But his inclination to laugh soon passed as his eyes glanced farther along the line of his dike: on the northwest corner--what was that? He saw a dark swarm of moving beings; he saw how industriously they stirred and hurried--there could be no doubt, they were men! What were they trying to do, what work were they doing on his dike now! And already his spurs were in the white horse's flanks and the animal was flying with him thither; the gale came from the broad side, at times the gusts came with such force that they were almost swept down from the dike into the new koog; but horse and rider knew where they were riding. Hauke already perceived that probably a few dozen men were working industriously there together and already he saw distinctly that a gutter was cut right across through the new dike. Violently he reined in his horse. "Stop!" he cried, "stop! What devil's work are you doing here?" The men had ceased shoveling with a start when they suddenly perceived the dikegrave among them; the wind had carried his words to them and he saw that several were trying to answer him; but he only caught their vehement gestures, for they all stood at his left and what they said was carried away by the gale which was so violent out here that it hurled them against one another so that they were obliged to crowd together. Hauke measured with his quick eyes the gutter that had been dug and the height of the water which, in spite of the new profile, dashed up almost to the top of the dike and spattered horse and rider. Only ten minutes more work and then--he saw it distinctly--then the high tide would break through the gutter and the Hauke-Haien Koog would be buried by the sea! The dikegrave beckoned one of the laborers to the other side of his horse. "Now, speak," he shouted, "what are you doing here, what is the meaning of this?" And the man shouted back: "We've got to break through the new dike, sir! So that the old dike doesn't break." "What have you got to do?" "Break through the new dike!" "And flood the koog? What devil ordered you to do that?" "No, sir, no devil; the commissioner Ole Peters has been here; he gave the order!" Anger flamed up into the rider's eyes: "Do you know me?" he shouted. "Where I am Ole Peters has no orders to give! Away with you! Back to your places where I left you." And as they hesitated he dashed into the group with his horse: "Away, to your own or the devil's grandmother!"