camp."

"Take the tents down, then, as quickly as you can accomplish it,"
directed Tom, though in a quiet voice.

"And--if I don't?" asked Duff, smiling dangerously and displaying his
white, dog-like teeth.

"Then I shall direct one of the foremen to call a sufficient force, Mr.
Duff, to take down your tents and remove them from railroad property. I
am not seeking trouble with you, sir; I don't want trouble. But, as
long as I remain in charge here no gambling or drinking places are going
to be opened on the railroad's land."

"Mr. Reade," inquired the gambler, his smile fading, "do you object to
giving me a word in private?"

"Not at all," Tom declared. "But it won't help your plans."

"I'd like just a word with you alone," coaxed the gambler.

Nodding, Reade stepped away with the gambler to a distance of a hundred
feet or so from the rapidly increasing crowd.

"I expect to make a little money out of this tent outfit, of course,"
explained Jim Duff.

"I expect that you won't make a dollar out of it--on railway property,"
returned Reade steadily.