In an instant the gambler's face turned white. His hand flew back to a
pocket in which he carried a pistol.

CHAPTER III. TOM MAKES A SPEECH ON GAMBLING

"Cut out the gun-play! That doesn't go here!" Tom uttered warningly.

One swift step forward, and one hand caught Jim Duff by the throat.
With the other hand Tom caught Duff's right wrist and wrenched away the
pistol that instantly appeared in the gambler's hand.

The weapon Tom threw on the ground, some feet away. Then, with eyes
blazing with contempt, Tom Reade struck the gambler heavily across
the face with the flat of his hand. Hard work had added to the young
engineer's muscle of earlier days, and the gambler was staggered.

Another instant, and Superintendent Hawkins who, with Hazelton and the
foremen, had run up to them, seized Duff roughly from behind, holding
his arms pinioned.

Harry Hazelton picked up the revolver. Quickly opening it, he drew out
the cartridges.

"Mr. Bell!" called Harry, and the foreman of that name hastened to him.

"Take this thing back to the office and break it up with a hammer,"
directed young Hazelton, as he passed the revolver to the foreman. The
latter sped away on his errand.

"Let Duff go, Mr. Hawkins," directed Tom. "I'm not afraid of him. Duff,
I wish to apologize to you for striking you in the face. I wouldn't
allow any man to do that to me. But your action in reaching for a pistol
was so childish--or cowardly, whichever you prefer to call it--that I
admit I forgot myself for a moment. Now, you are not going to erect
any tents for gambling or other unworthy purposes on the railroad's
property. It's bad business to let you do anything of the sort. I trust
that there will be no hard feeling between us."

"Hard feeling?" hissed Jim Duff, his wicked-looking face paler than
ever. "Boy, you needn't try to crawl back into my good graces after the
way you acted toward me!"

"I'm not trying to crawl into your esteem, or to get there by any
other means," Tom answered quietly, though with a firmness that caused
superintendent and foremen to feel a new respect for their young chief
engineer. "At the same time, Duff, I don't believe in stirring up bad
blood with anyone. You and I haven't the same way of regarding your line
of business. That's the main difficulty. As I can't see your point of
view, it would be hardly fair to expect you to understand my way of
regarding what you wished to do here. Your tents will have to