But Hummel didn’t wait for that. With one glance at the big officer, he turned to the wall and took down his overcoat from a hook where he had hung it. His face was livid and his lips were drawn back from his yellow teeth in an ugly snarl, as he started for the door. Stanley followed him and gave the sentry outside word to pass him. Hummel went down the steps silently, save for a queer hissing in his throat, and Stanley stood and watched him until he disappeared in the darkness. Then he went slowly back into the freight-shed, his face very grave. “That fellow means trouble,” he said to himself. “He means trouble. Mebbe I’d ort to run him in.” Could he have seen Hummel at that moment, he would have been more than ever convinced that he was a dangerous man to be at large. For he had stopped in the shadow of a box-car and waited until Stanley, re-entering the building, closed the door behind him. Then, creeping closer, he concealed himself behind a pile of ties. There he sat down, hugging his knees with his arms. “I’ll git him,” he muttered, over and over to himself. “I’ll git him. Oh, I’ll git him,” and he sat staring at the freight-house door with eyes like a wild beast’s. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER XVII EVENTS OF THE NIGHT INSIDE the freight-house, meanwhile, Allan had called the men together and was giving them a little talk. “I want you men to understand,” he said, “that you are in no sense confined here. You’re free to go at any time. But if you do go, you can’t come back. And I think all of you will understand the necessity for that rule. We are keeping you here, at considerable expense to ourselves, in order to protect you from interference by the strikers. We are trying to see that you are well fed and comfortably lodged, and we are giving you this board and lodging without charge. Of course, this isn’t all pure philanthropy on our part. We are doing it because we believe that it is only in this way we can keep you together. If we permitted you to board and lodge out in the town, we would never know when you were going to show up for your run. There would always be the danger that you would be prevented from coming, either by force or persuasion. It would be impossible for us to run the road in that way. The only way we can run it is to know certainly that you will be on hand when needed, and the only way we can be certain of that is to keep you together. When the strike is ended, there will be no further need of doing that, and a permanent place will be offered every one of you who makes good. If there are any of you who aren’t willing to work for the present under those conditions, now is the time to say so. If you want to quit, you are free to do so.” He looked around over the circle of faces, and waited a moment to see if there was any response.