“Yes,” replied Carhart, “it is just right. Don’t ask any questions, Peet, and don’t give me away. I don’t want any swearing in Sherman to-morrow. I don’t want a whisper of this to get out for a week--not for a month if we can keep it under.” Tiffany quieted down; grew thoughtful. “It will take a lot of men, Paul. How can you prevent a leak?” “I’m going to take them all West with me afterward.” “I see. That’s right--that’s right! And the station agents and train crews and switchmen--yes, I see. You’ll take ’em all.” “Every man,” replied Carhart, quietly. “If necessary, you’ll take ’em under guard.” Carhart smiled a very little. “If necessary,” he replied. “You’ll want some good men,” mused Tiffany. “I’ll tell you,--suppose you leave that part of it to me. It’s now,--let’s see,--seven-forty. It won’t be any use starting your first train until you’ve got the men to do the work. I’ll need a little time, but if you’ll give me an hour and half to two hours, say until nine-thirty, I’ll have your outfit ready. I’ll send some of my assistants along with you, and a bunch of our brakemen and switchmen. There’ll be the commissariat to look out for too,--you see to all that, Lou, will you?” Peet inclined his head. “For how many men?” he asked. “Oh, five hundred, anyway, before we get through with it.” Nothing could surprise the superintendent now. He merely nodded. “And rifles,” Tiffany added. “You’ll want a case of ’em.” “No,” said Carhart, “I shan’t need any rifles for the P. S., but I want five hundred more at the end of the track, and, say ten thousand rounds of ball cartridges. Will you see to that, Peet?” The superintendent grunted out, “Who’s paying for all this?” and then as neither of the others took the trouble to reply, he subsided. “All right, then,” said Tiffany. “I’ll have your crew here--enough for the first train, anyhow. You can trust to picking up fifty or a hundred laborers in the neighborhood of Paradise. See you later.” And with this, the chief engineer took his big person away at a rapid walk. Carhart turned to Peet and extended his hand. Dusk was falling. The headlights of the locomotives threw their yellow beams up the yard. Switch lights were shining red and white, and lanterns, in the hands of shadowy figures, were bobbing here and there. There was a great racket about them of bumping cars and squeaking brakes, and of shouting and the blowing off of locomotives. “I don’t blame you for thinking that everything’s going to the devil, Peet,” said Carhart. “But I don’t believe they’ve let you in on the situation. If I’m running risks, it’s because we’ve got to run risks.”