Return to the tent and start your drawing over again."

There was a smile again on Tom's face as he turned back to make
his spoiled work good.

Mr. Thurston went back to his inspection of the ponies. Later,
the chief engineer was able to pick up some details of the trouble
from Jake Wren, who had seen Black reach for his revolver.

"Understand two things, Mr. Black," said the chief briskly. "In
the first place, it is not expected that the engineers of this
corps will find any real cause for fighting. Second, I will tolerate
no pistol nonsense here."

Then he went back to Tom Reade and spoke to him more quietly.

"Reade, if Black doesn't turn out to be a valuable man here he
won't last long. If he is a good man, then you will find it necessary,
perhaps, to use a little tact in dealing with him. Did you notice
what snapping black eyes the man has? Men with such black eyes
are usually impulsive. Remember that."

"I never thought of that before, sir," Tom admitted dryly. "I
really didn't know that people with black eyes are impulsive.
This I do know, however, people who are too impulsive generally
get black eyes!"