“Don’t underrate Mrs. Rhodes,” he told the Scout. “And keep an alert watch for Carlos. I doubt he’ll make any trouble, but he might try to hold up your party.”
“I’ll sure be glad to get to Bogota,” Willie sighed. “I got an uneasy feeling about this trip.”
After the Scouts and Mrs. Rhodes had departed, the camp resumed its usual routine of work. Mr. Rhodes, in a driving mood, assigned miners across the river to the newly opened pit. However, he would not permit Jack, Ken, Phillipe or Mr. Livingston to visit the area.
“He’s sore because we discovered the old vein,” Ken asserted.
“There’s more to it than that,” Jack insisted. “He’s accumulating emeralds fast, and he doesn’t want us to know the extent of his haul.”
Two days elapsed. The weather was unpleasantly cold and the Explorers found it difficult to keep comfortably warm in their tents.
Rhodes, though he now lived alone in the cottage, did not invite Mr. Livingston, Ken and Jack to move in with him. They were too proud to make the request.
The mining engineer worked hard. He was up before dawn and at the new emerald vein soon after breakfast. There he remained for the greater part of the day. Upon his return each night, he locked the diggings in the big office safe.
During the engineer’s absence from camp, Jack and Ken made leisurely inspections of the office and even the cottage. Rhodes however, had anticipated the investigation and if any evidence existed, carefully had destroyed it.
“We can’t hold out here much longer,” Mr. Livingston remarked on the afternoon of the third day. “Our supplies are running low. Rhodes might let us have what we need from the company stores, but I doubt it.”