Winnemucca is a Nevada waypoint in Jenny and Pauline’s westward flight, remembered as the setting for a quiet exchange that makes their mutual loyalty explicit. At a motel there, each acknowledges that the other could choose to abandon or betray her, but neither expects that choice.

Setting and Journey

The two women reach Winnemucca while traveling farther west. Jenny’s money is already gone, and they are spending stolen bills one at a time, at long intervals. Their route is deliberately indirect rather than a direct dash toward a fixed destination; the motel is one stop along that unsettled passage through Nevada.

The Motel Conversation

At the motel, Pauline tells Jenny, “I meant it that day in the rainstorm. If they caught me, I’d never tell them about you.” She then recognizes that Jenny is not bound to do the same for her: “But you, you didn’t have to stay with me. I’d understand if you told about me.” Jenny answers, “But I won’t.” Pauline’s response, “I know that. That’s the way that you are. I know that,” turns the exchange from a promise into an expression of established knowledge between them.

Narrative Significance

Winnemucca is not presented as a destination or a place where the fugitives settle. Its significance lies in the brief pause it provides during their flight: with money dwindling and capture still a possibility, the conversation clarifies that their continued partnership rests on trust rather than obligation. The motel stop gives that trust a concrete form before they continue west.