CHAPTER XX
UNDERNEATH THE GROUND
For several days after the adventure with the bear Roger had noopportunity of going to the glade where the spring bubbled up, in orderto find, if possible, what object the two engineers had in drillingthere. Adrian was obliged to busy himself with various duties about thefarm and garden, in order to get ready for the advanced spring planting,and Roger felt that he ought to help his cousin. But, all this time,Roger was busy thinking how he might accomplish his object, and get someof that mysterious substance which Mr. Dudley and Mr. Ranquist examinedso eagerly.
He thought of a number of plans, but rejected them all as impracticable.Most of them would have necessitated the bringing in of some one to helphim, and this he did not want to do. Even when busiest at his tasks withAdrian, his mind was continually on this one subject, and, after a fewdays, it seemed it would be impossible for him, with his own unaidedefforts, to dig down into the earth and find what was beneath thesurface. But Roger was not a boy who gave a thing up because it wasdifficult.
One night, after a somewhat hard day in the garden, during which theboys had set out a lot of cabbage plants, and hoed the early beans,they were sitting in the parlor, Adrian showing Roger some books. Onewas a sea story, and there was a picture of a sailor heaving the log, inthe old-fashioned way. Roger glanced at the reading matter, which toldhow, on board ship, the lead was sounded, and how the speed of the ship,as well as the depth of the water through which she was sailing, wasascertained.
The tale went on to relate how sometimes, the sailors used a piece oflead, with a hollow scooped in the lower end, into which space theywould place some tallow. Then they would throw the weighted lineoverboard, and when the lead struck bottom, some of the mud and shells,of which the ocean bed is composed, would adhere to the grease in thehollow, scooped-out place. When the sinker was hauled to the surface andexamined, experienced seamen could tell what sort of an anchorage theymight find.
Roger started when he read this. He glanced over it again, carefully,and his heart beat suddenly, at the idea which came to him. His cheeksburned red with the happy thought, and he was almost afraid that Adrianwould see his excitement, and question him. He made an excuse to go tohis room, and busied himself there some time before he blew out hislight and went to bed.
"His heart beat suddenly at the idea which came to him"]
He dreamed, that night, of climbing down into a deep, dark mine, whichsparkled and glittered with the gold and diamonds lining the steepsides.
The next day Roger made a hasty breakfast. To his relief Adrian did notask him to help with the farm work, nor did the country lad suggest, ashe often did, a tramp through the woods; and Roger was very glad, forhe had a plan to put in operation.
So, as soon as Adrian had left the house, having to go on an errand to aneighbor's, Roger stepped out of the back door, and made his way slowlyto the path that led up through the vineyard, and, so on, to the springglade. His pocket bulged with a number of objects, and, though he triednot to show it, he was considerably excited. It did not take him long toreach the spot where he had hidden himself from sight the day he watchedMr. Ranquist and Mr. Dudley drill down into the earth. He was almostafraid something might have happened to the place, but a careful look,showed him nothing had been disturbed.
There was the stone, behind which he first took his position, and thelog, in the protecting shadow of which he had worked his way to a spotwhence he might hear better. There was the second stone, and, after alittle searching about he was able to discover the stick that the menhad driven into the hole in the ground. He remembered pulling this up,after they had gone, and his disappointment at not finding anythingthere. Now he was resolved to be more careful in his method.
He looked warily about, to see that he was unobserved, and then heslowly took up the small stake, so as not to disturb the dirt around theedges of the opening. In this he was successful, and, after a fewseconds he was able to lift out the stick, and was rewarded by seeing asmall circular shaft, about two inches in diameter, extending down intothe unfathomable blackness. Now Roger was soon to know whether his planwould succeed.
From his pocket he drew a long, stout fishline, at one end of which wasfastened a lead weight, slightly smaller around than the hole, andhaving a saucer-shaped depression in one end. He made sure that thesinker was tight on the string. From a small bottle he took a littlerosin and beeswax, which he had decided to use instead of the tallowthat served the sailors. He could get the wax more easily, and hethought that by stiffening it with rosin, it would answer just as well.Now he was all ready to put his scheme into execution.
Lying down flat on his face, he carefully lowered the weight into thehole, keeping a strong hold of the string, so it would not pay out toofast. How anxiously did he watch the slender cord slipping down and downinto the depths, the leaden messenger pulling it with a gentle force.Farther and farther it went into the black hole. What would it come torest on? Would it fulfil its mission, and get to the bottom of theopening? Or would the line be cut by sharp rocks? Once, when it had gonea quarter of the length of the string, the lead caught on someprojection. How Roger's heart beat, fearing it would go no farther. Hecautiously pulled the weight up a little and let it fall gently. Thisserved to pass it beyond the stone that probably jutted out and stoppedthe progress momentarily. Then it kept on going down. The boy wasstraining every nerve in his eagerness to see what was down there, atthe bottom of that little hole.
At length, after a few minutes, during which time the line had slidthrough his fingers, it suddenly slackened. Was this the end of the tinyshaft, or only another catch and temporary stopping on the downwardjourney? The boy pressed himself closer to the ground. He raised thestring and from slackness it became taut with the heft of lead. ThenRoger let it fall again, and it seemed to strike solid earth, orsomething. The cord no longer payed out. Once, twice, three times, hetried this, raising the weight and letting it fall suddenly, so that thewax and rosin in the saucer-shaped end might catch whatever there was atthe bottom of the hole, and retain it.
Then Roger began to raise the lead to the surface. He worked slowly, andmore cautiously than he had in lowering it, as, if the string caught ona projection now, it would be almost impossible to pull it up withouttearing off the weight, and that would mean the failure of the wholeplan. It was necessary to be careful, also, in order that whatever wasimbedded in the wax might not be shaken off. Hand over hand he drew thecord up, and, with a fiercely beating heart, he saw the sinker come intoview. He reached for it with trembling hands. Then, in the glow of thesunlight which streamed down on him, he turned the lead so that he mightbehold what the wax contained.
"Then Roger began to raise the lead to the surface"]
If he expected to see glittering specks of yellow gold, he was sorelydisappointed. Nor was there anything he could think represented wealth,not even pieces of some mineral which would account for the greatinterest Mr. Dudley and Mr. Ranquist showed in their discovery.
With eyes that were a trifle dim from a sense that he had failed, Rogergazed at the waxed end of the weight. Imbedded in the sticky surface theboy saw some white crystals, which glinted and sparkled in the sun. Onlysome white crystals, that might have been chipped off a light-coloredrock. To Roger they meant nothing. Almost idly he brushed them into thepalm of his hand and rose to his feet. This, then, was the end of hishopes. The hole in the earth meant nothing, or else had been drilled forsome object he could not discover. His golden dream of hidden wealthbeneath his uncle's farm, by which the mortgage could be paid, was overnow.
He turned away, and was about to throw the white crystals aside, when asound behind caused him to start. He saw, emerging from the woods, Mr.Ranquist. The engineer appeared much disturbed at the sight of the boy.He stood still a moment, and then came forward rapidly. In his hand hecarried a valise, which, as he dropped it on the ground, gave forth ametallic, clanking sound. Mr. Ranquist came close to Roger, who scarcelyknew what to d
o.
"Well," began the man, and his voice was so strange that the boy feltvaguely alarmed, "well--" and he stopped.
"How do you do, Mr. Ranquist?" said the lad, as politely as he knew how.
"Humph! What right--I mean, what are you doing here? Spying on me? Ifyou are, I warn you, boy, you'll be sorry for it. I have been suspiciousof you, since the other day when you offered to lead us here. Now," andthe engineer spoke sternly, "what do you mean?"
"Why, Mr. Ranquist--I--er--I--"
"No nonsense, now!"
For a moment Roger was somewhat frightened. Then his natural couragecame back to him, and he felt a just resentment at the tone and mannerof the man.
"Mr. Ranquist," he said. "I have as much right, and more, than you have,on this property. I--"
"What have you in your hand?" interrupted the engineer, looking at thefist which Roger unconsciously had closed over the white crystals. "Andwhat are you doing with that string and weight," as he caught sight ofthe fishline and sinker. "Answer me!"
Mr. Ranquist darted suddenly at Roger, exclaiming:
"You have been trying to discover the secret of the hole we drilled!Well I'll spoil that game for you, my young friend!"
With a violent spring the engineer was almost upon the boy, but Rogerwas too quick for him. He leaped to one side, his fist tightly clenchedover the crystals, which now seemed of considerable value to him, whenhe saw what importance Mr. Ranquist attached to the matter. With a cryof astonishment and anger at the threatened attack, but showing no signof fear, Roger bounded out of the glade and ran through the woods, anddown the hill, with Mr. Ranquist crashing through the brush after him.The chase was on.
After the first rush and surprise Roger collected his thoughts, anddetermined that Mr. Ranquist should not catch him. Or if the man outranhim, he resolved he would not give up what he had without a fiercestruggle. The excitement of the desperate race urged him on, and he felthe could run a mile or more. He knew he was in a better condition forsprinting than he had been in many months. So when he heard the engineercoming after him, he was almost pleased at the idea of the runningcontest. He believed he could win.
So he kept on, now stumbling over a low stump or a projecting root, nowtripping on a fallen log, or sinking into a soft spot, but neverslacking pace. The sounds made by his pursuer came more faintly to him.Presently they died away altogether, and the boy felt he could safelystop. He listened intently, but there came not a noise from the woodsbehind him. Mr. Ranquist had given up.
"Well," thought Roger, defiantly, "he didn't make me give him thesecrystals, and he didn't catch me. Now I wonder what I had better do?"
He thought over the situation for a few minutes, while he rested fromthe chase, and then he decided on a plan.
"I'll bet Mr. Ranquist and Mr. Dudley will do something very soon now,"he said to himself. "He thinks I have discovered his secret, and so Ihave, though I don't know exactly what it is. But as long as he thinks Ihave found him out, he'll be likely to get possession of Uncle Bert'sland. And Uncle Bert will sell it to him because he needs the money somuch, and he'll never know there's something valuable hidden under thesurface until it is too late. I must hurry to Professor Bailey and seewhat he says. He ought to be able to tell what these crystals are."
With a heart that beat very hopefully Roger went down the path, and by aroundabout way to the professor's house. He did not want Mr. Kimball tosee him. The boy knocked on the door, which was answered by Mrs. Bailey.
"Sorry," she said, in response to Roger's question, "but ProfessorBailey is not home. He went away this morning, to be gone several weeks.Can I do anything for you?"
"No," replied Roger, and his heart sank. It would be too late, unless hecould soon find out what the white crystals were, for his uncle was notlikely to delay in the sale of the land on merely a boy's suspicion.What was he to do? Pondering on this problem, he left the front gate ofthe professor's house just as a wagon rattled up.
The White Crystals: Being an Account of the Adventures of Two Boys Page 20