it is very strange," agreed Harry, looking up. Truth to
tell, he had hardly been following the talk at all. Harry Hazelton
was quite content to be caught napping whenever Tom Reade had
his eyes open.

"Now, I would like to go back to the mine and stay there until
some time in the night," Tom proposed. "I would like to take
Hazelton with me. Soon we will arrange it, if necessary, so that
Harry and I shall divide the time at the mine. Whenever, in any
of the tunnels, blank rock is struck, whichever one of us is in
charge will stay by the blank rock blasting, keeping careful record,
until pay ore is struck again."

"You two young engineers are too infernally methodical," grumbled
Dr. Tisco under his breath."

"That is a very excellent plan," smiled Montez, amiably. "We will
put some such plan into operation as soon as we are fairly under
way. But not to-day."

"I would like to start at once," Tom insisted.

"Not to-day," once more replied Don Luis, though without losing
patience. "Yet, if you are anxious to know how the blank rock is
coming I can telephone the mine and get all the information within
five minutes. That will be an excellent idea. I will do it now,
in fact."

Crossing the room, Don Luis rang and called for the mine.

"Our young engineers are very sharp--especially Senor Reade,"
murmured Dr. Tisco to himself, while the telephone conversation
was going on in Spanish. "Yet I wonder if our young engineer
does not half suspect that Don Luis has no man at the other end
of the wire?"

Tom did not suspect the telephone trick. In fact, the young chief
engineer had as yet no deep suspicion that Don Luis was a rogue
at heart.

"The report is excellent," called Don Luis, gayly, as he came
back. "In that tunnel where we saw the blasting done the blank
rock has been penetrated, and the rich ore is coming again."

"How I'd like to see it!" Tom glowed.

"Why?" asked Don Luis, quickly.

"Because I am anxious to know all the secrets, all the indications,
of fine old _El Sombrero_."

"It _is_ a fine mine, isn't it, Senor Tomaso?" demanded Don Luis,
enthusiastically.

"From all indications it ought to be," Reade answered. "Yet it's
a new formation of rock to me--this sandwich formation as I might
call it, with the alternate layers of rich ore and blank stuff."

"I have been drawing up a report on the mine," murmured Montez,
opening a drawer in his desk. "This report describes the operations