Tom turned and went back to the office, while Payson and the other
foremen saw to it that the discharged men left the railroad's property.
In less than half an hour the disgruntled ones were back in the worst
haunts of Paloma, spreading the news of Tom Reade's latest outrage.

When Tom reached the office he found Mr. Ellsworth inside.

"I saw what you did, Reade, though you didn't know I was about. You
handled it splendidly. You made it plain enough, too, to the men that
they had joined the enemy and thereby declared against us."

"Message, Mr. Reade," called the operator from the doorway.

"The construction material train, the first one, will be here within two
hours," cried Tom, looking up from the paper, his eyes dancing. "Now we
can do some of the real work that we've been waiting to do!"




CHAPTER IX

THE MAN-KILLER CLAIMS A SACRIFICE


In the days that followed Tom Reade and Harry Hazelton were more
continuously and seriously busy than they had ever been before in their
lives.

Sometimes it happens that engineers come upon a quicksand that