He was so happy that he was able to think of himself again, and to realise that he had not eaten that day. It was noon-time, and he went into Reminitsky’s, and was about half through with the first course of Reminitsky’s two-course banquet, when his cruel disillusioning fell upon him! He looked up and saw Jeff Cotton striding into the dining-room, making straight for him. There was blood in the marshal’s eye, and Hal saw it, and rose, instinctively. “Come!” said Cotton, and took him by the coat-sleeve and marched him out, almost before the rest of the diners had time to catch their breath. Hal had no opportunity now to display his “tea-party manners” to the camp-marshal. As they walked, Cotton expressed his opinion of him, that he was a skunk, a puppy, a person of undesirable ancestry; and when Hal endeavoured to ask a question--which he did quite genuinely, not grasping at once the meaning of what was happening--the marshal bade him “shut his face,” and emphasised the command by a twist at his coat-collar. At the same time two of the huskiest mine-guards, who had been waiting at the dining-room door, took him, one by each arm, and assisted his progress. They went down the street and past Jeff Cotton’s office, not stopping this time. Their destination was the railroad-station, and when Hal got there, he saw a train standing. The three men marched him to it, not releasing him till they had jammed him down into a seat. “Now, young fellow,” said Cotton, “we’ll see who’s running this camp!” By this time Hal had regained a part of his self-possession. “Do I need a ticket?” he asked. “I’ll see to that,” said the marshal. “And do I get my things?” “You save some questions for your college professors,” snapped the marshal. So Hal waited; and a minute or two later a man arrived on the run with his scanty belongings, rolled into a bundle and tied with a piece of twine. Hal noted that this man was big and ugly, and was addressed by the camp-marshal as “Pete.” The conductor shouted, “All aboard!” And at the same time Jeff Cotton leaned over towards Hal and spoke in a menacing whisper: “Take this from me, young fellow; don’t stop in Pedro, move on in a hurry, or something will happen to you on a dark night.” After which he strode down the aisle, and jumped off the moving train. But Hal noticed that Pete Hanun, the breaker of teeth, stayed on the car a few seats behind him. BOOK THREE THE HENCHMEN OF KING COAL SECTION 1. It was Hal’s intention to get to Western City as quickly as possible to call upon the newspaper editors. But first he must have money to travel, and the best way he could think of to get it was to find John Edstrom. He left the train, followed by Pete Hanun; after some inquiry, he came upon the undertaker who had buried Edstrom’s wife, and who told him where the old Swede was staying, in the home of a labouring-man nearby.