the rod at the second stake,
which Harry held, he read the height as eight feet and four inches.
Then he trudged forward, carrying his instrument, while Trotter
held his rod exactly perpendicular over the first stake. From
the second stake Tom sighted back through his telescope, reading
two feet three inches. The difference between these two readings
was six feet and one inch, showing that, for the distance between
first and second stakes the rise in the hillside was six feet
one inch. Thereupon Reade turned and sighted, from stake number
two to stake number three, noting in his book the reading he secured
from the rod at number three. Once at number three he turned
his telescope backward, taking a reading from Trotter's rod at
number two. Ten stakes were thus covered, and not only were the
foresights and backsights read and recorded, but the distance
between each pair of stakes was measured with the chain and the
distances entered on the record.

At stake number ten Tom halted.

"Harry," he directed, "you take Black's leveling notes and hold
them while I read my own notes. Stop me every time that you note
a difference between the two records."

After that Harry steadily stopped his chum at every reading.
By the time that they had finished the comparisons Hazelton's
face looked blank from sheer astonishment.

"Why, every single one of Blacks foresights and backsights is
wrong!" gasped Harry. "And yet Mr. Blaisdell reported that 'Gene
Black is such a fine engineer."

Tom turned to make sure that Trotter was resting out of hearing
before he replied:

"Harry, Black isn't such a fool as to bring in an absolutely wrong
record of sights, and yet do it innocently. If he didn't do it
unintentionally, then he must have tangled the record purposely."

"But why should he do it purposely?" Harry insisted. "He would
know that, sooner or later, his blunders or lies would be discovered,
and that he would be discharged. Now, Black really wants to hold
his job with this outfit."

"Does he?" asked Tom bluntly.

"Why, what do you mean?"

"I don't know," Reade confessed. "I never heard of any such bungle
as this before by an engineer. Why, Harry, this hillside averages
an eight and a third grade, yet Black's field notes show it to
be only a three per cent. grade. Hang it, the fellow must have
played the trick purposely!"

"Yet why?" pressed Hazelton.

"I'll admit that I can't understand. Unless, well---unle