Part 38 (1/2)

”Why, don't you value your dear brother?” grinned Jim. ”He's your guide, philosopher and friend.”

”Never mind about that,” said Tom. ”Let's get to work.”

Jim took the hammer and sounded all over the surface of the rock, but found no hollow place.

”I'm going to put a blast right in the center of that letter,” declared Jim.

Juarez shook his head dubiously. It was evident that he was in dread of something. But Jim went ahead and drilled a hole in the center of the sign, and put a fuse to it. We drew back a ways down the rock but not far.

We saw the smoke, a mere thread, and an occasional spark. Then an explosion that sent pieces of red rock flying up and around us. A big hole was torn in the center of the letter.

Jim was the first to reach the place.

”This is it,” he cried.

He took the pick and began digging, and we saw that there was a round opening into a natural hollow in the rock. Jim was able to crawl partially in and he made a careful search, lighting several matches.

Then he crawled out, shaking his head.

”Empty is the cradle,” he said. ”There's only a few flakes of gold and you can see the place where the box has stood.”

I crawled in next. Sure enough, there was the tarnished place on the rock where it had stood for centuries perhaps. In feeling around my hand touched a small bit of folded bark. Without thinking much about it I picked it up and put it in my pocket.

Tom stayed in the treasure hollow so long that we had to yank him out by the feet.

”He is the chief mourner,” commented Jim.

”Look out, boys,” yelled Juarez, ”big stone coming.”

Like a great cannon ball it was bounding down the rock towards us. We jumped aside just in time and it smacked between us.

”A considerably narrow escape,” mused Jim.

”The old witch up there is offended,” said Juarez. ”I saw a genie fly out when you sent off that blast.”

”I think the explosion loosened the rock, Juarez,” said Jim. There were the two views. We went back to the boat with more experience but no treasure.

CHAPTER XXIX

A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE

That evening as we sat on the bank above we talked over our experience of the day. Then I bethought myself of the piece of folded bark and pulled it out of my pocket.

”Here's something that I picked up in the rock hollow,” I remarked.

Jim seized it eagerly and Juarez watched its unfolding with the keenest interest. The word ”bark” is only a rough term to describe it. The doc.u.ment was really made of some sort of pulp, whether of wood or cacti I could not say.

When it was spread out, the paper was 12x12 inches. There was a curious drawing in the center with words written in Spanish, and in one corner was the representation of a mountain.