He examined it carefully,
believing it had the appearance and texture of cartridge paper. He
placed it in his pocket, and, while changing his clothes before joining
the others at supper, came on it again with a certain surprise. He
plunged it into a basin of hot water, and it yielded its secret. It
was the outer wrapper of a stick of dynamite; it bore the circular
stamp of the manufacturers, the "Sociedad Anonyma de las Costas del
Pacifico." This, in itself, meant nothing. The same company probably
supplied hundreds of mines with the five-pound boxes in which dynamite
is packed, and, if the stamp were the only clue, none could possibly
say when or where it had been issued for use.
But miners are apt to be careless; men accustomed to dynamite will
handle it with an astounding disregard for danger. And here was a case
in point. Some Spanish overseer, evidently at a loss for a memorandum
tablet, had scribbled hieroglyphics with an indelible pencil on this
particular wrapper. It was clear that the figures and abbreviated
words referred to the development of a cross-heading and the position
of certain lodes, but Courtenay was quick to see that the official who
made those notes would recognize them.
Pages:
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284