nest men, and they knew they had six hours to make fifteen miles
over the hills. They passed near Quaker Hill, Red Dog, and You Bet,
keeping away from people as much as they dared to, but not obviously
avoiding anyone.

At You Bet, Gold Run and Dutch Flat they had taken the precaution to
show themselves for several days past; so that no one should notice
their reappearance. They were not unknown in this region, and there were
men at You Bet who could have identified them as Nevada City jail-birds.
There was O'Leary, for example, who had been in jail with them. But in a
country filled with gamblers and sporting men, where the chief end of
man is to get gold and to enjoy it forever, it is not deemed polite to
enquire too closely into people's antecedents. These men, evidently
native-born Americans, bore the good Anglo-Saxon names of Collins and
Darcy. What more could you ask? They perspired freely, and their packs
were evidently heavy; but men who collect specimens of quartz are likely
to carry heavy packs, and the day was hot.

At You Bet the men separated, Darcy striking out for Gold Run with all
the gold, and Collins making for Dutch Flat, which is farther up the
railroad. This was to throw the railroad men off the scent, for news of
the murder had probably been telegraphed to all railroad stations in the
vicinity.

Incidentally, and unknown to his partner, this arrangement necessitated
a momentous decision in the mind of Collins. As he formulated the
question, it was, "The girl or the gold?" Like many young criminals,
Collins was very much of a ladies' man. He associated with girls of the
dance-hall class, but he aspired to shine in the eyes of those foolish
women who admire a gay, bad man. He would have preferred to have his
share of the plunder then and there in order to stay in California to
win the hand of Mamie Slocum. But Darcy was determined to get out of the
country as quickly as possible, and when they separated insisted upon
taking all the gold. It would not do to quarrel with him, for both would
be lost if either was suspected. To share in the plunder he would have
to go East with Darcy, who was to board the same train at Gold Run that
Collins would take at Dutch Flat.

The girl or the gold? Because of his infatuation for the girl he had
become a highwayman. He had not expected her to come down from
Graniteville that day. He had not counted on being nearly killed by
Cummins, for it was he whom Cummins h