"I want to have a trusty friend at my elbow," he said, "for, unless I
am a dreamer, something remarkable will happen within the next hour,
and two witnesses are better than one."

I knew Hall was not the person to make such a remark carelessly, and
my curiosity was intensely excited, but, knowing his peculiarities, I
did not press him for an explanation. When we arrived at the head of
the tunnel I was surprised at finding no workmen there.

"I stopped blasting some time ago," said Hall, in explanation, "for a
reason which, I hope, will become evident to you very soon. Lately I
have been boring very slowly, and yesterday I paid off the men and
dismissed them with the announcement, which, I am confident, President
Boon will sanction after he hears my report of this morning's work,
that the tunnel is abandoned. You see, I am now using a drill which I
can manage without assistance. I believe the work is almost completed,
and I want you to witness the end of it."

He then carefully applied the drill, which noiselessly screwed its
nose into the rock. When it had sunk to a depth of a few inches he
withdrew it, and, taking a hand-drill capable of making a hole not
more than an eighth of an inch in diameter, cautiously began boring in
the centre of the larger cavity. He had made hardly a hundred turns of
the handle when the drill shot through the rock! A gratified smile
illuminated his features, and he said in a suppressed voice:

"Don't be alarmed; I'm going to put out the light."

Instantly we were in complete darkness, but being close at Hall's side
I could detect his movements. He pulled out the drill, and for half a