, a mail pouch--it being the
company's orders not to let his _muchilo_ of heavy leather out of his
hands for a second.

"You drop mail at the greaser settlement?" inquired Ashby in his
peremptory and incisive manner.

"Yes, sir," quickly responded the young man; and then volunteered:
"It's a tough place."

Ashby scrutinised the newcomer closely before going on with:

"Know a girl there named Nina Micheltorena?"

But before The Pony Express had time to reply the Girl interposed
scornfully:

"Nina Micheltorena? Why, they all know 'er! She's one o' them Cachuca
girls with droopy, Spanish eyes! Oh, ask the boys about 'er!" And with
that she started to leave the room, stopping on her way to clap both
Trinidad and Sonora playfully on the back. "Yes, ask the boys about 'er,
they'll tell you!" And so saying she fled from the room, followed by the
men she was poking fun at.

"Hold her letters, you understand?" instructed Ashby who, with the
Sheriff, was alone now with The Pony Express.

"Yes, sir," he replied earnestly. A moment later there being no further
orders forthcoming he hastily took his leave.

Ashby now turned his attention to Rance.

"Sheriff," said he, "to-night I expect to see this Nina Micheltorena
either here or at The Palmetto."

Rance never raised an eyebrow.

"You do?" he remarked a moment later with studied carelessness. "Well,
the boys had better look to their watches. I met that lady once."

Ashby shot him a look of inquiry.

"She's looking to that five thousand reward for Ramerrez," he told him.

Rance's interest was growing by leaps and bounds though he continued to
riffle the cards.

"What? She's after that?"

"Sure thing. She knows something . . ." And having delivered himself
of this Ashby strode over to the opposite side of the room where his
coat and hat were hanging upon an elk horn. While putting them on he
came face to face with the Girl who, having merely glanced in at the
dance-hall, was returning to take up her duties behind the bar. "Well,
I'll have a look at that greaser up the road," he said, addressing her,
and then went on half-jocularly, half-seriously: "He may have his eye on
the find in that stocking."

"You be darned!" was the Girl's parting shot at him as he went out into
the night.

There was a long and impressive pause in which, apparently, the Sheriff
was making up his mind to speak of matters scarcely incident to the
situation that had gone before; while f