money among the silver which was flowing in an encouraging stream.
The kerosene lamps screwed to the sides of the long, unplastered hall, aided by tin reflectors, gleamed their brightest, while a fresh layer of sawdust upon the floor showed that Mr. Poth had been giving the opera-house his personal attention.
Nan found herself the cynosure of all eyes as she and Mrs. Poth searched for their names upon the slips of paper laid upon the seats of the pine chairs marked "Reserved." She glanced about and once more she felt the same strange agitation when her eyes met those of Ben Evans, who was leaning against the wall among a group of cowboys.
Of cowboys there were plenty in the motley crowd, a rim of white encircling their scalps in evidence of recent haircuts, while a powerful odor of cologne and Florida water emanated from their vicinity.
Swarthy Mexicans, lean, oily-haired, showed their white teeth frequently as they whispered together. Brawny miners and grizzled prospectors, the more dapper merchants of the town, the few women of Hope-
