arcely more than a closet, with room enough only for the
rusty stove, table and chairs.

"Private poker-room," Mr. Ryder announced with pride. "Enough coin's
changed hands here to buy the greatest gold-mine in Nevada! Make
yourself comfortable, Ma'am. Now, who was it you was looking for?"

"Do you recall Jake's place, the dance-hall that was burned down?"
Willa began.

"Like as if it was yesterday!" The little man seated himself in the
chair opposite and put his hat on the floor beside him. "Topaz was a
roaring gehenna in them days and one night Red-Eye Pete started in to
shoot out the lamps at Jake's. One of 'em exploded and it was all over
in no time. Red-Eye himself and Ray Clancy, the pianner-player, and
two o' the girls was lost. I got a busted arm and most o' my hair
singed off going in after 'em, but 'twarn't no use."

"You knew the--the girls?" Willa had difficulty in controlling her
voice.

"Sure I did! Blonde Annie and Miss Violet. Annie was just a--a girl
like you'd expect, Ma'am, but Miss Violet, she was a regular lady.
Young widder with a toddling baby and a voice like an angel.--Say,
that's funny!" He broke off, staring at her. "It ain't about her that
you've come, is it?"

Willa nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

"Well, don't that beat--beat everything!" Mr. Ryder recovered himself
in some confusion. "Two or three years ago a lawyer shark from New
York City--a man named North, I remember--come here asking an all-fired
lot o' questions, and only last fall another feller turned up on the
same game. I told 'em all I knew, which warn't much. They called
themselves Murphy, Miss Vi and her husband did, but I guess that warn't
their right name. Nice young feller he was, but quiet and sickly.
When he died we wanted to pass round the hat for the widder, like we
always do, but she wouldn't have it; she got work instead at Jake's,
singing and dancing, but she kept everyone in their place and there
warn't a man here that wouldn't have stood up for her till the last gun
fired."

"And the baby--do you remember it at all?"

"Little Billie?" Mr. Ryder laughed. "There ain't enough babies around
a mining camp to make you forget any one of 'em, and you couldn't
rightly forget Billie if you tried. Fat and curly-headed she was, and
the spunkiest little critter you ever see, always falling down hard and
scrambling up again by herself and laughing to beat four of a kind.
Her ma tried to kee