he difficulty in forwarding shipments.

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 progress--or 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.

"All ready, sor," answered the foreman.

"Here she goes!" cried Tom, as his fingers closed the circuit.

Chapter XIV

Mysterious Disappearances

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, seeing it, cried:

"Down! Down, everybody! There's a back draft, and if you breathe any of
that powder vapor you'll have a fearful headache! Get down, until the
smoke rises!"

The tunnel contractors and their men understood the danger, for they
had handled explosives before. It is a well-known 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. The yellow haze soon drifted away, and it
was safe to rise.

"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 tak