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BRAVE AND BOLD.
and enter it. It contains all the articles required for
smelting copper, silver, gold and other metals. At that
time working in metals was one of the principal industries
of the place, since it was then that the houses in the city
were built.
“You will observe that they are all built of stone and
metal. The metal, of course, had to be cast to be wrought
into its proper shape. And so it went on, till the houses
were all done, and the city of the Naztecs completed.
Then it was that the king issued the edict that all the
smelting appurtenances should be placed in the cave and
its entrance sealed."
"That's quite an interesting story, I assure you,” re
marked Dick. “Then, if what you say is true, the very
things we need are in the cave.”
“Yes, but we dare not open it.”
“None of the Naztec nation dare do it, you mean.”
“Exactly.”
“But I am not of the Naxtec nation.
suppose?"
The king thought a moment, and then said:
“As you please. I will neither tell you to do it nor not
to do it. I trust that you will in due time get your
weapon of warfare constructed, though.”
That settled it.
Dick at once repaired to Leo and Philander Owens,
and told them what he had learned.
Reginald Lacy was sought, and together the four re-
paired to the sacred cave.
They had no difficulty in finding it, since the king had
told Dick exactly where it was.
By dint of using a couple of heavy, metal bars, they
managed to pry a stone from the entrance, which was
sealed with a substance like cement.
When the stone was rolled sufliciently aside, a cry of
joy escaped the lips of the four.
The cave was evidently just as it had been left when
the workers in metal had completed their job so many
years before.
It contained 21 pair of huge furnaces, crucibles, ladies
for dipping out the molten metal, and everything needful.
lut all these things were quaint and very ancient in
appearance, reminding our friends of what they had read
Concerning the building of King Solomons Temple, in
the Bible days.
Not one of the Naztecs bothered them while they husied
themselves about the cave.
There was an abundance of fuel for the. furnaces in the
place, and before an hour had elapsed Dick and Leo had
kindled the tires.
Meanwhile, Owens and Lacy had been busy in con-
veying the copper ore to the place.
Not until they had deposited all they thought they
needed in the cave did tliey discover an zibundant supply
already there, of copper, silver and gold.
The silver was more plentiful than any of the rest of
I may open it, I
29
the ore. and. at the suggestion of Lacy, it was decided
to cast their cannon of four-liitlis of copper and one-fifth
silver.
Quite an expensive gun, the reader might say. But
of what use was the silver to our friends in that out-of-
the-way place? Even if they succeeded in defeating the
Hezzians and getting out of the underground place, it
would be impossible to carry much away with them.
Anyhow, there was more than enough gold to load each
of the four down, and they made up their minds to take
all they could of this with them.
Now that they had succeeded in obtaining the me.al
and the means of melting it, the next thing was to manu
facture a mold.
llut Philander Owens considered this the easiest part
of it, and in less than half a day he had made one suffi-
cient to answer the purpose.
He formed it by digging a hole in a bed of soft sand
of the depth required for the proposed cannon, and then
by running a round piece of wood of the size of the bore
they wanted down into this within a few inches of the
bottom, the mold was complete.
Of course the touchhole would have to be drilled, and
the wood burned out afterward.
VVhcn everything was in readiness, Dick and Leo held
the stick firmly in its place, and Lacy and Owens poured
in the molten mixture.
There was a furious sizzing for a minute or so, and
then, when the steam caused by the intense heat coming
in contact with damp sand had cleared away, they saw
that, to all appearances, their cast had been successful.
An examination told them that it was a success, and a
complete one, at that. They did not even have to burn
the stick out, for the wood, though being of the hardest
kind, had shrunk a trifle, which allowed them to pull it
out easily enough.
“Hurrah!" exclaimed Leo, waving his cap in the air.
“Now. to bore out the touchhole and our cannon is com-
pletedl"
As soon as it had cooled, they dug it out and rolled
it over upon the ground.
“'hile Lacy and Owens were engaged in boring out
the touchhole, the cousins melted up a number of bars
of gold into a shape convenient to take with them.
It took the two men some time to make the required
hole. and, at length, when they had completed it, they had
been at least twelve hours in constructing their cannon.
“Now," observed Dick, “we must try it before we ;;,:’>
home."
The rest promptly agreed with him, and he proceeded
to load the huge weapon with a good charge of the
powder that had been manufactured by them.
This was plentifully waddcd and pounded in thor
oughly, and then they prepared to set it off.
To avoid any possible accident, a slow match was rigged