He was
tall and swarthy, and, for one of his mixed race, not bad looking. But
there was a furtive shiftiness in his eyes that were set too close
together, that awakened distrust, and although Bert reproached himself
for it and never revealed it by word or look, he could not help an
instinctive aversion.
His first impulse was to approach and speak to the man, who had not seen
him as he came in and was now standing with his back partly toward him,
tossing down a drink that he had poured out generously from the bottle
the bartender placed before him.
Bert checked himself, however, as he saw that Pedro had just greeted a
man who had risen from a table where he had been sitting apart from the
others, as though waiting for some one. An almost imperceptible sign
passed between them that aroused Bert's curiosity. Nor was this lessened
when the newcomer took from his pocket a pouch, such as gold dust is
usually carried in, and slipped it over to Pedro, who placed it carefully
in the breast of his buckskin shirt.
Here was the beginning of a mystery. Why should this man be giving money
to the half-breed? To be sure, it might be in payment of a loan or a
gambling debt.
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