He hastened out to see Job and Walter Titus in excited conversation with Tim.
"They didn't come out, an' thot's all there is to it," the foreman was saying. "I sint thim in mesilf, and they worked until it was time t' set off th' blast. I wint t' get th' fuse, an' I was goin' t' send th' black imps out of danger, whin—whist—they was gone whin I got back—fifteen of 'em this time!"
"Do you mean that fifteen more of our men have vanished as the first ten did?" asked Job Titus.
"That's what I mean," asserted the Irishman.
"It can't be!" declared Walter.
"Look for yersilf!" returned Tim. "They're not in th' tunnel!"
"And they didn't come out?"
"Ask th' time-keeper," and Tim motioned to a young Englishman who, since the other disappearance, had been stationed at the mouth of the tunnel to keep a record of who went in and came out.
"No, sir! Nobody kime hout, sir!" the Englishman declared. "Hi 'aven't been away frim 'ere, sir, not since hi wint on duty, sir. An' no one kime out, no, sir!"
"We've got to stop this!" declared Job Titus.