“A tiny charge would turn the trick.”
“Sure,” Warner grinned, “providing we aren’t both blown to bits before we set it off. But I’m willing to try. Anything’s better than just waiting in this hole.”
The rancher would not allow Jack to go near the stored boxes. He insisted, “You go and take refuge in the far end of the tunnel.”
Using the utmost care, Warner placed the dynamite sticks without accident. Breathing hard, he joined Jack after the fuse had been set. For a full minute, they waited tensely. Nothing happened.
“The stuff is dead,” Jack declared.
“Maybe not,” Warner said. “It was a long fuse. Wait.”
They waited. Suddenly the tunnel was rocked by a terrific explosion. As they hit the earth, covering their faces, small bits of rock showered down. When the dust had cleared, they groped their way back to the entrance. Climbing up through the debris, they saw daylight. Warner squeezed out through the tumbled rocks, and reached down to help Jack.
“We’re free and still in one piece,” the rancher chuckled.
Setting out from the ravine, they started for the cabin. However, they had covered less than a third of the distance when they saw Hap Livingston and Ken coming toward them at a run.
“What happened?” Ken demanded, as he glimpsed the dirt-streaked faces and disheveled clothing of the two. “We heard an explosion!”