He was a little fearful about advancing any farther as he could not tell but that the sound of his movements might come to the ears of the men, now they had stopped walking and could hear better. He looked to see if he could approach under cover, and then he spied a fallen log, extending down hill, toward the centre of the little glade, in which the men were at work on their mysterious errand.
The farther end of the tree trunk was up against a large bowlder, behind which Roger might lie hidden, as secure as he was in the position he had first selected, if he could but reach it unobserved, and he thought he might by crawling along under the protecting shadow of the log. So with this end in view, he proceeded to act. He stretched out on his stomach, regardless of his clothes, like a big snake, and then he began to slowly wriggle toward the men.
It was not easy work, as he dared not raise himself more than a few inches from the ground without the danger of being seen above the log. Along the dried leaves and grass he went, pausing every few minutes to peep cautiously over his screen to see if the men were aware of his presence. They seemed all unsuspicious that they were being watched by a sharp-eyed lad, and continued to drive the rod deeper into the earth. At length, after about five minutes of cautious crawling, Roger reached the rock, and he curled himself up behind it with a sigh of satisfaction.
He was now within sixty feet of the men and could easily hear all they said, unless they spoke in whispers, which they were not likely to do. But the boy seemed to have had his trouble for his pains, for Mr. Dudley and Mr. Ranquist were not saying a word to each other. They were intent on the work, and Roger was keenly disappointed as, just before he started to crawl nearer, he had heard the murmur of their voices in earnest conversation.
But now Mr. Ranquist appeared to have used up all the sections of the steel rod. However, his valise had more tools in it, for he drew out a short iron handle, from which dangled a length of stout chain links. This chain he wound about the top part of the rod, which projected about a foot from the ground. The loose end of the links he fastened to the handle again. Then he and Mr. Dudley, taking a firm hold of the short bar, proceeded to twist the rod around in the earth. Roger watched them wonderingly. They spent five minutes in this operation, and then ceased, to sit down on the grass and rest.
"Do you think we'll strike it?" Roger heard Mr. Dudley ask his companion.
"Can't say for sure, but it looks very promising," was the reply.
"Is it gold, or is it oil?" Roger asked himself, softly.
Next, as he watched, he saw Mr. Ranquist take another tool from his valise, which seemed to contain the outfit of a small machine shop. This last instrument was like a lifting jack, very small and light, but exceedingly powerful. With it the two men easily pulled the rod up from where they had driven it in the ground, lifting it section by section and unscrewing each one. They seemed to be eager and anxious as they came toward the end, and as the last piece of steel emerged from the small hole, they both bent forward and looked at it closely. They appeared much excited at what they saw, and Mr. Ranquist threw his hat in the air and capered about like a boy.
"Hurrah!" Roger heard him shout, softly, to be sure, for even in his excitement the engineer did not forget his caution. "Hurrah! We've struck it all right. Now to get hold of the land before any of the people about here suspect. I'll tell you, Dudley, our fortunes are made."