minutes you'll see her."

It was a rash remark and expressive of a confidence that he by no means
felt. As a matter of fact, it was induced solely by the cynical smile
which he perceived on the Sheriff's face.

"You, evidently, take no account of the fact that the lady may have
changed her mind," observed Rance, lighting a fresh cigar. "The Nina
Micheltorenas are fully as privileged as others of their sex."

As he drained his glass Ashby gave the speaker a sharp glance; another
side of Rance's character had cropped out. Moreover, Ashby's quick
intuition told him that the other's failure to catch the outlaw was not
troubling him nearly as much as was the blow which his conceit had
probably received at the hands of the Girl. It was, therefore, in an
indulgent tone that he said:

"No, Rance, not this one nor this time. You mark my words, the woman is
through with Ramerrez. At least, she is so jealous that she thinks she
is. She'll turn up here, never fear; she means business."

The shoulders of Mr. Jack Rance strongly suggested a shrug, but the man
himself said nothing. They were anything but sympathetic companions,
these two officers, and in the silence that ensued Rance formulated
mentally more than one disparaging remark about the big man sitting
opposite to him. It is possible, of course, that the Sheriff's rebuff by
the Girl, together with the wild goose chase which he had recently taken
against his better judgment, had something to do with this bitterness;
but it was none the less true that he found himself wondering how Ashby
had succeeded in acquiring his great reputation. Among the things that
he held against him was his everlasting propensity to boast of his
achievements, to say nothing of the pedestal upon which the boys
insisted upon placing him. Was this Wells Fargo's most famous agent? Was
this the man whose warnings were given such credence that they stirred
even the largest of the gold camps into a sense of insecurity? And at
this Rance indulged again in a fit of mental merriment at the other's
expense.

But, although he would have denied it in toto, the truth of the matter
was that the Sheriff was jealous of Ashby. Witty, generous, and a high
liver, the latter was generally regarded as a man who fascinated women;
moreover, he was known to be a favourite--and here the shoe
pinched--with the Girl. True, the demands of his profession were such as
to prevent his staying long in any camp. Nevertheless, it