“But who would have wished to bring dynamite here until the trouble started?”
“Anyone might be interested in doing it who wanted to see trouble start.”
“I'm afraid I don't follow you, Reade,” observed the general manager, frowning slightly.
“There were others who wanted the job of blocking the Man-killer,” Tom went on earnestly. “They wanted a lot more money for the job than we thought was necessary. I don't want to accuse anyone, but I am just a trifle suspicious that the concern of Chicago contractors—”
“The Colthwaite people!” broke in Mr. Ellsworth.
“Yes; if they were bad people, and ugly business rivals—”
“How would the Colthwaite people be able to foresee that you were going to have a fight with Jim Duff?” interposed Mr. Ellsworth.
“I'm going after the answer, if there is one. I hope to be able to tell you the answer one of these days.”
Tom and Harry made two trips each, in different directions, to make sure that the watch men were awake and alert. It was nearly eleven o'clock when the general manager and his engineers turned in for a night's rest—“subject to the approval of Jim Duff,” as Tom dryly stated it.
No more interruptions followed during the night, however. At daylight the watchmen sought their tents and the day force began to stir soon after.