"We're ready, now---all of us," Ransome broke in.

"Then," said Mr. Dunlop, "the next step will be to get in touch
with a satisfactory engineer. You see, Mr. Reade, it's either
a tunneling or a boring claim. We must either sink a shaft or
drive a tunnel---whichever operation can be done at the least
cost. Either way will be expensive, and we must find out for
a certainty which will be the cheaper. There's a lot of refractory
rock in the slope yonder. In the morning our party will get all
the ore we can from the surface croppings, then start for Dugout,
going from there to Carson City. At Carson we hope to find an
honest engineer and a capable metallurgist."

"Then you haven't engaged any engineer?" Reade asked, almost eagerly.

"Not yet. There was no need, until we had satisfied the investors."

"Perhaps Hazelton and I can make some deal with you, Mr. Dunlop,"
Reade proposed.

"In what line?" inquired Dunlop. "Are you miners---or machinists?"

"When we want to be really kind to ourselves," smiled Tom, "we call
ourselves engineers."

"Mining engineers?" demanded Mr. Dunlop, gazing at the two youths
in astonishment.

"No, sir. Neither Hazelton nor myself ever handled a mine yet," Tom
answered. "But we have done a lot of railroad work."