d in the chamber drew together, close to the
sullen light of the forge, the torches unlighted in their hands. They
seemed to be whispering together, and the boys saw them turn their faces
toward a corner not far from the forge.

Two more shots came from outside, and then a voice cried, in English:

"Open the door, you chumps."

"That's Jack Bosworth," cried Jimmie, bounding toward the entrance.

Ned followed the boy's movement for an instant, and then faced back toward
the forge, where the three workmen had stood. The last one was just
disappearing through an opening in the wall, and, with a bound the boy was
after him. A heavy plank door snapped shut in his face.

Then the front door was thrust open, and Frank, and Jack, and Harry, and
Glen, and Peter dashed through, shouting at the top of their voices. Jack
even lifted up his chin and howled "In the prison cell I sit."

"Prison nothin'," Jimmie exclaimed, indignantly. "We was just goin' out to
find you fellers."

"That's what the guard at the door said," cried Jack. "He told us that you
were expected out any minute."

The lads danced about like mad creatures for a moment, and then settled
down to meet the situation in which they found themselves.

"Where are the guards?" asked Ned.

"If they are still going at the pace they set out in," laughed Frank,
"they must be pretty near up to San Francisco by this time. I never saw
such running in my life."

"Why didn't you capture them?" asked Jimmie.

"For the same reason you did not capture the men who were inside," laughed
Frank.

"But we did capture 'em," insisted Jimmie. "We've got 'em locked up in a
chamber that opens from that corner."

"Is that true?" asked Frank.

"Yes," replied Ned. "It is true that they went into a chamber over there,
but the door is locked on the other side."

"We'll soon remedy that," Jack observed, and in a short time the boys were
pounding away at the plank door with a heavy sledge which had evidently
been used in cutting up the gas-pipe.

When the door was down a narrow passage was revealed. This, followed by
the boys, led to an opening at the bottom of the knoll on which the temple
had been built. The men who had operated the bomb factory had escaped,
every one of them, and Ned turned away in disgust at the luck which seemed
to pursue him.

"Every man of them got away," he grumbled.

"What you kicking about?" demanded Jack, pulling away at the pile of pipe
which was evi