind that drives the

smoke out of the mouth, instead of forward into the blast hole. It's a queer thing and we haven't been able to

"That's right," agreed his brother. "We've looked for some opening, or natural shaft, but haven't been able to

find it. Sometimes we shoot off a charge and everything goes well, the smoke disappears in a few minutes.

Again it will all blow out this way and we lose half a day waiting for the air to clear. There's a hidden shaft,

"Thot blast didn't make much racket," commented Tim Sullivan. "I doubt thot much rock come down. An'

"Oh, that's all right," Tom Swift replied, with a laugh. "My explosive doesn't work by sound. It has lots of

"We've often made more noise with our blasts," confirmed Job Titus, "but I can't say much for our results."

They were all anxious, Tom included, to hurry into the tunnel to see how much rock had been loosened by

the blast, but it was not safe to venture in until the fumes had been allowed to disperse. In about an hour,

They all hurried eagerly into the shaft, Mr. Damon stumbling along at Tom's side, as anxious as the lad

himself. Before they reached the face of the cliff against which the bore had been driven, and which was as a

solid wall of rock to further progress, they began to tread on fragments of stone.

"Well, it blew some as far back as here," said Walter Titus. "That's a good sign."

There were still some fumes noticeable in the tunnel, and Mr. Damon complained of a slight feeling of

illness, while Koku, who kept at Tom's side, murmured that it made his eyes smart. But the sensations soon

They came to a stop as the face of the cliff loomed into view in the glare of a searchlight which Job Titus

switched on. Then a murmur of wonder came from every one, save from Tom Swift. He, modestly, kept

There was a great gash blown in the hard rock which had acted as a bar to the further progress of the tunnel.

A great heap of rock, broken into small fragments, was on the floor of the shaft, and there was a big hole

filled with debris which would have to be removed before the extent of the blast could be seen.

"It's a lalapaloosa, lad! Thot's what it is!" enthusiastically exclaimed Tim Sullivan. "Now the black beggars

will have some rock to shovel! Come on there, Serato, git yer lazy imps t' work cartin' this stuff away. We've

"Um!" grunted the Indian, and he called to his men who were soon busy with picks and shovels, loading the

loosened rock and earth into the mulehauled dump cars which took it to the mouth of the tunnel, whence it

was shunted off on another small railroad to fill in a big gulch to save bridging it.

Tom's first blast was very successful, and enough rock was loosed to keep the laborers busy for a week. The

"At this rate we'll finish ahead of time, and earn a premium," said Job to his brother.

"That's right. You didn't make any mistake in appealing to Tom Swift. But I wonder if Blakeson Grinder have

"I don't know. I'd never trust them. We must watch out for Waddington. That bomb on the vessel had a funny

But a week went by without any manifestation having been made by the rival tunnel contractors. During that

week more of Tom's explosive arrived, and he busied himself getting ready another blast which could be set

Meanwhile, Professor Bumper, with his Indian guides and helpers, had made several trips into the mountain

regions about Rimac, but each time that he returned to the tunnel camp to renew his supplies, he had only a

"But I am positive that somewhere in this vicinity is the lost Peruvian city of Pelone," he said. "Every

indication points to this as the region, and the more I study the plates of gold, and read their message, the

"But we have been over many mountains, and in more valleys, without finding a trace of the ancient

civilization I feel sure once flourished here. There are no relics of a lost racenot so much as an arrow or

spear head. But, somehow or other, I feel that I shall find the lost city. And when I do I shall be famous!"

"Mr. Damon and I will help you all we can, Tom said. "As soon as I get ready the next blast I'll have a little

Tom's second blast was even more successful than the first, and enough of the hard rock was loosed and

pulverized to give the Indian laborers ten days' work in removing it from the tunnel.

Then, as the services of the young inventor would not be needed for a week or more, he decided to go on a

"I'll come too," said Mr. Damon. "One of the sub contractors whose men are gathering the cinchona bark for

our firm has his headquarters in the region where you are going, and I can go over there and see why he isn't

Accordingly, preparations having been made to spend a week in camp in the forests of the Andes, Tom and

his party set off one morning. Professor Bumper's Indian helpers would do the hard work, and, of course,

Koku, who went wherever Tom went, would be on hand in case some feat of strength were needed.

It was a blind search, this hunt for a lost city, and as much luck might be expected going in one direction as in

another; so the party had no fixed point toward which to travel. Only Mr. Damon stipulated that he wanted to

Tom Swift took his electric rifle with him, and with it he was able to bring down a couple of deer which

The rifle was a source of great wonder to the Peruvians. They were familiar with ordinary firearms, and some

of them possessed oldfashioned guns. But Tom's electric weapon, which made not a sound, but killed with

the swiftness of light, was awesome to them. The interpreter accompanying Professor Bumper confided

privately to Tom that the other Indians regarded the young inventor as a devil who could, if he wished, slay

Mr. Damon located the quininegathering force he was anxious to see, and, through the interpreter, told the

chief that more bark must be brought in to keep up to the terms of the contract.

But something seemed to be the matter. The Indian chief was indifferent to the interpreted demands of Mr.

Damon, and that gentleman, though he blessed any number of animate and inanimate objects, seemed to

"Hasn't got any men!" exclaimed Mr. Damon. "Why, look at all the lazy beggars around the village."

This was true enough, for there were any number of able bodied Indians lolling in the shade.

At that moment screams arose back of one the grass huts, and a child ran out into the open, followed by a

Shouts and cries arose from among the Indians. Women screamed, and those who had children gathered them

up in their arms to run to shelter. The men threw all sorts of missiles at the infuriated animal, but seemed

afraid to approach it to knock it over with a club, or to go to the relief of the frightened child which was now

"No, Wait!" exclaimed Tom Swift. "You can kill the dog all right, Koku," he said, "but a scratch from his

Snatching his electric rifle from the Indian bearer who carried it, Tom took quick aim. There was no flash, no

report and no puff of smoke, but the dog suddenly crumpled up in a heap, and, with a dying yelp, rolled to

The little one, aware that something had happened, turned and saw the stretched out form of its enemy. Then,

While the mothers gathered about the child, and while the older boys and girls made a ring at a respectful

distance from the dog, there was activity noticed among the men of the village. They began hurrying out

"Where are they going?" asked Tom. "Is there some trouble? Was that a sacred dog, and did I get in bad by

The interpreter and the native chief conversed rapidly for a moment and then the former, turning to Tom,

"Men go git cinchona bark now. Plenty get for him," and he pointed to Mr. Damon. "They no like stay in

village. T'ink yo' got lightning in yo' pocket," and he pointed to the electric rifle.

"Oh, I see!" laughed Tom. "They think I'm a sort of wizard. Well, so I am. Tell them if they don't get lots of

The interpreter translated, and when the chief had ceased replying, Tom and the others were told:

"Well, it's a good thing I keeled over that dog," Tom said. "It was the best object lesson I could give them.~'

And from then on there was no more trouble in this district about getting a supply of the medicinal bark.

A week passed and Professor Bumper was no nearer finding the lost city than he had been at first.

"We'll go with you some other time," promised Tom. "But now I expect I'll have to get another blast ready."

He found the debris brought down by the second one all removed, and in a few days, preparations for

Many holes had been drilled in the face of the cliff of hard rock, and the charges tamped in. Electric wires

connected them, and they were run out to the tunnel mouth where the switch was located.

This was done late one afternoon, and it was planned to set off the blast at the close of the working day, to

allow all night for the fumes to be blown away by the current of air in the tunnel.

"All right, sor," was the answer, and the Irish foreman went back toward the far end of the bore to tell the last

"Not in the tunnel? Why, they were working there a little while ago, when I made the last connection!"

"Yis sir. There's no way out except at this end an' you didn't see thim come out: did you?"

"Then they've disappeared! That's all there is to it! Bad goin's on, thot's what it is, sor! Bad!" and Tim shook

"There must be some mistake," said Tom, wondering if the Irish foreman were given to joking. Yet he did not

"Mistake? How can there be a mistake, sor? I wint in there to tell th' black imps t' come out, but they're not

"What's the trouble?" asked Job Titus, coming out of the office near the tunnel mouth. "What's wrong, Tom?"

"Why, I sent Tim in to tell the men to come out, as I was going to set off a blast, but he says the men aren't in

By this time Koku, Mr. Damon and Walter Titus had come up to find out what the trouble was.

"Perhaps they have missed their waythe lights may have gone out, and they might have wandered into

"There aren't any abandoned cuttin's," declared Tim. "It's a straight bore, not a shaft of any kind. I've looked

"Are the lights going?" asked Job. "You might have missed them in the dark, Tim."

"The lights are going all right, Mr. Titus," said the young man in charge of the electrical arrangements. "The

"Come on, we'll have a look," proposed Walter Titus. "There must be some mistake. Hold back the blast,

"All right," and the young inventor disconnected the electrical detonating switch. "I'll come along and have a

look too," he added. "Don't let anybody meddle with the wires, Jack," he said to the young Englishman who

Into the dimlylit tunnel advanced the party of investigators, with Tim Sullivan in the lead.

"Not a man could I find!" he said, murmuring to himself. "Not a man! An' I mind th' time in Oireland whin th'

little people made vanish a whole village like this, jist bekase ould Mike Maguire uprooted a bed of

"That's enough of your superstitions, Tim," warned Job Titus. "If some of the other Indians hear you go on

"Yes, we had trouble that way when we first began the work. The place here was a howling wilderness then,

"A puma is a small sized lion, you know, not specially dangerous unless cornered. Well, some of the men had

their families here with them, and a couple of children disappeared. The story got started that there was a big

pumathe king of them allcarrying off the little ones, and my brother and I awoke one morning to find

"Well, we organized ourselves and our white helpers into a hunting party and killed a lot of the beasts. There

"They weren't eaten at all. They had wandered off into the woods, and some natives found them and took care

of them. Eventually, they got back home. But it was a long while before we could persuade the Indians to

come back. Since then we haven't had any trouble, and I don't want Tim, with his superstitious fancies, to

"But the min are gone!" insisted the Irish foreman, who had listened to this story as he and the others walked

But though they looked all along the big shaft, and though the place was well lighted by extra lamps that

were turned on when the investigation started, no trace could be found of the workmen, who had been left in

the tunnel to finish tamping the blast charges. The party reached the rocky heading, in the face of which the

powerful explosive had been placed, and not an Indian was in sight. Nor, as far as could be told, was there

Sometimes, when small blasts were set off, the men would go behind a projecting shoulder of rock to wait

The Indian foreman had not been in the tunnel with the last shift of men, having left them to Tim Sullivan to

get out in time. The Indian foreman was called from his supper in the shack where he had his headquarters,

Ten men were missing, and when this fact became known there were uneasy looks among the others.

"Well," said Mr. Titus, after a pause. "The men are either in the tunnel or out of it. If they're in we don't dare

set off the blast, and if they're out they'll show up, sooner or later, for supper. I never knew any of 'em to miss

"If such a thing were possible," said Walter Titus, "I would say that our rivals had a hand in this, and had

induced our men to bolt in order to cripple our force. But we haven't seen any of Blakeson Grinder's

emissaries about, and, if they were, how could they get the ten men out of the tunnel without our Seeing

"I'm inclined to think that the men came out and neither you, nor any one else, saw them. They ran away for

reasons of their own. We'll take another look in the morning, and then set off the blast."

And this was done. There being no trace of the men in the tunnel it was deemed safe to explode the charges.

The laborers hung back when the orders were given to go in and clean up. There were mutterings among

"They won't go in, eh?" cried Tim Sullivan. "Well, they will thot! If there's a divil inside there's a worse one

outside, an' thot's me! Git in there now, ye blacklivered spalapeens!" and catching up a big club the

Irishman made a rush for the hesitating laborers. With a howl they rushed into the tunnel, and were soon

The mystery of the disappearance of the ten menfor mystery it wasremained, and as no side opening or

passage could be found within the tunnel, it came to be the generally accepted explanation that the laborers

This habit on the part of the Peruvian workers was not unusual. In fact, the Titus brothers had to maintain a

sort of permanent employment agency in Lima to replace the deserters. But they were used to this. The

difference was that the Indians used to vanish from camp at night, and invariably after payday.

"And that's the only reason I have a slight doubt that they walked out of the tunnel," said Job Titus. "There

"They never came out of the front entrance of the tunnel," said Tom. "Of that I'm positive."

The third blast, while not as successful as the second in the amount of rock loosened, was better than the first,

and made a big advance in the tunnel progress. Tom was beginning to understand the nature of the mountain

into which the big shaft was being driven and he learned how better to apply the force of his explosive.

That was the work which he had charge ofthe placing of the giant powder so it would do the most effective

work. Then, when the fumes from the blast had cleared away, in would surge the workmen to clear away the

Under the direction of Mr. Swift, left at Shopton to oversee the manufacture of the explosive, new shipments

came on promptly to Lima, and were brought out to the tunnel on the backs of mules, or in the case of small

quantities, on the llamas. But the latter brutes will not carry a heavy load, lying down and refusing to get up if

After his first success in getting the natives to take a more active interest in the gathering of the cinchona

bark, Mr. Damon found it rather easy, for the story of Tom's electric rifle and how it had killed the mad dog

spread among the tribes, and Mr. Damon had but to announce that the "lightning shooter," as Tom was called,

was a friend of the drug concern to bring about the desired results. Mr. Damon, by paying a sort of bribe,

disguised under the name "tax," secured the help of Peruvian officials so he had no trouble on that score.

Koku was in his element. He liked a wild life and Peru was much more like the country of giants where Tom

had found him, than any place the big man had since visited. Koku had great strength and wanted to use it,

and after a week or so of idleness he persuaded Tom to let him go in the tunnel to work.

The giant was made a sort of foreman under Tim, and the two became great friends. The only trouble with

Koku was that he would do a thing himself instead of letting his men do it, as, of course, all proper foremen

should do. If the giant saw two or three of the Indians trying to lift a big rock into the little dump cars, and

failing because of its great weight, he would goodnaturedly thrust them aside, pick up the big stone in his

And once when an unusually big load had been put in a car, and the mule attached found it impossible to pull

it out to the tunnel mouth, Koku unhitched the creature and, slipping the harness around his waist, walked

Professor Bumper kept on with his search for the lost city of Pelone. Back and forth he wandered among the

wild Andes Mountains, now hopeful that he was on the right trail, and again in despair. Tom and Mr. Damon

went with him once more for a week, and though they enjoyed the trip, for the professor was a delightful

Tom Swift was kept busy looking after the shipments of the explosive, and arranging for the blasts. He had

letters from Ned Newton in which news of Shopton was given, and Mr. Swift wrote occasionally. But the

Tom wrote a letter of explanation to Mr. Nestor, in addition to the wireless he had sent regarding the box

"I wonder what's wrong?" Tom mused. "It can't be that they think I did that on purpose. And even if Mr.

But she did not, and Tom grew a bit despondent as the days went by and no word came.

"I suppose they might be offended because I left Rad to do up that package instead of attending to it myself,"

thought Tom. "Well, I did make a mistake there, but I didn't mean to. I never thought about Eradicate's not

reading. I'll make him go to night school as soon as I get back. But maybe I'll never get another chance to

The feeling of alarm engendered among the Indians by the disappearance of their ten fellowworkers seemed

to have disappeared. There were rumors that some of the mysterious ten had been seen in distant villages and

"I don't think anything serious happened to them, anyhow," said Job Titus one day. "And I should hate to

"Your rivals don't seem to be doing much to hamper you," observed Tom. "I guess Waddington gave up.

"Well, nothing down herethat is, directlybut we are meeting with trouble on the financial end. The

"Practically, yes. There was no set limit of work to be done for the intermediate payments. We bonded

"If we fail, we lose a large sum, and if we get it done ahead of time we get a big premium. There was no

question as to completing a certain amount of footage before we received certain payments. But Senor

Belasdo, the government representative, claims that we will not be done in time, and therefore he is holding

back money due us. I'm sure the rival contractors have set him up to this, because he was always decent to us

"Another matter, too, makes me suspicious. We have tried to raise money in New York to tide us over while

the government is holding up our funds here. But our New York office is meeting with difficulties. They

report there is a story current to the effect that we are going to fail, and while that isn't so, you know how

hard it is to borrow money in the face of such rumors. We are doing all we can to fight them, of course, and

"But that isn't all. I'm sure some one is on the ground here trying to make trouble among our workers. I never

knew so many men to leave, one after another. It's keeping the employment agency in Lima busy supplying

us with new workers. And so many of them are unskilled. They aren't able to do half the work of the old men,

"I'm sure of it! I've tried to ferret out who it is, but the spy, for such he must be, keeps his identity well

"Mr. Titus, with your permission, I'll see if I can find out about this for you."

"What is causing the men to leave. I don't believe it's the scare about the ten missing ones."

"Nor do I. That's past and gone. But how are you going to get at the bottom of it?"

"By keeping watch. I've got nothing to do now for the next week. "We've just set off a big blast, and I've got

the powder for the following one all ready. The men will be busy for some time getting out the broken rock.

Now what I propose to do is to go in the tunnel and work among them until I can learn something.

"I can understand the language pretty well now, though I can't speak much of it. I'll go in the tunnel every day

"But you'll be known, and if one of our men, or one who we suppose is one, turns out to be a spy, he'll be

"He won't know me," Tom said. "This is how I'll work it. I'll go off with Professor Bumper the next time he

starts on one of his weekly expeditions into the woods. But I won't go far until I turn around and come back.

I'll adopt some sort of disguise, and I'll apply to you for work. You can tell Tim to put me on. You might let

A few days later Tom was seen departing with Professor Bumper into the interior, presumably to help look

for the lost city. Mr. Damon was away from camp on business connected with the drug concern, and Koku, to

his delight, had been given charge of a stationary hoisting engine outside the tunnel, so he would not come in

Then one day, shortly after Professor Bumper and Tom had disappeared into the forest, a ragged and unkempt

white man applied at the tunnel camp for work. There was just the barest wink as he accosted Mr. Titus, who

winked in turn, and then the new man was handed over to Tim Sullivan, as a sort of helper.

Left to himself, with only the rather silent gang of Peruvian Indians as company, Tom Swift looked about

him. There was not much active work to be done, only to see that the Indians filled the dump cars evenly full,

so none of the broken rock would spill over the side and litter the tramway. Then, too, he had to keep the

Indians up to the mark working, for these men were no different from any other, and they were just as

They did not talk much, murmuring among themselves now and then, and little of what they said was

intelligible to Tom. But he knew enough of the language to give them orders, the main one of which was:

Now, having seen to it that the gang of which he was in temporary charge was busily engaged, Tom had a

chance to look about him. The tunnel was not new to him. Much of his time in the past month had been spent

in its black depths, illuminated, more or less, by the string of incandescent lights.

"What I want to find," mused Tom, as he walked to and fro, "is the place where those Indians disappeared.

For I'm positive they got away through some hole in this tunnel. They never came out the main entrance."

Tom held to this view in spite of the fact that nearly every one else believed the contrarythat the men had

Now, left to himself, with merely nominal duties, and so disguised that none of the workmen would know

him for the trim young inventor who oversaw the preparing of the blast charges, Tom Swift walked to and

fro, looking for some carefully hidden passage or shaft by means of which the men had got away.

"For it must be well hidden to have escaped observation so long," Tom decided. "And it must be a natural

shaft, or hole, for we are boring into native rock, and it isn't likely that these Indians ever tried to make a

tunnel here. There must be some natural fissure communicating with the outside of the mountain, in a place

But though Tom believed this it was another matter to demonstrate his belief. In the intervals of seeing that

the natives properly loaded the dump cars, and removed as much of the debris as possible, Tom looked

There were cracks and fissures, it is true, but they were all superficial ones, as Tom ascertained by poking a

Once, while thus engaged, he saw Serato, the Indian foreman looking narrowly at him, and Serato said

something in his own language which Tom could not understand. But just then along came Tim Sullivan,

"Thot's all roight, now, Serri, me lad!" for thus he contracted the Indian's name. "Thot's a new helper I have, a

broth of a bye, an' yez kin kape yer hands off him. He's takin' orders from me!"

"Um!" grunted the Indian. "Wha for he fish in tunnel roof?" for Tom's pole was one like those the Indians

"Fishin' is it!" exclaimed Tim. "Begorra 'tis flyin' fish he's after I'm thinkin'. Lave him alone though, Serri!

"Be careful, Tom," whispered the Irishman, when the native had gone. "These black imps is mighty

"Maybe," admitted Tom. "He may get a percentage on all new hands that are hired."

Tom kept on with his search, always hoping he might find some hidden means of getting out of the tunnel.

"The queer thing about it," mused Tom, "is what has become of the ten men. Even if they did find some

secret means of leaving, what has become of them? They couldn't completely disappear, and they have

families and relatives that would make some sort of fuss if they were out of sight completely this long. I

When Tom came off duty he asked the Titus brothers whether or not any of the relatives of the missing men

"Then," said Tom, "you can depend on it the men are all right, and their relatives know it. I wonder how it

"Bless my hat hand!" exclaimed Mr. Damon, who was at the conference. "I never thought of that. I'll do it for

The odd man had gotten his quinine gathering business well under way now, and he had some spare time. So,

with an interpreter who could be trusted, he went to the native village whence had come nearly all of the ten

missing men. But though Mr. Damon found some of their relatives, the latter, with shrugs of their shoulders,

"Then we can depend on it," remarked Tom, "that the men are all right and their relatives know it. There's

"I can't figure out where Blakeson Grinder come in," said Job Titus. "They would have an object in crippling

us, but they seem to be working from the financial end, trying to make us fail there. I haven't seen any of their

sneaking agents around here lately, and as for Waddington he seems to have stayed up North."

Tom resumed his vigil in the tunnel, poking here and there, but with little success. His week was about up,

and he would soon have to resume his character as powder expert, for the debris was nearly all cleaned up,

"Well, I'm stumped!" Tom admitted, the day when he was to come on duty for the last time as a pretended

It was warm in the tunnel, and Tom, having seen one train of the dump cars loaded, sat down to rest on an

elevated ledge of rock, where he had made a sort of easy chair for himself, with empty cement bags for

The heat, his weariness and the monotonous clankclank of a water pump near by, and the equally

monotonous thump of the lumps of rocks in the cars made Tom drowsy. Almost before he knew it he was

What suddenly awakened him he could not tell. Perhaps it was some influence on the brain cells, as when a

vivid dream causes us to start up from slumber, or it may have been a voice. For certainly Tom heard a voice,

As he roused up he found himself staring at the rocky wall of the tunnel. And yet the wall seemed to have an

opening in it and in the opening, as if it were in the frame of a picture, appeared the face Tom had seen at his

Tom sat up so quickly that he hit his head sharply on a projecting rock spur, and, for the moment he "saw

stars." And with the appearance of these twinkling points of light the face of Waddington seemed to fade

"Bless my salt mackerel, as Mr. Damon would say!" cried Tom. "What have I discovered?"

He rubbed his head where he had struck it, and then passed his hand before his eyes, to make sure he was

awake. But the vision, if vision it was, had vanished, and he saw only the bare rock wall. However, the echo

of the voice remained in his ears, and, looking down toward the tunnel floor Tom saw Serato, the Indian

"Were you speaking to me?" asked Tom, for the man understood and spoke English fairly well.

"No, sar. I not know you there!" and the fore man seemed startled at seeing Tom. Clearly he was in a fright.

"To some one up there!" went on the young inventor, waving his hand toward the spot where he had seen the

"You hear me tell um lazy man to much hurry," the Indian went on. "Me not know you sleep there, sar!"

"Oh, all right," Tom said, recollecting that he must keep up his disguise. "Maybe I was dreaming."

"Yes, sar," and the foreman hurried on, with a backward glance over his shoulder.

"Now was I dreaming or not?" thought Tom. "I'm going to have a look at that place though, where I saw

He got a long pole and a powerful flash lamp, and when he had a chance, unobserved, he poked around in the

"It must have been a dream," Tom concluded. "I've been thinking too much about this business. I'll have to

The next day, much disappointed, he resumed his own character as explosive expert, and prepared for another

blast. The net result of his watch was that he became suspicious of Serato, and so informed the Titus

"Oh, but you're mistaken," said Job "We have had him for years, on other contracts in Peru, and we trust

"The rock seems to be getting harder the farther in we go," commented Walter Titus. "We're not up to where

"I'll have to look into it," answered Tom. "I may have to change the powder mixture. Guess I'll go up the

mountain a way, and see if there are any outcroppings of rock there that would give me an idea of what lies

Accordingly, while the men in the tunnel were clearing away the rock loosened by the blast, Tom, one day,

taking his electric rifle with him, went up the mountain under which the big bore ran.

He located, by computation, the spot beneath which the end of the tunnel then was, and began collecting

samples of the outcropping ledge. He wanted to analyze these pieces of stone later. Koku was with him, and,

It was a wild and desolate region in which he found himself on the side of the mountain. Beyond him

stretched towering and snowclad peaks, and high in the air were small specks, which he knew to be condors,

As Tom and Koku made their way along the mountain trail they came unexpectedly upon an Indian workman

who was gathering herbs and bark, an industry by which many of the natives added to their scanty livelihood.

The woman was familiar with the appearance of the white men, and nodded in friendly fashion.

Tom passed on, thinking of many things, when he was suddenly startled by a scream from the woman. It was

a scream of such terror and agony that, for the moment, Tom was stunned into inactivity. Then, as he turned,

he saw a great condor sweeping down out of the air, the wind fairly whistling through the big, outstretched

But this was not the object of the condor. It was aiming to strike, with its fierce talons, at a point some paces

distant from where the woman stood, and in the intervals between her screams Tom heard her cry, in her

Then Tom understood. The woman herbgatherer had brought her infant with her on her quest, and had laid

it down on a bed of soft grass while she worked. And it was this infant, wrapped as Tom afterward saw in a

Throwing his electric rifle to his shoulder, Tom pressed the switch trigger. The unseen but powerful force

The outstretched wings fell limp, the great body seemed to shrivel up, and, with a crash, the bird fell into the

underbrush, breaking the twigs and branches with its weight. The electric rifle, a full account of which was

given in the volume entitled "Tom Swift and His Electric Rifle," had done its work well.

With a scream, in which was mingled a cry of thanks, the woman threw himself on the sleeping child. The

Snatching up in her arms the now awakened child, the woman gazed for a moment into its face, which she

covered with kisses. Then the herbgatherer looked over to the dead, limp body of the great condor, and from

In another moment the woman had rushed forward, and knelt at the feet of the young inventor. Holding the

baby in one arm, in her other hand the woman seized Toms and kissed it fervently, at the same time pouring

forth a torrent of impassioned language, of which Tom could only make out a word now and then. But he

"Oh, that's all right," Tom said, rather embarrassed by the handkissing. "It was an easy shot."

An Indian came bursting through the bushes, evidently the woman's husband by the manner in which she

greeted him, and Tom recognized the newcomer as one of the tunnel workers. There was some quick

conversation between the husband and wife, in which the latter made all sorts of motions, including in their

The man took off his hat and approached Tom, genuflecting as he might have done in church.

"She say you save baby from condor," the man said in his halting English. "She t'ank youme, I t'ank you.

Bird see babe in deer skint'ink um dead animal. Maybe so bird carry baby off, drop um on sharp stone,

"Thanks," said Tom, easily. "I'm glad I happened to be around. I supposed condors only went for things dead,

but I reckon, as you say, it mistook the baby in the deer skin for a dead animal. And I guess it might have

carried your little one off, or at least lifted it up, and then it might have dropped it far enough to have killed it.

The condor of the Andes is the largest bird of prey in existence. One in the Bronx Zoo, in New York, with his

wings spread out, measured a little short of ten feet from tip to tip. Measure ten feet out on the ground and

This same condor in the park was made angry by a boy throwing a feather boa up into the air outside the

cage. The condor raised himself from the ground, and hurled himself against the heavy wire netting so that

the whole, big cage shook. And the breeze caused by the flapping wings blew off the hats of several

spectators. So powerful was the air force from the condor's wings that it reminded one of the current caused

when standing behind the propellers of an aeroplane in motion. The condor rarely attacks living persons or

"Well, I've got about all I want," Tom said. "But if you could tell me where those ten missing men are, and

The woman did not seem to comprehend Tom's talk, but the man did. He started, and fear seemed to come

"No, I don't suppose you can," said Tom, musingly. "Well," it doesn't matter, I guess I'll have to cross it off

Again the Indian and his wife expressed their gratitude, and Tom, after letting the little brown baby cling to

"Well, that was some excitement," mused Tom, who made little of the shot itself, for the condor was such a

mark that he would have had to aim very badly indeed to miss it. And perhaps only the electric rifle could

have killed quickly enough to prevent the baby's being injured in some way by the big bird, even though it

The tunnel work went on, though not so well as when Tom's explosive was first used. The rock was indeed

getting harder and was not so easily shattered. Tom made tests of the pieces he had obtained from the

outcropping ledge on the mountain where he had shot the condor, and decided to make a change in the

Shipments were regularly received from Shop ton, Mr. Swift keeping things in progress there. Mr. Damon's

business was going on satisfactorily, and he lent what aid he could to Tom. As for Professor Bumper he kept

The scientist wanted Tom and Mr. Damon to go on another trip with him, this time to a distant sierra, or

fertile valley, where it was reported a race of Indians lived, different from others in that region.

"It may be that they are descendants from the Pelonians," suggested the professor. Tom was too busy to go,

but Mr. Damon went. The expedition had all sorts of trouble, losing its way and getting into a swamp from

which escape was not easy. Then, too, the strange Indians proved hostile, and the professor and his party

"But the difficulties and the hostile attitude of these natives only makes me surer that I am on the right track,"

Tom was busy over a problem in explosives one day when he saw Tim Sullivan hurrying into the office of

"I hope there hasn't been another premature blast," mused Tom. "But if there had been I think I'd have heard

"They didn't come out, an' thot's all there is to it," the foreman was saying. "I sint thim in mesilf, and they

worked until it was time t' set off th' blast. I wint t' get th' fuse, an' I was goin' t' send th' black imps out of

"Do you mean that fifteen more of our men have vanished as the first ten did?" asked Job Titus.

"Ask th' timekeeper," and Tim motioned to a young Englishman who, since the other disappearance, had

been stationed at the mouth of the tunnel to keep a record of who went in and came out.

"No, sir! Nobody kime hout, sir!" the Englishman declared. "Hi 'aven't been away frim 'ere, sir, not since hi

With Tom and Tim the Titus brothers went into the tunnel. It was deserted, and not a trace of the men could

be found. Their tools were where they had been dropped, but of the men not a sign.

Work on the tunnel was stopped for a day, and, keeping out all natives, the contractors, with Tom and such

white men as they had in their employ, went over every foot of roof, sides and floor in the big shaft. But not a

crack or fissure, large enough to permit the passage of a child, much less a man, could be found.

"Well, I give up!" cried Walter Titus in despair. "There must be witchcraft at work here!"

"Nonsense!" exclaimed his brother. "It's more likely the craft of Blakeson Grinder, with Waddington helping

"Well, if a human agency made these twentyfive men disappear, prove it!" insisted Walter.

"Well, go on with the work," was Job's final conclusion. "We'll have one of the white men constantly in the

tunnel after this whenever a gang is working. We won't leave the natives alone even long enough to go to get

The tunnel was opened for work, but there were no workers. The morning after the investigation, when the

starting whistle blew there was no line of Indians ready to file into the big, black hole. The huts where they

"Well, if this isn't the limit!" cried Torn Swift. "As if we didn't have trouble enough without a strike on our

"Do you mean that the men won't work any more?" asked his brother of the native foreman.

"Well, I don't know that I blame 'em for being a bit frightened," commented Job. "It is a queer proceeding

"They waited until pay day to go on strike," commented the bookkeeper, a youth about Tom's age.

This was true. The men had been paid off the day before, and usually on such occasions many of them

remained away, celebrating in the nearest village. But this time all had left, and evidently did not intend to

"We'll have to get a new gang," said Job. "And it's going to delay us just at the wrong time. Well, there's no

help for it. Get busy, Serato. You and Tim go and see how many men you can gather. Tell them we'll give

them a sol a week more if they do good work. (A sol is the standard silver coin of Peru, and is worth in

"Half a dollar a day more will look mighty big to them," went on the contractor. "Get the men, Serato, and

Whether Serato used his best arguments could not, of course, be learned, but he came back at the close of the

"Then I'll try!" cried Job. "I'll get the workers. I'll make our old ones come back, for they'll be the best."

Accompanied by his brother and Tom he went to the various Indian villages, including the one whence most

of the men now on strike had come. The fifteen missing ones were not found, though, as before, their

relatives, and, in some cases, their families, did not seem alarmed. But the men who had gone on strike were

found lolling about their cabins and huts, smoking and taking their ease, and no amount of persuasion could

Some of them said they had worked long enough and were tired, needing a rest. Others declared they had

money enough and did not want more. Even two more sols a week would not induce them to return.

And many were frankly afraid. They said so, declaring that if they went back to the tunnel some unknown

Job Titus and his brother, who could speak the language fairly well, tried to argue against this. They declared

the tunnel was perfectly safe. But one native worker, who had been the best in the gang, asked:

"It's a trick," declared Walter. "Our rivals have induced the men to go on strike in order to hamper us with the

But the closest inquiry failed to prove this statement. If Blakeson Grinder, or any of their agents, had a hand

in the strike they covered their operations well. Though diligent inquiry was made, no trace of Waddington,

Tom, who had some sort of suspicion of the bearded man on the steamer, tried to find him, even taking a trip

The tunnel work was at a standstill, for there was little use in setting off blasts if there were no men to remove

the resulting piles of debris. So, though Tom was ready with some specially powerful explosive, he could not

Efforts were made to get laborers from another section of the country, but without effect. The contractors

heard of a big force of Italians who had finished work on a railroad about a hundred miles away, and they

"Well, we may as well give up," said Walter, despondently, to his brother one day. "We'll never get the tunnel

"We still have a margin of safety," declared job. "If we could get the men inside of a couple of weeks, and if

"If we could git a gang of min from the ould sodth' kind I used t' work wit in N'Yark," said Tim Sullivan,

But that efficient labor was out of the question now. The tunnel camp was a deserted place.

"Come on, Koku, we'll go hunting," said Tom one day. "There's no use hanging around here, and some

The Titus brothers had gone to a distant village, on the forlorn hope of getting laborers, so Tom was left to

The taruco, or native deer, had been plentiful in the vicinity of the tunnel until the presence of so many men

and the frequent blasts had driven them farther off, and it was not until after a tramp of several miles that

Tom saw one. Then, after stalking it a little way, he managed to kill it with the electric rifle.

Koku hoisted the animal to his big shoulders, and, as this would provide meat enough for some time, Tom

As he and Mr. Damon, with Koku in the rear, passed through a little clearing, they saw, on the far side, a

native hut. And from it rushed a woman, who approached Tom, casting herself on her knees, while she

"Oh, this is the mother of the child I saved from the condor," said Tom. "Every time she sees me she thanks

me all over again. How is the baby?" he asked in the Indian tongue, for he was a fair master of it by now.

"The baby is well. Will the mighty hunter permit himself to enter my miserable hovel and partake of some

"What do you say, Mr. Damon?" Tom asked. "She's clean and neat, and she makes a drink of goat's milk that

A little later they were partaking of a rude, but none the less welcome, lunch in the woman's hut, while the

"Say, Masni," asked Tom, addressing the woman by name, "don't you know where we can get some men to

work the tunnel?" Of course Tom spoke the Indian language, and he had to adapt himself to the

The woman looked around, as though in fear. Then she approached Tom closely and whispered:

"Me tell mighty hunter," she went on, lowering her voice still more. "My man he no want to tell, he 'fraid, but

I tell. Mighty hunter save Vashni," and she looked toward the baby. "Me help friends of mighty hunter. Bad

"Where are they now?" asked Tom. "Jove, if I could find them the secret would be solved!"

"I don't know," was the answer, "but something sure is in the wind. I guess I shot better than I knew when I

Calling to a girl of about thirteen years to look after her baby, Masni slipped along up a rough mountain trail,

motioning to Tom, Mr. Damon and Koku to follow. Or rather, the woman gave the sign to Tom, ignoring the

others, who, naturally, would not be left behind. Masni seemed to have eyes for no one but the young

inventor, and the manner in which she looked at him showed the deep gratitude she felt toward him for

"Come," she said, in her strange Indian tongue, which Tom could interpret well enough for himself now.

"But which men do you mean, Masni?" inquired Tom. "The lost men, or the bad ones, who are making

"My manhe good man," she said, coming to a pause on the rough trail after a climb which was not easy.

"Yes, I know he is," Tom said. "But he went on a strike with the others, Masni. He no work. He go on a 'hit,'

"My man he good manbut he 'fraid," said the wife. "He want to tell you of bad mans, but he 'fraid. You

"Oh, I see," said Tom. "Your husband would have given away the secret, only he's afraid of the bad men. He

Tom was not quite sure what it all meant, but it seemed that after his slaying of the condor both parents were

so filled with gratitude that they wanted to reveal some secret about the tunnel, only Masni's husband was

They resumed their journey up the mountain trail. It wound in and out in a region none of them had before

visited. Though it could not be far from the tunnel, it was almost a strange country to Tom.

Suddenly Masni stopped in a narrow gorge where the walls of rock rose high on either hand. She seemed

looking for something. Her sharp, black eyes scanned the cliff and then with an exclamation of satisfaction

she approached a certain place. With a quick motion she pulled aside a mass of tangled vines, and disclosed a

For a moment Tom hesitated. Was this a trap? If he and his friends entered this narrow and dark opening

might not the Indian woman roll down some rock back of them, cutting off forever the way of escape?

Tom turned and looked at Masni. Then he was ashamed of his suspicion, for the honest black face, smiling at

He led the way, followed by Mr. Damon, while Koku came next and then Masni. It could be no trap since she

The path widened, but not much. There was only room for one to walk at a time. The trail twisted and turned,

and Tom was wondering how far it led, when, from behind him, came the cry of the woman:

Tom halted around a sharp turn, and stood transfixed at the sight which met his gaze. He found himself

looking out through a crack in the face of a sheer stone cliff that went straight down for a hundred feet or

Tom was standing in a narrow cleft of rockthe same rock through which they had made their way. And at

the foot of the cliff was a little encampment of Indians. There were a dozen huts, and wandering about them,

"There men from tunnel," said Masni, and, as he looked, wondering, Tom saw some of the workers he knew.

"How did they get here?" asked the odd man, as he looked down in the little valley where the missing ones

"That's what we've got to find out," Tom said. "At any rate here they are, and they seem to be enjoying life

while we've been worrying as to what had become of them. How did they get here, Masni?"

Tom looked down once more on the group of men who had so mysteriously disappeared. The little valley

stretched out away from the face of the cliff, through which, by means of the crack, or cleft in it, Tom and the

others had come. Tom looked down the wall of rock. It was as smooth as the side of a building, and offered

no means of getting down or up. Doubtless there was an easier entrance to the valley on the other side. It was

like looking down into some vast hall through an upper window or from a balcony.

"And those men have been in hiding, or been hidden here, ever since they disappeared from the tunnel," said

"It doesn't look as though they were detained by force," Tom remarked. "I think they are being paid to stay

They went back along the trail that led through the split in the rock, until they had come to the place where

the natural curtain of vines concealed the entrance. Tom took particular notice of this place so he would know

Then Masni led them over the mountain, and this time Tom saw that they were approaching the tunnel. He

recognized some places where he had taken samples of rock from the outcropping to test the strength of his

Reaching a certain wild and desolate place, Masni made a signal of caution. She seemed to be listening

intently. Then, as if satisfied there was no danger, she parted some bushes and glided in, motioning the others

Masni stopped in front of a pile of brush. With a few vigorous motions of her arms she swept it aside and

revealed a smooth slab of rock. In the centre was what seemed to be a block of metal Masni placed her foot

The slab of rock tilted to one side, as if on a pivot, revealing a square opening which seemed to lead through

Stooping down, he looked through the hole thus strangely opened and what he saw caused him to cry out in

"It's the tunnel!" he cried. "I can look right clown into the tunnel. It's the incandescent lights I see. I can look

right at the ledge of rock where I kept watch that day, and where I sawwhere I saw the face of

Waddington!" he cried. "It wasn't a dream after all. This is a shaft connecting with the tunnel. We didn't

discover it because this rock fits right in the opening in the roof. It must have been there all the while, and

some blast brought it to light. Is this how the men got out, or were taken out of the tunnel, Masni?" Tom

She pawed aside a mound of earth, and disclosed a rope buried there, a rope knotted at intervals. This, let

down through the hole in the roof of the tunnel, provided a means of escape, and in such a manner that the

"I see how it is!" cried Tom. "Some one interested, Waddington probably, who knew about this old secret

shaft going down into the earth, used it as soon as our blasting was opened that far. They got the men out this

"To cripple us! To cause the strike by making our other workers afraid of some evil spirit! The men were

taken away secretly, and, doubtless, have been kept in idleness ever sincepaid to stay away so the mystery

would be all the deeper. Our rivals finding they couldn't stop us in any other way have taken our laborers

"Of course that's the secret!" cried Tom. "Blakeson Grinder, or some of their toolsprobably the bearded

man or Waddingtonfound out about this shaft which led down into our tunnel. They induced the first ten

men to quit, and when Tim went to get the fuse the rope was let down, and the men climbed up here, one

after the other. Those Indians can climb like cats. Once the ten were out the shaft was closed with the rock,

"The same was done with the next fifteen, and, I suppose, if the strike hadn't come, more of our workers

would 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

"And no wonder we couldn't find any opening in the tunnel roof. This rock must fit in as smoothly as a secret

"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."

"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 Wadding ton, or Blakeson Grinder, and put a stop to this business. We know their secret

"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 itthe 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

"Just a counterbalanced 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,

The Indian woman had indeed revealed valuable information. They covered the secret rock with brush, as it

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, 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,

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

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

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

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

"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

This was done, but with little better effect. The explosive, powerful as it was, ate only a little way into the

"This won't do," said Job Titus, despairingly, one day. "We aren't making any progress at all. There's a half

mile of this rock, according to my calculations, and at this rate we'll be six months getting through it. By that

time our limit will be up, and we'll be forced to give up the contract What can we do, Tom Swift?"

The young inventor was idly handling some pieces of the very hard rock that had cropped out in the tunnel

cut Tom had tested it, he had pulverized it (as well as he was able), he had examined it under the microscope,

and he had taken great slabs of it and set off under it, or on top of it, charges of explosive of various power to

"Well, Mr. Titus," was the answer, "the only thing I see to do is to make a new explosive."

And in the days that followed, Tom began work on a new line. He had brought from Shopton with him much

A message to his father brought the reply that the new ingredients Tom needed would be shipped.

"The kind of explosive we need to rend that very hard rock," the young inventor explained to the Titus

"Well, in a sense, they do. Yet we have quick burning and slowburning powders, the same as we have fuses.

A quick burning explosive is all right in soft rock, or in soil with rock and earth mingled. But in rock that is

harder than flint if you use a quick explosive, only the outer surface of the rock will be scaled off.

"If you take a hammer and bring it down with all your force on a hard rock you may chip off a lot of little

pieces, or you may crack the rock, but you won't, under ordinary circumstances, pulverize it as we want to do

"On the other hand, if you take a smaller hammer, and keep tapping the rock with comparatively gentle

blows, you will set up a series of vibrations, that, in time, will cause the hard rock to break up into any

"Now that is the kind of explosive I want one that will deal a succession of constant blows at the hard rock

Work on the tunnel did not cease while he was searching for a new explosive. There was plenty of the old

explosive left and charges of this were set off as fast as holes could be drilled to receive it. But comparatively

little was accomplished. Sometimes more rock would be loosed than at others, and the native laborers, now

seemingly perfectly contented, would be kept busy. Again, when a heavy blast would be set off hardly a

But the work must go on. Already the time limit was getting perilously close, and the contractors did not

doubt that their rivals were only waiting for a chance to step in and take their places.

Nothing more had been seen or heard of the bearded man, Waddington, or Blakeson Grinder. But that the

rival firm had not given up was evidenced by the efforts made in New York to cripple, financially, the firm in

which Tom was interested. In fact, at one time the Titus brothers were so tied up that they could not get

money enough to pay their men. But Tom cabled his father, who was quite wealthy, and Mr. Swift loaned the

It might be mentioned that Tom was to get a large sum if the tunnel were completed on time, so it was to his

Tom kept on with his powder experiments. Mr. Damon helped him, for that gentleman had succeeded in

putting the affairs of the wholesale drug business on a firm foundation, and there was no more trouble about

getting the supplies of cinchona bark to market. The natives seemed to have taken kindly to the eccentric

man, or perhaps it was the reputation of Tom Swift and his electric rifle that induced them to work hard.

He came and went at odd times, accompanied by his little retinue of Indians, a guide and a native cook. He

would come back to the tunnel camp, where he made his headquarters, travel stained, worn and weary, with

Then he would retire to his tent, to pour over his note books, and make a new translation of the inscription

on the golden plates. In a day or so, refreshed and rested, he would prepare for another start.

"I'll find it this time, surely!" he would exclaim, as he marched off up the mountain trail. "I have heard of a

new valley, never before visited by a white man, in which there are some old ruins. I'm sure they must be

"The ruins were only those of a native village," he would say. "No trace of an ancient civilization there."

The professor took little or no interest in the tunnel, though he expressed the hope that Tom and his friends

would be successful. But industrial pursuits had no charm for the scientist. He only lived to find the hidden

He heard the story of the queer shaft leading down into the bore under the mountain, and, for a time, hoped

that might be some clue to the lost Pelone. But, after an examination, he decided it was but the shaft to some

ancient mine which had not panned out, and so had been abandoned after having been fitted with a balanced

There seemed to be no further trouble among the Indian tunnel workers. Those who had disappearedwho

had, seemingly, gone willingly up the knotted rope to hide themselves in the valleykept on with their work.

If they told their fellows why and where they had gone, the others gave no sign. The evil spirits of the tunnel

had been exorcised, and there was now peace, save for the blasts that were set off every so often.

Tom tried combination after combination, testing them inside and outside the tunnel, always seeking for an

explosive that would give a slow, rending effect instead of a quick blow, the power of which was soon lost.

"Yes," Tom went on, "I've got a mixture here that seems to give just the effect I want. I tried it on some small

pieces of rock, and now I want to test it on some large chunks. Have you brought any down lately?"

Some large pieces of the hard rock, which had been brought down in a recent blast, were taken outside the

tunnel, and in them one afternoon Tom placed, in holes drilled to receive it, some of his new explosive. The

rocks were set some distance away from the tunnel camp, and Tom attached the electric wires that were to

"Well, I guess we're ready," announced the young inventor, as he looked about him.

The tunnel workers had been allowed to go for the day, and in a log shack, where they would be safe from

"This explosive works differently from any other," he explained. "When the charge is fired there is not

instantly a detonation and a bursting. The powder burns slowly and generates an immense amount of gas. It is

this gas, accumulating in the cracks and crevices of the rock, that I hope will burst and disintegrate it. Of

Tom pressed the switch and, as he did so, there was a cry of alarm from Mr. Damon.

For, as the charge was fired, the giant emerged from the woods and calmly took a seat on the rock that was

Thus cried Tom and his friends to the big, goodnatured, but somewhat stupid, giant who had sat down in the

dangerous spot. Koku looked toward the hut, in front of which the young inventor and the others stood,

"No!" answered Tom. "The electric current has already ignited the charge. Only that it's slowburning it

But the giant did not seem to understand. He waved his hand in friendly greeting to Tom and the others, who

dared not approach closer to warn him, for the explosion would occur any second now.

"Call him to come to you, Tom!" shouted the odd man. "He always comes to you in a hurry, you know. Call

This last was a word in the giant's own language, meaning "hurry." And Koku knew when Tom used that

word that there was need of haste. So, though he had sat down, evidently to take his ease after a long tramp

And, as he did so, something happened. The first spark from the fuse, ignited by the electric current, had

reached the slowburning powder. There was a crackle of flame, and a dull rumble. Koku sprang up from the

big stone as though shot. What he saw and heard must have alarmed him, for he gave a mighty jump and

Koku got away only just in time, for when he was half way between the group of his friends and the big rock,

the utmost force of the explosion was felt. It was not so very loud, but the power of it made the earth tremble.

The rock seemed to heave itself into the air, and when it settled back it was seen to be broken up into many

pieces. Koku looked back over his shoulder and gave another tremendous leap, which carried him out of the

"There!" cried Tom. "I guess something happened that time! The rock is broken up finer than any like it we

"Bless my handkerchief!" cried Mr. Damon. "Think of what might have happened to Koku if he had been

"Well," said Tom, "he might not have been killed, for he would probably have been tossed well out of the

way at the first slow explosion, but afterwardwell, he might have been pretty well shaken up. He got away

"I did," Tom replied. "But I didn't think you'd walk out of the woods, just at the wrong time, and sit down on

"Um," murmured the giant. "Kokuhehe Oh, by golly!" he yelled. And then, as if realizing what he

had escaped, and being incapable of expressing it, the giant with a yell ran into the tunnel and stayed there for

The experiment was pronounced a great success and, now that Tom had discovered the right kind of

explosive to rend the very hard rock, he proceeded to have it made in sufficiently large quantities to be used

"We'll have to hustle," said Job Titus. "We haven't much of our contract time left, and I have reason to

believe the Peruvian government will not give any extension. It is to their interest to have us fail, for they will

profit by all the work we have done, even if they have to pay our rivals a higher price than we contracted for.

"If you're going to use bigger charges of this new explosive, Tom, won't more rock be brought down?" asked

"Yes, we could use more I guess. The faster the blasted rock is removed, the quicker I can put in new

"I'll get more men," decided the contractor. "There won't be any trouble now that the hoodoo of the missing

workers is solved. I'll tell Serato to scare up all his dusky brethren he can find, and we'll offer a bonus for

"And get some big ones, Serato," urged Job Titus. "Get some fellows like Koku," for the giant did the work

of three men in the tunnel, not because he was obliged to, but because his enormous strength must find an

"Um want mans like him?" asked the Indian, nodding toward the giant. He and Koku were not on good terms,

for once, when Koku was a hurry, he had picked up the Indian (no mean sized man himself) and had calmly

"Sure, get all the giants you can," Tom said. "But I guess there aren't any in Peru."

Where Serato found his man, no one knew, and the foreman would not tell; but a day or so later he appeared

at the tunnel camp with an Indian so large in size that he made the others look like pygmies, and many of

"Say, he's a whopper all right!" exclaimed Tom. "But he isn't as big or as strong as Koku."

"He comes pretty near it," said Job Titus. "With a dozen like him we'd finish the tunnel on time, thanks to

Lamos, the Indian giant, was not quite as large as Koku. That is, he was not as tall, but he was broader of

shoulder. And as to the strength of the two, well, it was destined to be tried out in a startling fashion.

In about a week Tom was ready with his first charges of the new explosive. The extra Indians were on hand,

The charge was fired and a great mass of broken rock brought down inside the tunnel.

"That's tearing it up!" cried Job Titus, when the fumes had blown away, the secret shaft having been opened

to facilitate this. "A few more shots like that and we'll be through the strata of hard rock."

The Indians, Koku and Lamos doing their share of the work, were rushed in to clear away the debris, so

another charge might be fired as soon as possible. This would be in a day or so. The contract time was getting

Blast after blast was set off, and good progress was made. But instead of half a mile of the extra hard rock the

"It's going to be touch and go, whether or not we finish on time," said Mr. Job Titus one afternoon, when a

clearance had been made and the men had filed out to give the drillers a chance to make holes for a new blast.

Tom was about to make a remark when Tim Sullivan came running out of the tunnel, his face showing fright

"Quick! Come quick!" cried the Irishman. "Thim two giants is fightin' in there, an' they'll tear th' tunnel apart

Hardly comprehending what the Irish foreman had said, Tom Swift, the Titus brothers and Mr. Damon

followed Tim Sullivan back into the tunnel. They had not gone far before they heard the murmur of many

"Don't ask me!" shouted Tim. "They've been on bad terms iver since they met." This was true enough, for one

giant was jealous of the other's power, and they were continually trying feats of strength against one another.

Hurrying on, Tom and his companions came upon a strange and not altogether pleasant sight. In an open

place in the tunnel, where the lights were brightest, and in front of the rocky wall which offered a bar to

further progress and which was soon to be blasted away, struggled the two giants.

With their arms locked about one another, they swayed this way and thata struggle between two Titans. Of

nearly the same height and bigness, it was a wrestling match such as had never been seen before. Had it been

merely a friendly test of strength it would have been good to look upon. But it needed only a glance into the

Back and forth they reeled over the rocky floor of the tunnel, bones and sinews cracking. One sought to throw

the other, and first, as Koku would gain a slight advantage, his friends would call encouragement, while,

when Lamos seemed about to triumph, the Indians favoring him would let out a yell of triumph.

For a few minutes Tom and his friends watched, fascinated. Then they saw Koku slip, while Lamos bent him

farther toward the earth. The Indian giant raised his big fist, and Tom saw in it a rock, which the big man was

Tom's giant slid to one side only just in time, for the blow descended, catching him on his muscular shoulder

where it only raised a bruise. And then Koku gathered himself for a mighty effort. His face flamed with rage

"They must stop!" said Job Titus. "We can't have them fighting like this. It is bad for the others. If it were in

"No fight more!" gasped the giant, through his clenched teeth. "This end fight!"

With a mighty effort he broke the hold of Lamos' arms. Then stooping suddenly he seized his rival about the

middle, and with a tremendous heave, in which his muscles stood out in great bunches while his very bones

seemed to crack, Koku raised Lamos high in the air. Up over his head he raised that mass of muscle, bone

Up and up Koku raised Lamos as the murmur of those watching grew to a shout of amazement and terror.

Never had the like been seen in that land for generations. Up and up one giant raised the other. Then calling

out something in his native tongue Koku hurled the other from him, clear across the tunnel and up against the

opposite rocky wall. The murmuring died to frightened whispers as Lamos fell in a shapeless heap on the

"Ah!" breathed Koku, stretching himself, and extending his brawny arms. "Fight all over, Master."

"Yes, so it seems, Koku," said Tom, solemnly, "but you have killed him. Shame on you!" and he spoke

"He isn't dead," he called, "but I guess he won't wrestle or fight any more. He's badly crippled."

"And him no more try to blow up tunnel, either," said Koku in his hoarse voice. "Me fix: him! No more him

"What do you mean, Koku?" asked Tom. "Is that why you fought him? Did he try to wreck the tunnel?"

"Be jabbers an' I wouldn't wonder but what he was right!" cried Tim Sullivan, excitedly. "I did see that

beggar." and he pointed to Lamos, who was slowly crawling away, "at the chist where I kape th' powder, but

Then the giant explained in his own language, Tom Swift translating, for Koku spoke English but

"Koku says," rendered Torn, "that he saw Lamos trying to put a big charge of powder up in the place where

the balanced rock fits in the secret opening of the tunnel roof. The charge was all ready to fire, and if the

giant had set it off he might have brought down the roof of the tunnel and so choked it up that we'd have been

months cleaning it out. Koku saw him and stopped him, and then the fight began. We only saw the end."

"Bless my shoe string!" gasped Mr. Damon. "And a terrible end it was. Will Lamos die?"

"I don't think so," answered Job Titus. "But he will be a cripple for life. Not only would he have wrecked the

tunnel, but he would have killed many of our men had he set off that blast. Koku saved them, though it seems

An investigation showed that Koku spoke truly. The charge, all ready to set off, was found where he had

knocked it from the hand of Lamos. And so Tom's giant saved the day. Lamos was sent back to his own

village, a broken and humbled giant. And to this day, in that part of Peru, the great struggle between Koku

and Lamos is spoken of with awe where Indians gather about their council fires, and they tell their children of

"It was part of the plot," said Job Titus when the usual blast had been set off that day, with not very good

results. "This giant was sent to us by our rivals. They wanted him to hamper our work, for they see we have a

chance to finish on time. I think that foreman, Serato, is in the plot. He brought Lamos here. We'll fire him!"

This was done, though the Indian protested his innocence. But he could not be trusted.

"We can't take any chances," said Job Titus. "Our time is too nearly up. In fact I'm afraid we won't finish on

"There's only one thing to do," said Tom, after an investigation. "As you say, there is more of that hard rock

than we calculated on. To try to blast and take it out in the ordinary way will be useless. We must try

"We must set off the biggest blast we can with safety. We'll bore a lot of extra holes, and put in double

charges of the explosive. I'll add some ingredients to it that will make it stronger. It's our last chance. Either

we'll blow the tunnel all to pieces, or we'll loosen enough rock to make sufficient progress so we can finish

The Titus brothers looked at one another. Failure stared them in the face. Unless they completed the tunnel

"Take the chance!" exclaimed Job. "It's sink or swim anyhow. Set off the big blast, Tom."

That day preparations were made for setting off a great charge of the powerful explosive. The work was

hurried as fast as was consistent with safety, but even then progress was rather slow. Precautions had to be

taken, and the guards about the tunnel were doubled. For it was feared that some word of what was about to

be done would reach the rival firm, who might try desperate means to prevent the completion of the work.

There was plenty of the explosive on hand, for Mr. Swift had sent Tom a large shipment. All this while no

word had come from Mr. Nestor, and Tom was beginning to think that his prospective fatherinlaw was

Professor Bumper came and went as he pleased, but his quest was regarded as hopeless now. Tom and his

friends had little time for the baldheaded scientist, for they were too much interested in the success of the

"Well, we'll set her off tomorrow," Tom said one night, after a hard day's work. "The rocky wall is

honeycombed with explosive. If all goes well we ought to bring down enough rock to keep the gangs busy

Gathered beyond the mouth of the tunnel, far enough away so that the wind of the great blast would not bowl

them over like ten pins, stood Tom Swift and his friends. In his hand Tom held the battery box, the setting of

the switch in which would complete the electrical circuit and set off the hundreds of pounds of explosive

"Are all the men out?" asked the young inventor of Tim Sullivan, who had charge of this important matter.

Tim was in sole charge as foreman now, having picked up enough of the Indian language to get along without

It was a portentous moment. No wonder Tom Swift hesitated. In a sense he and his friends, the contractors,

had staked their all on a single throw. If this blast failed it was not likely that another would succeed, even if

The time limit had almost expired, and there was still a half mile of hard rock between the last heading and

the farther end of the big tunnel. If the blast succeeded enough rock might be brought down to enable the

work to go on, by using a night and day shift of men. Then, too, there was the chance that the hard strata of

"Well, we may as well have it over with," said Tom in a low voice. Every one was very quiettensely quiet.

"Why, Professor!" Tom exclaimed, "I thought you had gone off to the mountains again, looking for the lost

"I am going, Tom, very soon. I thought I would stop and see the effect of your big blast. This is my last trip.

"Oh, not altogether," went on the baldheaded scientist. "I mean I will give up searching in this part of Peru,

and go elsewhere. But I will never completely give up the search, for I am sure the hidden city exists

somewhere under these mountains," and he looked off toward the snowcovered peaks of the Andes.

There was a contraction of his hand as he pressed the switch over, and then, for perhaps a half second,

nothing happened. Just for an instant Tom feared something had gone wrong that the electric current had

failed, or that the wires had become disconnectedperhaps through some action of the plotting rivals.

And then, gently at first, but with increasing intensity, the solid ground on which they were all standing

"Bless my" began Mr. Damon, but he got no further, for a mighty gust of wind swept out of the tunnel, and

blew off his hat. That gust was but a gentle breeze, though, compared to what followed. For there came such

a rush of air that it almost blew over those standing near the opening of the great shaft driven under the

mountain. There was a roar as of Niagara, a howling as in the Cave of the Winds, and they all bent to the

Then followed a dull, rumbling roar, not as loud as might have been expected, but awful in its intensity. Deep

"Run! Run back!" cried Tom Swift. "There's a backdraft and the powder gas is poisonous. Stoop down and

They understood what he meant. The vapor from the powder was deadly if breathed in a confined space.

Even in the open it gave one a terrible headache. And Tom could see floating out of the tunnel the first wisps

of smoke from the fired explosive. It was lighter than air, and would rise. Hence the necessity, as in a

They all rushed back, stooping low. Mr. Damon stumbled and fell, but Koku picked him up and, tucking him

under one arm, as he might have done a child, the giant followed Tom to a place of safety.

"Well, Tom, it went off all right," said Mr. Job Titus, as they stood among the shacks of the workmen and

They waited impatiently for the deadly vapor to clear out of the tunnel. It was more than an hour before they

dared venture in, and then it was with smarting eyes and puckered throats. But the atmosphere was quickly

"Switch on the lights," cried Tom to Tim, for the illuminating current had been cut off when the blast was

Following the eager young inventor came the contractors, some of the white workers, Mr. Damon and

Professor Bumper. The little scientist said he would like to see the effect of the big blast.

"Some force to it," observed Job Titus, as he observed pieces of rock close to the mouth of the tunnel. "If it

only exerted the force the other way, against the face of the rock, as well as back this way, we'll be all right."

A big searchlight had been got ready to flash on the place where the blast had been set off. This was to

enable them to see how much rock had been torn away. And, as they reached the place where the flintlike

"It is a bole," admitted Tom, in a low voice. "A bigger hole than I dared hope for."

For a great cave, seemingly, had been blown in the face of the rock wall that had hindered the progress of the

"Shift the light over this way," called Tom to Walter Titus, who was operating it. "I can't see anything."

The great beam of light flashed into the void, and then a murmur of awe came from every throat.

For there, revealed in the powerful electrical rays, was what seemed to be a long tunnel, high and wide, as

smooth as a paved street. And on either side of it were what appeared to be buildings, some low, others taller.

And, branching off from the main tunnel, or street, were other passages, also lined with buildings, some of

Professor Bumper had crawled forward over the mass of broken rock. He gazed as if fascinated at what the

Had it not been for Tom Swift, the excited professor would have rushed pellmell over the jagged pile of rocks

into the great cave which had been opened by the blast, the cave in which the scientist declared was the lost

city for which he had been searching. But the young inventor grasped Mr. Bumper by the arm.

"Better wait a bit," Tom suggested. "There may be powder gas in there. Some of it must have blown

"I don't care!" excitedly cried the professor. "That is the hidden city! I'm sure of it! I have found it at last! I

"There'll be plenty of time," said Tom. "It isn't going to run away. Wait until I make a test Tim, hand me one

Some torches of a very inflammable wood were used to test for the presence of the deadly smokegas.

It fell to the stone floorto the stone street to be more exactand, flaring up brightly, further revealed the

"It's all right," Tom announced. "There's no danger so long as the torch burns. You can go on, Professor."

And Professor Bumper rushed forward, scrambling over the pile of blasted rock, followed by Tom and the

others. Some of the debris from the explosion had fallen into the cave, and was scattered for some distance

along the main street of what had been Pelone. But beyond that the way was clear.

He pointed to inscriptions in queer characters over the doorway of some of the houses, but he alone could

And that is just what had happened. That last great blast Tom Swift had set off had broken down the rock

wall that hid the lost city from view. There it was, buried deep down under the mountain, where it had been

covered from sight ages ago by some mighty earthquake or landslide; perhaps both. And the earth and rocks

had fallen over the main portion of the city of Pelone in such a wayin such an arch formationthat the

The outlying portions were crushed into dust by the awful pressure of the mountainmillions of tons of

stonebut where the natural arch had formed the weight was kept off the buildings, most of which were as

The buildings were of stone block construction, mostly only one story in height, though some were two. They

were simply made, somewhat after the fashion of the Aztecs. A look into some of them by the light of

portable electric lamps showed that the houses were furnished with some degree of taste and luxury. There

But of the inhabitants, there was not a trace. either they had fled before the earthquake or the volcanic

eruption had engulfed the city, or the countless centuries had turned their very bones to dust.

"Oh, what a find! What a find!" murmured Professor Bumper. "I shall be famous! And so will you, Tom

Swift. For it was your blast that revealed the lost city of Pelone. Your name will be honored by every

archeological society in the world, and all will be eager to make you an honorary member."

"That's all very nice," said Tom, "but what pleases me better is that this tunnel is a success."

"Success!" cried Mr. Damon. "I should call it a failure, Tom Swift. Why, you've run smack into an old city,

"Nothing of the sort!" laughed Tom. "Don't you see? The tunnel comes right up to the main street of Pelone.

And the street is as straight as a die, and just the width and height of the tunnel. All we will have to do will be

to keep on blasting away, where the main street comes to an end, and our tunnel will be finished. The street is

over half a mile long, I should judge, and we'll save all that blasting. The tunnel will be finished in time!"

"So it will!" cried Job Titus. "We can use the main street of the hidden city as part of the tunnel."

"Use the street all you like," said Mr. Bumper. "but leave the houses to me. They are a perfect mine of ancient

lore and information. At last I have found it! The ancient, hidden city of Pelone, spoken of on the Peruvian

The story of the discoveries the scientist made in Pelone is an enthralling one. But this is a story of Tom

Swift and his big tunnel, and no place for telling of the archeological discoveries.

Suffice it to say that Professor Bumper, though be found no gold, for which the contractors hoped, made

many curious finds in the ancient houses. He came upon traces of a strange civilization, though he could find

no record of what had caused the burial of Pelone beneath the mountains. He wrote many books about his

discovery, giving Tom Swift due credit for uncovering the place with the mighty blast. Other scientists came

in flocks, and for a time Pelone was almost as busy a place as it had been originally.

Even when the tunnel was completed and trains ran through it, the scientists kept on with their work of

classifying what they found. An underground station was built on the main street of the old city, and visitors

often wandered through the ancient houses, wherein was the bonedust of the dead and gone people.

But to go back to the story of Tom Swift. Tom's surmise was right. He and the contractors were able to use

the main street of Pelone as part of their tunnel, and a good half mile of blasting through solid rock was

saved. The flint came to an end at the extremity of Pelone, and the last part of the tunnel had only to be dug

So the big bore was finished on timeahead of time in fact, and Titus Brothers received from Senor

Belasdo, the Peruvian representative, a large bonus of money, in which Tom Swift shared.

"So our rivals didn't balk us after all," said Walter Titus, "though they tried mighty hard."

The big tunnel was finishedat least Tom Swift's work on it. All that remained to do was to clear away the

debris and lay the connecting rails. Tom and Mr. Damon prepared to go back home. The latter's work was

done. As for Professor Bumper, nothing could take him from Pelone. He said he was going to live there, and,

Tom, Koku and Mr. Damon returned to Lima, thence to go to Callao to take the steamer for San Francisco.

"Because there is another American here. He is friendless and alone, and he is dying. He has no friends, he

With Mr. Damon he entered the room where the dying man lay. He had caught a fever, the hotel manager

He had recognized the mysterious person who had been on the Bellaconda, and the man whose face had

"Yes, the 'bearded man' now," said the sufferer in a hoarse voice, "and some one else too. You are right. I am

And so it proved. He had grown a beard to disguise himself so he might better follow Tom Swift and Mr.

Titus. And he had followed them, seeking to prevent the completion of the tunnel. But he had not been

Waddington it was who had thrown the bomb, though he declared he only hoped to disable Tom and Mr.

Titus, and not to injure them. He was fighting for delay. And it was Waddington, working in conjunction with

the rascally foreman Serato, who had induced the tunnel workers to desert so mysteriously, hoping to scare

the other Indians away. He nearly succeeded too, had it not been for the gratitude of the woman whose baby

Waddington had been an actor before he became involved with the rival contractors. He was smooth shaven

when first he went to Shopton, to spy on Mr. Titus, whose movements he had been commanded to follow by

Blakeson Grinder. Then he disappeared after Mr. Titus chased him, only to reappear, in disguise, on board

Waddington, meanwhile, had grown a beard and this, with his knowledge of theatrical makeup, enabled him

to deceive even Mr. Titus. Of course it was comparatively easy to deceive Tom, who had not known him.

Waddington had really been ill when he called for help on the ship, and he had not noticed that it was Tom

and Mr. Titus who came into his stateroom to his aid. When he did recognize them, he relied on his disguise

to screen him from recognition, and he was successful. He had only pretended to be ill, though, the time he

Reaching Peru he at once began his plotting. Serato told him about the secret shaft leading into the tunnel,

and with the knotted rope, and with the aid of the faithless foreman, the men were got out of the tunnel and

paid to hide away. Waddington was planning further disappearances when Tom saw him, but thought it a

Masni, the Indian woman, out herbhunting one day, had seen Waddington, 'the bearded man' as he then

wasworking the secret stone. Hidden, she observed him and told her husband, who was afraid to reveal

what he knew. But when Tom saved the baby the woman rewarded him in the only way possible. And it was

Serato, who, at Waddington's suggestion, caused the "hit" among the men by working on their superstitious

Waddington, knowing that he was dying, confessed everything, and begged forgiveness from Tom and his

friends, which was granted, in as much as no real harm had been done. Waddington was but a tool in the

hands of the rival contractors, who deserted him in his hour of need. His last hours, however, were made as

No effort was made to bring Blakeson Grinder to justice, as there was no evidence against them after

Waddington died. And, as the tunnel was finished, the Titus brothers had no further cause for worry.

"But if it had not been for Tom's big blast, and the discovery of the hidden city of Pelone just in the right

The day before the steamer was to sail, Tom Swift received a cable message. Its receipt seemed to fill him

"No it's from Mary Nestor. She says her father has forgiven me. They have been away, and Mary has been ill,

which accounts for no letters up to now. But everything is all right now, and they feel that the dynamite trick

wasn't my fault. But, all the same, I'm going to teach Eradicate to read," concluded Tom.

Tom, Mr. Damon and Koku, bidding farewell to the friends they had made in Peru, went. aboard the steamer,

"Give us an option on all that explosive you make, Tom Swift!" begged Walter Titus. "We were so successful

with this tunnel, thanks to you, that the government is going to have us dig another. Will you come down and

"Maybe," said Tom, with a smile. "But I'm going home first," and once more he read the message from Mary

And as Tom, on the deck of the steamer, waved his hands to Professor Bumper and his other friends whom he