THE MONEY STONES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18703, 8 May 1924, Page 5

THE MONEY STONES.

BY JACK McLaren. Author of "My Odyaiey," "Fag»lo!f»'« Daughter," "White Witch," "Savagery Vol Margaret Nestor," 'Tea there of Heaven.*' "Skipper of the Roaring ' ' Meg," '"Bed Mountain,'' ''The • Oil Seekers," etc., etc. (Cctrrrisht.) CHAPTER XXX. For several \ dayu the work of driving the tunnel into the valley's side and towards the gold-bearing reef went on without interruption. *' - ■ ' Evidently satisfied with Travers* ex- | planation, the labourers made no refer- j ence to Peter's f absence on that exciting ] afternoon. They worked well, exceedingly well, for as the days went by and there were no manifestations of the disaster which Iko hud threatened, their beLief in their. master's power to success* fully combat the. sorcerer strengthened tremendously. Indeed, they came to regard Peter with a kind of reverence. "He'll never get them away from me, now," Peter told Ruth confidently. "It will be no good him playing the Iko stunt again. In fact, I think: he will be wise enough' not to try." ~" The hope that now; perhaps, he could induce some others of the natives to work for him, sent him to the village one day But the natives, though; he Offered good wages, refijsed to entertain the idea. They were too afraid of Iko, they said. - Though they had heard that Peter was a greater sorcerer than Iko, they were not prepared to take needless risks. If they wanted to work, there were plenty of other white men .on the place whose employ it would be perfectly safe to enter. •' - ' ■ ■ ' * ■ "It takes a native to persuade a ; native, Peter said to Both afterwards. "If they had heard Amona that morning, speaking from the log, no doubt some : of them would have lost their fear of Iko, just as did the seven who did hear her.'' • "But you will be able to get the work done in time with/the seven ' said Ruth. "Yes. But it's hard work, and I hate driving them as I'm doing. I hoped 10 get a few more, which would have made things a whole lot easier. However, I'll just have to go on as I'm doing, I sup- . pose." - i-* * ■ - . T These were exceedingly busy days : for him. From early morning till dusk he supervised the shovelling and : picking of the labourers, and , the - erecting 'of the heavy bush timbers which held . in place the rubble and earth of the tunnel's walls and roof. ' " •' He performed a deal of the actual manual laboSr himself, for often it was easier to do a thing with his own hands than to explain to the natives the way to do it. Each evening he returned to the house, too worn out almost to eat, and in no mood for anything but rest. He kept constant watch . for signs: of another move against him,- and went always armed, and saw to it that Ruth did so t too. "No more leaving your automatic in the house while you go to the kitchen," he told her. • •'*> : :'".V But the days passed without them hearing or seeing anything of the big man or his sorcerer-lieutenant. Indeed, the only indication that Norton had returned was the presence of the motor-boat at the anchorage. ' ' j~ - > ■ Peter began to hope that Norton had given up the idea of attempting to pewsesss himself of the mine- - j ; But Ruth shook her head doubtingly. •- ■ "It's possible, of course," she said. "Anything is possible. It's the probabilities we have to consider. If Norton naS given upit's for the first time in Ms life—and as he has always managed to accomplish whatever he - set- out to do I doubt very much of he's going to start giving up now." . m' *• . "He's done nothing for some days, anyway— every day the ' work goes ..on uninterrupted means a strengthening; of my chances- to win , through," Peter pointed out. , ' • . ' ; "He may be lulling you into a . false security, so as to render his next -move all the easier/' said Ruth. "You mustn't relax your efforts or your vigilance, whatever you do." . v"V - ■ The tunnel was now more than 50 feet long, over half completed, though, 'of course, the second half would take long«i than the first, of the fact that the hard, blasting' rock : still to come. However, as only one month of his al- ' lotted three vrii gone, Peter .regarded the progress ' as* quite satisfactory. : "Tnere won't be much of a margin in the way of time at ' the " end, *' he ; told ! himself; "but I will manage all right." j Una still guarded ; the tunnel - every j night, for though the matter of its length i was no longer a secret, it' was possible . that Norton might, under cover ;of . the darkness, do such damage' to the workings as would • cause fatal delay. • '~1 ' . The native went seldom* to the village, but slept ' all day :in a; thatched 1 shelter he had erected ' for himself a little way ' from the tunnel. .' •< ~ .C" I am-not afraid of Iko's power as a sorcerer," he explained to Peter. '/' " But' if I slept in the , village,- who knows but j : what he might steal upon me and, not : with his magic but with a : spear or ; club, k take my life ; I have angered him exceedingly, and he. would, gladly kill me had he the , opportunity..But he dare - not come here, where ;i you are, master; and at night I am awake and have the gun, as be knows." . On the fifth ; morning, just ias he ' was; about to enter the tunnel to begin : the day's work, Peter's eye was 'attracted to the position of two great uprights which held the timbers of the * roof about the entrance. ~ m ' 1 They were , a - little—ever so little»-Tout/ of the perpendicular. t Now, Peter' had placed ' those uprights in position with great care, for >■;. upon them depended ; much -of the tremendous weight of the roof of the tunnel's mouth. • " The ground "beneath .them must, have, slipped a little," he said to himself, after making careful observation, " though I can't see a sign of it on t|he surface." • ' "; ■' But V the ; alteration in the position was so slight as* to be of no great consequence. Peter resolved , that - when he had ' a little time >to spare he ,would• straighten . them. Then he put the' matter from : his mind. - Next ;morning, however, the ; uprights had shifted further, causing ' a stream of earth and small stones to trickle rom the ■ roof. , ' ' - * » ' * \ Peter, going close, then noticed on One of the uprights amayk -he ; had 3 not seenbefore—a narrow indentation, of the wood near the bottom and on one side. It was like a mark made by a crowbar or similar iron instrument, he : decided. - \ { , . Then a slight; cracking sound came from above his head, and, knowing it ,at once for what it was, -he turned and sprang for his life for the outside air..;. ; > - - He was not i moment;too' soon. ; For he had barely cleared the oblong opening ■ of the tunnel's mouth.when the ; two -uprights. canted - steeply, and then crashed down, • bringing with them : the ' whole .of the roof in a chaotic mass, which blotted ; ; out the. entrance as completely as though it had never been. • '' r-; CHAPTER xxxi. , - Peter looked ;at the masts of timber and . earth with a sinking feeling at his heart. The fact 1 that 'he had barely escaped an-: nihilation by the fall troubled him but little. :He was not even conscious of a feeling of thankfulness.' ' .. The fact that this disaster would seri- : ously hinder, if not render impossible, his effort to complete the tunnel within the specified time occupied the whole of ; his" thoughts. The work' of many hours had : gone in . si"; single moment. Until. he could, clear the entrance and had put in • new timbers, the further driving of : the tunnel would be' held up.: ; _ • He wondered * how long it would take, and gave up the problem , in f . despair. , With, a large gang of labourws, it wouldn't.take long with pis pitiful im it would never make up. the lost time. In the : stillness: of the i early - morning : - the crash < had 'sounded -. clearly over the j valley; and now from i toe camps / asar j by men came running-•' '<! , - They, mac\ quick survey, of the damages . and then commiserated with Peter* 3 'congratulated him OA fcha Jtjrrownefis of - <'■ 'v •"^

• bis escape when he them of it T&tay sympathy wsrw»<i him, and drove nam* of g r. : bis despondoicy from him. But he did not-tall them ?of 1 t&e cK-rk ~-f ;; on the i^right. Presently Trav-sr? appealed. J " Hallos.! What's .happened?" -.he •_. asked," his quick eyes taking in the extent '■ >: of the damage. " The supporting timbers of .the .en-4; , trance slipped," said Peter. " I got out . • just iii time." *• Slipped How did they slip f" - I ;" I don't know. I noticed yesterday , that they were a little out of position,, , „ but didn't pay any particular attention. They must have been slipping for some. time—very gradually, you know." > " Sounds very queer to me," said Trovers slowly. " This is going to throw you back a ' whole lot, isn't it?" he asked. ? "I suppose so," said Peter. He was thinking of that mark on the upright. ; That Norton was responsible he was cure. By some means or other the big manhad entered the tcmnel, and worked the. uprights out of position, a little at a time, on repeated occasions, so - that they reached a point where they would begin to . slide, ever so slowly, "of their own accord. ■ ' . ' "But how did he get into the tunnel without Rua seeing him? " Peter asked himself, glancing from the mass of debris to the little hut which Rua occupied. "I say, Travers," he said suddenly, an idea coming to him, "was there » moon last night! I went •to bed just after dark, as I do every night these times, and didn't see." Travers looked his astonishment. " A moon! A moon, Peter! What'e a moon got to do with this bust-up ? " - " Was there T" Peter insisted. " This disaster has turned your brain. Well, no; there wasn't a moon—only I thick clouds and showers. It's been like that this last four nights, or I'd been over to your place for a bit of a yarn and to see how you're getting on." .;.• Peter left him abruptly and . walked over to the little hut. : / Rua was standing near the entrance, staring at the collapsed tunnel-mouth. • " Rua," said Peter, "did you go to sleep last night ? " ' ' " No, master," came the answer. ! 1 " Not at:any. time . V "J " Not at all, master." Peter knew by the man's tone and manner that he was , speaking the truth. " Where did you stand when keeping .guard?"- , , > : U >: 'X.,- :. " I stood nowhere, master. I did as you ordered me to walked sp and down, up and down, along there."' He . pointed to the cleared space before the tunnel. \ , . ( "And when the rain came?" queried , Peter.;- •. t j "I came here to my little house and . kept watch from the doorway." - " And you saw no one?" " No one at all, master." ' , "All right, Rua. You had better get : , your breakfast at once. lam sorry; but , you shall have to postpone your sleep this morning, :; I . shall need every man to -: work." - T< "It is ; a bad smash, master. ' Very - ;• bad." • ; • He paused, and a momentary ■ lock of fear came into his. face. r-- • - . . i "Why should it fall down, . master? Why ?It was . strong. .: It was very strong. v Yet it fell down; and almost it killed you with its fall." , Peter glanced at "him quickly. Rua was inclining ;to the, belief that the disaster ' had been caused by sorcery, that Iko was: u responsible -f : " It was an accident, Rua," Peter said > ? sharply. " The wood slipped, and that is all. An accident! Nothing else." - '(To.be continued daily.) '