"Yes, sir."

Barely three minutes had passed when all of the six remaining foremen had
assembled. Tom plunged instantly into a brief account of what had
happened.

"It seems to me, sir---" Dill began.

"Keep it to yourself, then, if you please," Tom interrupted him gently.
"We haven't any time for opinions to-night. What we want is swift,
intelligent work, and a lot of it."

Tom thereupon gave each man his directions.

"Now, each of you go to your own gangs in the camp," he added. "Wake what
men you need and put 'em to work. If any of the men object to being taken
from their cots in the night, just lift them out. Don't stand any
nonsense. Let each foreman make it his business to know just what the men
under him are doing."

One foreman was to take men with lanterns and go out carefully over every
foot of the seawall. Another was to organize a beach patrol. Still
another, with but two men, was to go into the town of Blixton and see if
any tidings of Hazelton could be obtained there. To one foreman fell the
task of searching carefully through camp before going to other work
assigned to him.

"Now, get to work, all of you," Tom ordered. "As an extra inducement you
can tell your men that the one who finds Hazelton, whether dead or alive,
shall have a reward of one hundred dollars. Remember the watchword for