  New redshift surveys of galaxies in the field of compact groups have
discovered a population of faint galaxies which act as satellites orbiting in
the potential well of the bright group. Here we analyze the mass distribution
of the groups by comparing the mass derived from the bright members and the
mass obtained from the satellite galaxies. Our analysis indicates the presence
of a dark halo around the main group with a mass roughly four times that
measured for the dominant galaxies of the compact group.
  We found that heavier halos are ruled out by the observations when comparing
the distribution of positions and redshifts of the satellite galaxies with the
distribution of satellites surrounding isolated spiral galaxies. The results
agree with a picture where compact groups may form a stable system with
galaxies moving in a common dark halo.
