“We were,” answered Frank, and told of how they had become lost and of what had followed. “We must get back as soon as we can,” he added. “The professor and the others will be much worried over our absence.”
The matter was talked over, and by consulting one of the managers of the mines they obtained permission to use one of the boats, taking with them a native boatman who knew all the rivers of the vicinity thoroughly.
“He’ll get you back safe and sound,” said Andy Hume. “He’s a first rate fellow. He brought me here from Navaleno, forty miles away.”
“But how did you happen to come here?” questioned Mark. “I thought you were going prospecting?”
“So I was, but at Navaleno I met an old miner friend of mine, Captain Richards. He has an interest here and he wants me to look after it while he takes a trip to the States. So I’m booked here at a salary of two hundred dollars per month and found. Not so bad that, eh?” And the boys agreed that the arrangement was certainly very promising.
A comfortable meal and a chance to dry their clothing made both boys feel much better. While they were eating they asked a number of questions about the mines and when they had finished Andy Hume insisted upon showing them around.
“The output of these mines will be about six hundred thousand dollars this year,” he said. “To get out the gold and silver will cost the combined companies about two hundred thousand dollars, leaving a profit to the stockholders of four hundred thousand dollars. We have here all the latest machinery with the exception of a newly-patented quartz crusher which is now being built for us in the United States. At first the mining around here was what is commonly called cradling or placer mining,—that is, the miners would pick up what they could find on the surface or by ordinary digging—but that is past and all we get has to be blasted out of the mountains.”
An hour was spent in and around the mines, inspecting the shafts and the various machines for extracting the gold and silver. Then the boatman came up to announce that the boat was ready and they started to leave.
As they did so a strange boat, containing several passengers, arrived at the dock close at hand. As the passengers came toward where Frank and Mark were standing, the latter plucked the former hurriedly by the sleeve.
“See there, Frank,” he whispered.