“Taking your revolver along,” suggested Tom.
“That’s a habit I got down in Texas. One never knows down in the oil fields when it is going to come in handy. As I was saying, I went out for a walk and found myself coming in this direction. I happened to catch sight of the derrick——”
“Where did you see it from?” asked Tom.
“From the road, of course,” answered Hankinshaw.
“You caught sight of the derrick from the road three hundred feet away on a night when you couldn’t see anything ten feet ahead of you?” exclaimed Tom. “But go ahead. You interest me strangely.”
“I don’t mean exactly that I saw it,” said Hankinshaw, in confusion. “But I’d seen it in the daytime, and being so near it I suppose the thought of it came into my mind. Just from curiosity, I thought I’d come over and see what it was like. I didn’t think any one would mind. Didn’t know there was anything especially secret about it.”
“Didn’t suspect that even when you found the gate was locked, eh?” queried Tom.
“No,” affirmed Hankinshaw brazenly. “I was turning away when I stumbled against a ladder that some workman had left in the grass. That put it into my mind that I could get a squint at the derrick after all, and on the impulse of the moment I put it up and climbed over the fence.”
“How lucky it was that you just happened to have a flashlight along,” said Tom. “I suppose carrying flashlights is another habit you got down in Texas.”
“Yes,” returned Hankinshaw. “You have to travel around a good deal at night there, and you never know when you may need one. But now I’ve told you the whole story. I suppose I was trespassing, and I’m sorry now I did it, seeing the way you look at it. But you’re just making a mountain out of a molehill.”