f to shake it off.

The town appeared about a mile long, spread out on two sides of the
main street, graduating from the big buildings of stone and wood in the
center to flimsy frame structures and tents along the outskirts. Pan
estimated that he must have passed three thousand people during his
stroll, up one side of the street and down the other. Even if these
made up the whole population it was enough to insure a good-sized town.
There were no street lamps. And the many yellow lights from open doors
and windows fell upon the throngs moving to and fro, in the street as
well as on the sidewalks.

Pan's guide eventually led him into the Yellow Mine.

He saw a long wide room full of moving figures, thin wreaths of blue
smoke that floated in the glaring yellow lights. A bar ran the whole
length of this room, and drinkers were crowded in front of it. The
clink of glass, the clink of gold, the incessant murmur of hoarse
voices almost drowned faint strains of music from another room that
opened from this one.

The thousand and one saloons and gambling dives that Pan had seen could
not in any sense compare with this one. This was on a big scale
without restraint of law or order. Piles of gold and greenbacks
littered the tables where roulette, faro, poker were in progress.
Black garbed, pale hard-faced gamblers sat with long mobile hands on
the tables. Bearded men, lean-faced youths bent with intent gaze over
their cards. Sloe-eyed Mexicans in their high-peaked sombreros and
gaudy trappings lounged here and there, watching, waiting--for what did
not seem clear to Pan. Drunken miners in their shirt sleeves stamped
through the open door, to or from the bar. An odor of whisky mingled
with that of tobacco smoke. Young women with bare arms and necks and
painted faces were in evidence, some alone, most of them attended by
men.

The gambling games attracted Pan. Like all cowboys he had felt the
fascination of games of chance. He watched the roulette wheel, then
the faro games. In one corner of the big room, almost an alcove, Pan
espied a large round table at which were seated six players engrossed
in a game of poker. He saw thousands of dollars in gold and notes on
that table. A pretty flashy girl with bold eyes and a lazy sleepy
smile hung over the shoulder of one of the gamblers.

Pan's comrade nudged him in the side.

"What? Where?" whispered Pan answering quickly to the suggestion and
his glance swept e