“Yes.”
“And the ground all slopes away from it toward the creek?”
“It does,” rejoined Ralph, seeing that the odd man expected some sort of a reply.
“Well, I’m going to put a slug of giant powder in under that terrace and blow it out from under the rock. Onless I mistake my guess, that’s all that’s holdin’ it. When we blow that to Kingdom Come that ol’ rock is jes’ nacherally goin’ ter start rollin’ down ther hill, and out ’ull walk Jim as large as life and twice as nacheral.”
“But won’t the explosion hurt him?” asked Ralph, to whom this appeared to be a dangerous proceeding.
“May shake him up a bit, but yer see, the force of giant powder works downward, and I’ll drive in under the rock for the shot.”
The scheme was explained to Mountain Jim, who entirely acquiesced in it. Bitter Creek Jones wasted no more time, but hurried off to his mule. From the pack he produced a small box carefully wrapped in various soft cloths. This proved to be filled with excelsior, amidst which nestled sticks of giant powder. From another box came caps and fuse.
Then with a crowbar, the miner drove a deep hole under the terrace on which the rock rested, and this done, capped and fused two sticks of dynamite and “tamped” them into place. Then summoning Ralph they both retreated to a distance, and Bitter Creek bent over and lit the fuse.
“Look out, Jim!” he yelled as it sputtered and sparked. “In about tew minutes there’s goin’ ter be ‘Hail Columbia’ round these diggin’s.”