cellency."

"Show us what you have been doing," Don Luis directed.

Leading the way with a lantern that threw a brilliant light, the
foreman went on down the tunnel to the heading. As he neared
the end of the tunnel the man called loudly and a number of workmen
stepped aside.

As they reached the spot, Tom's quick eye saw that the morning's
blasts had loosened some eight tons or so of ore. Drillers stood
ready to drive through the rock for the next blast.

"Let us look at the ore, Senor Tomaso," suggested the mine owner.

Tom began to delve through the piles of shattered, reduced rock.
The foreman held the lantern close, that the young engineer might
have all the light he wanted, and called to miners to bring their
lights closer.

Then Harry, also, began to examine the rock. For some minutes
the two young engineers picked up specimens and examined them.

"What do you make of it?" inquired Don Luis Montez at last.

"Is this what you call a run of poor luck?" Tom asked the foreman,
dryly.

"Yes, senor; rather poor," answered the foreman.

"Then it must be rather exciting here when the ore is running
well," smiled Tom. "At a guess I should say that this 'poor'
stuff before us will run thirty dollars to the ton."

"It usually runs fifty, senor," broke in Don Luis. "Sometimes,
for a run of a hundred tons, the ore will show up better than
seventy-five dollars per ton."

"Whew!" whistled Reade. "Then no wonder you call this the land
of golden promise."

"By comparison it would make the mines in the United States look
poor, would it not?" laughed the mine owner.

"There are very few mines there that show frequent runs of fifty
dollars to the ton," Harry observed.

"Are you going to clear out this ore, and send it to the dump"
Tom asked the foreman.

"Yes."

"Then I would be glad if you would do so at once," Tom remarked.

For answer the Mexican foreman stared at Tom in a rather puzzled
way.

"I will do so as soon as I am ordered," he responded, respectfully.

"All right," returned Reade. "I'll give you the order. Clear
this stuff out and get it up in the ore cage. Clear this tunnel
floor with all the speed you comfortably can."

"Perhaps the senor will explain?" suggested the foreman.

"These _caballeros_ are the new engineers in charge of the mine,"
said Dr. Tisco.

"Ah! So? Then if Pedro Gato will only give the order--" began
the foreman.

"If Pedro Gato gives you any orders," Tom