" cried General

as a railroad man had taught him the value of meeting other people half way. Now

the quicksand, came a chorus o

he curs!" f

jeers reached th

judicially. "They couldn't travel as f

and his friends, in the darkness of the night, could not m

camp, Mr. Hawkins," direc

e a night engineer almost dozed at

mbling out of the tents. Many of them had slept so soundly that even the noise of dyna

ers," called Tom, as one of t

o marshal a hundred of the men to remain

"The explosion may be only a trick to, empty

the workmen hurried westward. At the head of

away they came upon

uicksand. It's where your former engineers found such a morass of the shifty stuff that they declared the Man-killer never could have its appetite satisfied with dirt. Th

vealing a well or sink, one hundred and fifty feet across

blem more easily and cheaply than any other construction," mutter

re than a mile long," Reade answered. "Beyond, there are other treacherous little patches

Then, some fine day, part of the structure would give, and a trainload of passeng

turned aside w

arnestly. "The responsibility for safety

don't run trains over the Man-killer until the n

pair the mischief that the scoundrels have done

, we'll see that they earn more than that amount by enfor

" called T

rted the foreman,

force of night watchmen. Place the other twenty under his orders. Your gangs will come into play her

dded Foreman Bell. "

of roadbed and the camp. Further, tell the night engineer to be sure to h

," and the fore

itted to Mr. Ellsworth. "But I hadn't an idea that Paloma held any dynamite

at someone shipped it in a hu

t in on our trains. There has been no time to I stage I

e," admitted

here are ways of finding out how that dynamite got into Paloma, t

m's eyes grew wide

hat dynamite was brought in

d to bring dynamite here

ted in doing it who want

u, Reade," observed the gener

"They wanted a lot more money for the job than we thought was necessary. I don't want to

people!" broke i

bad people, and ugl

foresee that you were going to have a figh

re is one. I hope to be able to tel

were awake and alert. It was nearly eleven o'clock when the general manager and his engineer

however. At daylight the watchmen sought their

kfast call, Reade slipped away from his fr

absent, Mr. Mendoza," Tom mu

of my men slipped

f to Pal

rugged his

rinking-both

tedly,

absent Mexicans, and

the other foremen,

rry and Mr. Ellsworth, the foremen appeared, lists in

rom camp," he muttered. "Foremen, when these men come

ng bosses looked s

camp in the night ti

absent, and did not visit the gambling and the drinking dives, then such men may be reinstated

ly when they find that they are di

are loy

t, Senor?" asked

ble to handle the rest of the disgruntled ones. However, as I have told you, if any man c

on, but had not interfered. As soon as the young e

hat these discharged men wil

own their willingness to become our enemies by leaving camp and seeking their

oking at the matter," ass

e been in the company of rascals, then we wouldn't have any means of knowing how many of the absentees had agreed to do treach

an, returned to camp. These men started to go by the checker's hut at a distance,

until your foremen are cal

le here!" demanded one