As Biff picked up a chunk of yellow rock to examine it, he caught a nod of approval from his father. Biff had repeated facts that Mr. Brewster had told him regarding metals. Now, Biff’s father indicated a stretch of rocky wall, where patches of yellow shone from a background of milky white. He asked:
“What do you make of this, Biff?”
“It looks like gold quartz for sure, Dad!” exclaimed Biff. “There’s no chance of mistaking that. Or is there?”
“In this case, there is no mistake.” Mr. Brewster was studying the milky quartz as he spoke. “Undoubtedly, this shaft was first mined centuries ago, for it resembles old Indian mines that I have inspected. But although it yielded gold years ago, I doubt that its wealth has even begun to be tapped.”
“You’re right about that,” chuckled Joe Nara, who was standing by. “Look there—and there—and there—”
Nara had turned on a powerful flashlight, and with each announcement, he pointed its beam down another rough-hewn shaft that branched from the main corridor. Each time, the glare was reflected with a new burst of brilliance.
“The gold of El Dorado!” boasted Nara. “A mountain full of it and a lot more that cropped over, as I’ll show you!”
CHAPTER XVI
Surrounded!
From the great central room, Joe Nara led his companions down through a maze of shafts and tunnels. Each passage joined with another, and frequently the links were steep steps worn smooth by the feet of native miners, hundreds of years before.
At intervals, daylight showed through shafts that had been driven down through the mountain to tap a vein of gold. Always, the passages led finally into new corridors that glittered with rich ore. At last, a long straight tunnel brought the party out on the far side of the mountain, hundreds of feet below the starting level.