"Although it is dark it's still early. Wouldn't you like to go over through the camp with us?" proposed Tom.
Mr. Bascomb agreeing, the whole party set out, only Nicolas remaining behind to keep an eye over the house.
Though he did not then suspect it Tom was on the threshold of more trouble in the camp.
CHAPTER IX
INVITED TO LEAVE CAMP
Lanterns hung here and there on poles lighted the camp. Men who toil hard all day do not usually want a long evening. Many of the men were already inside their tents or shacks, preparing for bed.
At least two hundred, however, were still stirring in the streets of the camp. Tom led his friends near one of the groups. A warning hiss was heard, and then a man in a remote group, urged by his comrades, rose and staggered toward a shack. Tom was at the man's side in an instant. He proved to be an Italian.
"My man, you appear to be intoxicated," Tom remarked, quietly, as he gripped the Italian by the arm.
"No spikka da English," hiccoughed the laborer. As he spoke he tried to free himself from the engineer's grasp. He staggered, and would have fallen, had not Tom prevented the fall.
"Where's this man's gang-master?" Tom demanded, looking about him sharply, while he still held the drunken man.