had pledged each other, Ramerrez went on to say, in a low voice, that he
had made the appointment in order to deliver to her her share for the
information that led to his successful holdup of the stage at a place
known as "The Forks," a few miles back; and taking from his pocket a
sack of gold he placed it on the table before her.

There was a silence in which Nina made no movement to pick up the gold;
whereupon, Ramerrez repeated a little harshly:

"Your share."

Slowly the woman rose, picking up the sack as she did so, and with a
request that he await her, she made her way over to the bar where she
handed it to the Mexican in charge with a few words of instruction. In
another moment she was again seated at the table with him.

"Why did you send for me to meet you here?" she now asked. "Why did you
not come to my room--surely you knew that there was danger here?"

Carelessly, Ramerrez let his eyes wander about the room; no one was
paying the slightest attention to them and, apparently, there being
nothing to fear, he answered:

"From whom?"

For a brief space of time the woman looked at him as if she would ferret
out his innermost thoughts; at length, she said with a shrug of the
shoulders:

"Few here are to be thoroughly trusted. The woman you were with--she