mes to her. Of that she was
positive. But, on the other hand, she had undoubtedly lost some of her
influence over him. It did not lessen her nervousness to realise that he
had been in the hall for some time without making any effort to see her.
Besides, the appointment had been of his own making, inasmuch as he had
sent word by one of his band that she should meet him to-night in this
place. Furthermore, she knew that he had in mind one of the boldest
projects he had yet attempted and needed, to insure success, every scrap
of knowledge that she possessed. In the meantime, while she waited for
him to seek her out, she resolved to show him the extent of her power
to fascinate others; and from that moment never had she seemed more
attractive and alluring to her admirers, in all of whom she appeared to
excite the fiercest of passions. In fact, one word whispered in an ear
by those voluptuous lips and marvellously sweet, musical voice, and the
recipient would have done her bidding, even had she demanded a man's
life as the price of her favour.

It is necessary, however, to single out one man as proving an exception
to this sweeping assertion, although this particular person seemed no
less devoted than the other men present. He was plainly an American and
apparently a stranger to his countrymen as well as to the Mexicans. His
hair was white and closely cropped, the eyebrows heavy and very black,
the lips nervous and thin but denoting great determination, and the
face was tanned to the colour of old leather, sufficiently so as to be
noticeable even in a country where all faces were tanned, swarthy, and
dark. One would have thought that this big, heavy, but extremely-active
man whose clothes, notwithstanding the wear and tear of the road, were
plainly cut on "'Frisco patterns," was precisely the person calculated
to make an impression upon a woman like Nina Micheltorena; and, yet,
oddly enough, he was the only man in the room whose attentions seemed
distasteful to her. It could not be accounted for on the ground of
his nationality, for she danced gladly with others of his race. Nor
did it look like caprice on her part. On the contrary, there was an
expression on her face that resembled something like fear when she
refused to be cajoled into dancing with him. At length, finding her
adamant, the man left the room.

But as time went by and still Ramerrez kept aloof, Nina Micheltorena's
excitement began to increase immeasureably.