By the help
of a steel crowbar, which they had brought with them in the waggon,
at length that part of their task was completed, revealing the rock
beneath. By this time Benita was confident that, whatever might lie
below, it was not the treasure, since it was evident that the poor,
dying Portuguese would not have had the time or the strength to cement
it over. When she told the others so, however, Meyer, convinced that
he was on the right tack, answered that doubtless it was done by the
Makalanga after the Portuguese days, as it was well known that they
retained a knowledge of the building arts of their forefathers until
quite a recent period, when the Matabele began to kill them out.
When at length the cement was cleared away and the area swept, they
discovered--for there ran the line of it--that here a great stone was
set into the floor; it must have weighed several tons. As it was set in
cement, however, to lift it, even if they had the strength to work the
necessary levers, proved quite impossible. There remained only one thing
to be done--to cut a way through. When they had worked at this task for
several hours, and only succeeded in making a hole six inches deep,
Mr. Clifford, whose old bones ached and whose hands were very
sore, suggested that perhaps they might break it up with gunpowder.
Pages:
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166