Now that they had succeeded in obtaining the metal and the means of melting it, the next thing was to manufacture a mold.
But Philander Owens considered this the easiest part of it, and in less than half a day he had made one sufficient 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.
When 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 sizzling 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 completed!”
As soon as it had cooled, they dug it out and rolled it over upon the ground.
While 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.