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 a pair of huge furnaces, crucibles, ladles for dipping out the molten metal, and everything needful.
But all these things were quaint and very ancient in appearance, reminding our friends of what they had read concerning the building of King Solomon’s Temple, in the Bible days.
Not one of the Naztecs bothered them while they busied 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 fires.
Meanwhile, Owens and Lacy had been busy in conveying the copper ore to the place.
Not until they had deposited all they thought they needed in the cave did they discover an abundant supply already there, of copper, silver and gold.
The silver was more plentiful than any of the rest of the ore and at the suggestion of Lacy, it was decided to cast their cannon of four-fifths 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.