Sautee looked at him curiously as he started to write on the paper. “Going to write it all out and leave it?” he asked sneeringly.
“I’m going to put it outside the powder house in a place where Mannix or some of the others will be sure to find it,” was the puzzling answer.
“I suppose they’ll believe it quicker if it’s in writing,” said Sautee bravely.
Rathburn finished writing, folded the paper, and placed it in the left-hand pocket of his coat. He carefully put away the pencil. His next act caused Sautee real concern.
Using a drill which was there for the purpose, evidently, Rathburn broke open a box of dynamite caps and a box of dynamite. A single coil of fuse was lying on a box. He quickly affixed the cap to a stick of the dynamite and crimped on a two-foot length of fuse. Then he moved the opened box of dynamite to the doorway and struck the stick with cap and fuse attached into it.
“There,” he said, evidently greatly satisfied with his work. “That fuse will burn about two minutes–––” He paused. “That’s too long,” he concluded.
Perspiration again stood out on Sautee’s forehead as he watched Rathburn cut off a foot of the fuse.
“That’s better,” said Rathburn with a queer smile. “That’ll burn about a minute. Time enough.”
Sautee stared in horrified fascination at the foot of fuse which stuck straight out from the box of dynamite in the doorway. “What––what are you going to do?” he gasped out.
“Listen, Sautee,” said Rathburn coolly. “When that stick of powder explodes it’ll set off the box an’ 168 the other boxes, an’ instead of a powder house here there’ll be a big hole in the side of the mountain.”