"Are you going to stand for it, men?" yelled Evarts, his face aflame with anger. "Come on—-all of you! Show that you're not a pack of cowards and slaves!"
From more than a hundred throats came an ominous yell. The crowd surged around Reade and Hazelton. Mr. Bascomb, seeing his chance, dodged and ran out of the crowd. But Mr. Prenter, with a spring, placed himself at Tom Reade's side.
"Come on, men!" yelled the sallow-faced fellow.
"Run dem w'ite slave-drivers outah camp!" yelled a score of negroes. Yells in Italian and Portuguese also filled the air.
In an instant it was plain that Tom Reade had stirred up more than a hornet's nest.
"Come on, Harry," spoke Tom, firmly. "Let's run this pair out of camp.
Then we'll come back and look for more trouble-makers and trouble-hunters!
Make way there, men!"
One excitable Italian rushed through the crowd, brandishing a revolver. As alarmed men fell back, the Italian confronted Reade, holding the revolver almost in the latter's face and firing.
CHAPTER X
THE NIGHT IS NOT OVER
Tom winced slightly, as the pistol was discharged, for some of the powder burned his face.