ve us ten days of confusion and panic, with the
Atlantic fleet on this side of the Canal and unable to get through to the
Pacific, and our victory is sure."

"How about the tunnel?" asked Togi, the oldest of the three. "Are you
sure there is no suspicion that it exists?"

"Not the slightest," answered Ofirio. "I came through it myself, last
night, entering it at the masked exit near the locks, and leaving it by
the secret opening in your cellar. Nothing has been disturbed, and the
divers' helmets were in their accustomed place. If the Americans had any
knowledge of it, their soldiers would already be in possession."

"Provided that we can keep the secret until the day of the grand
opening," muttered Togi, uneasily. "You are sure," he went on, "that the
connections are perfect?"

"The wires have been so strung that not one of the charges has been
overlooked," asserted Ofirio, confidently. "There will be no interval
between the explosions. When your finger presses that button, there will
be a roar that will deafen the city and shake the whole Isthmus."

There was a brief pause, and Bert's heart beat so hard that it almost
seemed as though it must be heard. The hideous plot had been revealed in
all its blackness. His face was blanched as he thought of the
possibilities, but he exulted in the fact that, at last, he had definite
knowledge. He knew what was to be done--the destruction of the Canal
Gate. He knew how it was to be done--by an electric current sent
through the wires to the concealed explosives. He knew when it was to be
done--on the opening day of the Canal.

In his mind's eye, he could see the progress of the plan that had been
conceived and carried on with such infernal cunning. With the patience
of moles, they had dug an underground tunnel, extending from Namoto's
mansion to within a short distance of the locks. The mention of the
divers' helmets gave him a clue to the way in which the holes had been
made and the dynamite inserted. No doubt they had taken advantage of
stormy nights, lowering themselves into the water at a distance from the
locks and then slowly groping their way toward them. The wires had found
a conduit in the tunnel, and ran directly to the library of Namoto. His
index finger was indeed the finger of Fate, that expected to write a
record of disaster to the United States. One pressure on a button would
send the electric current surging through the wires, and the great C