"Now to catch them at work!"
"Come on," advised Bill, in a low tone, "We're not safe yet,"
and he produced a lantern from some hidden recess, lighted the
wick, and led the way. As the others followed they were aware of
a subdued noise in the great cavern.
CHAPTER XX--MAKING THE DIAMONDS
"What's that noise?" asked Tom, as their guide flashed the
lantern to show them the way.
"That's the men getting ready to make diamonds, I guess," was
the answer. "You see it takes quite a while to get the stuff
ready. I don't know what they use--they never tell me any of
their secrets."
"Oh, I know the ingredients well enough," said Mr. Jenks, "but
I don't know the secret of how they apply the terrific heat and
pressure necessary to fuse the materials into diamonds."
"Well, you'll soon know," declared Bill Renshaw. "Of course it
isn't always successful. I've known 'em to try half a dozen times
before they got any diamonds big enough to satisfy 'em. They gave
me some of the small ones when I asked for my wages.
"How did you come to get in with these men?" asked Tom, curious
to understand how a person seemingly as honest as Renshaw
appeared to be had cast his lot in with the men who had broken
faith with Mr. Jenks.
"Oh, I've lived around these parts all my life," was the
answer.
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