"You don't belong up here in the mountains? You're a long way from your stamping-ground, aren't you?"
"Of course. I happened to be down in Rocky Bend when the news came and I caught the first stage up."
He tried to make her out. She did not look the type of woman who followed in the wake of such news, adventuring. But then you could never tell what a woman was inside by the outer peach-and-cream softness of her, as Babe Deveril very well understood.
She appeared to be plunged deep into revery. Perhaps there was something of weariness in the droop of her shoulders; if she had come on the early stage, she might have had a hard day of it altogether....
"Were you able to get a room at the Gallup House?" he asked.
"Yes. I was one of the first, you know. As to how long I can keep my room, I can't tell. Mr. Gallup has doubled his prices and is likely to double them again."
"He's that sort," conceded Deveril. "He plays a big game and all the time has a shrewd eye for the little bets. By the way, do you feel entirely comfortable there?"
Her eyes drifted to a meeting with his.
"What do you mean?"
"There's as tough a crowd there and spread all over town as I ever saw. Are you alone?"