“How?” asked San Lucia.
“At several places in the upper roadway there were false places. That is, they were traps. A portion of the road would be dug away, making a shaft down to the tunnel. Then boards would be placed over the hole and a light covering of dirt sprinkled on the planks. Watchers were stationed below, and at the sound of an enemy on the boards above the sentinels would pull a lever. This would take away the supports of the false portion of the road, and it would crash down into the tunnel, carrying the enemy with it.
“So I played the part of the watcher, and when I heard the Americanos riding over the trap I pulled the lever and down they crashed.
“There, as I said, I made my only mistake. I expected the Americanos would be killed, but their steam cart is strong, and the fall did not hurt them. Besides, only one end of the trap gave way, and the other, holding fast, made an inclined road on which they descended into the tunnel. That is how they came here, and now we must to work if we are to get their gold.”
“And quickly, too,” observed San Lucia, “for I learned that another party is following this; they, too, have a steam wagon, and we may trap them also.”
“I know the crowd of whom you speak,” said Murado. “They are not far behind. One is a youth called Nixy Nodnot, or some barbarous thing like it. They will be surprised not to find their friends. But come, they sleep!”
Then the two Mexican brigands began creeping toward the room where the professor and the boys were sleeping.