"When will Mr. Thurston be back?"

"I don't know," Blaisdell answered. "In the meantime, Reade, you
know, I'm acting chief here."

"I beg your pardon," Tom murmured hastily.

"The chief told me, just before leaving, that you thought some of
Black's sights on Section Nineteen are wrong," Blaisdell pursued.

"They're all wrong," Reade rejoined quietly.

"_All_?" echoed Blaisdell, opening his eyes very wide.

"Yes, sir; everyone of them."

"Come, come, Reade!" remonstrated the acting chief. "Don't try
to amuse yourself with me. All of the sights can't be wrong."

"But they are, sir. Hazelton and I have been over them most carefully
in the field. Here are _our_ notes, sir. Look them over and
you'll find that Section Nineteen calls for three or four times
as much excavating as Black's notes show."

"This is strange!" mused Blaisdell, after comparing the two sets
of notes. "I can't credit it. Reade, you and Hazelton are very
young---mere cubs, in fact. Are you sure that you know all you
owlet to know about leveling?"