sideration."

"Of course I don't know all the circumstances," went on Mrs. Belton as
she nodded at Betty to show that she would be more careful in what she
said. "He may be favored. Of course not all the contractors are cruel,
but they have to deal with a bad class of men, and that makes them
harsh, perhaps. But take my advice, and don't go near one of those
places under any circumstances. Please don't!"

"Don't go where?" asked her husband, coming in at that moment with Mr.
Hammond. "Are the girls thinking of going cruising among the
Everglades?" and he laughed heartily. Betty was beginning to like him
very much, as were the other girls. He was rough, and uncouth, but he
seemed honest and sincere, and his wife, a hard-working woman, had given
of her best hospitality to the visitors.

"No, they weren't talking of the Everglades," said Mrs. Belton. "This
young lady thinks her brother may have been taken to one of the
turpentine camps, or other camps in the interior, and she wants to
rescue him. I was telling her to keep away."

"And that's good advice," agreed Mr. Belton, more seriously than he had
yet spoken. "I don't mind mixing up with some men, but those contract
laborers are pretty bad. My men are nothing to them, though I do get a
hard customer once in a while."

"But what can we do?" Grace besought. "If Will is there we must get him
away! Of course I'm not sure, but papa is looking everywhere for him,
and the best clue we got was that he was somewhere in the interior of
here."

"Then take my advice, and let the authorities do the searching," said
Mr. Belton. "The season won't last much longer, and they may discharge a
lot of their men--these contractors may. Then your brother could come
out of his own accord."

"Oh, but it is so long to wait!" cried Grace. "Surely there must be some
way," and she looked pleadingly at the two men.

"Well, I don't know," said Mr. Belton slowly. "I'll do all I can to help
you, and so will any of my men. And I think Hammond, here, will say the
same thing."

"Surely!" exclaimed the overseer. "But the question is--what could we
do?"

"We'd first have to locate the camp," said the labor man. "After that we
could talk business. It would depend on who was running it, and where it
was. I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll keep my eyes and ears open, and
when I hear anything I'll let you know, Miss. What sort of a looking
young man might your brother be?"

Grace described Will acc