“Here she goes!” cried someone, and Larry prepared himself to start on the back trip at a signal from Mr. Newton. There was a rending, crashing, tearing sound. The brick wall began to crumble under the powerful force of the plunger worked by water power. Then came a dull thud, and silence. “What’s the matter?” cried the president. “I’m sorry to say the ram’s broken,” replied the engineer. “Cut the wall down with crowbars and pickaxes then,” cried the president. “I regret, gentlemen,” he went on, “that we will have a little delay. The wall was thicker than we thought. We cut away as much as we dared and we depended on the ram to do the rest. It has failed us. But we will soon have a passageway through, and you will have been the first party to walk under the river without the use of compressed air, which is something of an achievement.” “Oh, for a chance to telephone the paper!” exclaimed several reporters. But they knew there was no opportunity. “Now’s your time!” whispered Mr. Newton to Larry. “Hurry back, and as soon as you can get to a telephone tell Mr. Emberg all that you have seen and about the failure of the ram to work. I’d go, only if I leave the other men will notice it and they’ll try the same trick.” Slipping through the crowd, Larry started back. He was not noticed amid the excitement. He could hear the blows which the laborers were beginning to rain on the brick wall and the thud of them sounded like thunder in the tunnel. Down the sloping planks he went until he found himself on the floor of the tube. Then he began to run as fast as possible on the uneven surface and through the semi-darkness. Several times he stumbled over big sections of the iron lining and once he fell into a puddle of water. He got up, not minding the smart of his cut hands, and kept on. The tunnel made a slight turn a few hundred feet back from where the wall was being cut through and this curve hid the throng from Larry. Now he was all alone in the big shaft and he began to experience a feeling of fear. Suppose some accident should happen? If the roof should cave in? Or he should fall, strike his head, and be rendered unconscious? All these things Larry thought of as he hurried on. But he tried to forget them and to think only of getting to the surface and telephoning the news. The fact that the hydraulic ram had failed to work made the story all the better for newspaper purposes. Larry’s one real fear was lest he might not be able to get through the air lock. This was a sort of double opening leading into the tube at the western end. There was no air pressure in it however, but the lock remained and had to be entered through small openings.