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
knows you?"

"I never met her but once before," was his laconic rejoinder.

Nina eyed him suspiciously; at last she was satisfied that he spoke the
truth, but there was still that cold, abstracted manner of his to be
explained. However, cleverly taking her cue from him she inquired in
business-like tones:

"And how about The Polka Saloon--the raid on Cloudy Mountain Camp?"

A shade of annoyance crossed Ramerrez' face.

"I have decided to give that up--at least for a time."

Again Nina regarded him curiously; when she spoke there was a suspicious
gleam in her eyes, though she said lightly:

"Perhaps you're right--it will not be an easy job."

"Far from it," quickly agreed the man. "But the real reason is, that I
have planned to go below for a while."

The woman's eyes narrowed.

"You are going away then?"

"Yes."

"And what about me? Do I go with you?"

Ramerrez laughed uneasily.

"It is impossible. The fact is, it is best that this should be our last
meeting." And seeing the change that came over her face he went on in
more conciliatory tones: "Now, Nina, be reasonable. It is time that we
understood each other. This interview must be final."

"And you came here to tell me this?" blazed the woman, scowling darkly
upon him. And for the moment she looked all that she was reputed to
be--a dangerous woman!

Receiving no answer, she spoke again.

"But you said that you wo