第9章
Itwasinthebunk-housethathetookhisrevenge。AsIpassedI
heardhisgentlevoicesilentlyachievingsomenarrativetoanattentiveaudience，andjustasIcamebytheopenwindowwherehesatonhisbedinshirtanddrawers，hisbacktome，Iheardhisconcludingwords，“Andthehatonhishaidwastheonemarkshowedyu’heweren’tasnappin’-turtle。“
Theanecdotemetwithinstantaneoussuccess，andIhurriedawayintothedark。ThenextmorningIwasoccupiedwiththechickens。
Twohenswerefightingtositonsomeeggsthatathirdwasdailylaying，andwhichIdidnotwanthatched，andforthethirdtimeIhadkickedEm’lyoffsevenpotatoesshehadrolledtogetherandwasdeterminedtoraiseIknownotwhatsortoffamilyfrom。Shewasshriekingaboutthehen-houseastheVirginiancameintoobserve(Isuspect)whatImightbedoingnowthatcouldbeusefulforhimtomentioninthebunk-house。
Hestoodawhile，andatlengthsaid，“WelostourbestroosterwhenMrs。Henrycametolivehyeh。“
Ipaidnoattention。
“HewasarightelegantDominicker，“hecontinued。
Ifeltalittleruledaboutthesnapping-turtle，andshowednointerestinwhathewassaying，butcontinuedmyfunctionsamongthehens。Thisunusualsilenceofmineseemedtoelicitunusualspeechfromhim。
“Yu’see，thatroosterhe’dalwayslivedroundhyehwhentheJudgewasabachelor，andheneverseennoladiesoranypersonswearingfemalegyarments。Youain’tgotrheumatism，seh？“
“Me？No。“
“Ireckonedmaybethemlittleodddiversyu’gotdampgoin’
afteh——“Hepaused。
“Oh，no，notintheleast，thankyou。“
“Yu’seemedsorto’gravethismawnin’，andI’mcert’nlygladitain’tthemdivers。“
“Well，therooster？“Iinquiredfinally。
“Oh，him！Heweren’traisedwherehecouldseepetticoats。Mrs。
HenryshecomehyehfromtherailroadwiththeJudgeaftehdark。
Nextmawnin’earlyshewalkedouttoviewhernewhome，andtheroosterwasa-feedin’bythedoor，andheseenher。Well，seh，hescreechedthatawfulIrunoutofthebunk-house；andhejus’
wentoverthefenceandtookdownSunkCreekshoutin’fire，rightalong。Hehasnevercomeback。“
“There’sahenovertherenowthathasnojudgment，“Isaid，indicatingEm’ly。Shehadgotherselfoutsidethehouse，andwasonthebarsofacorral，hervociferationsreducedtoanoccasionalsquawk。Itoldhimaboutthepotatoes。
“Ineverknowedhernamebefore，“saidhe。“Thatrunawayrooster，hehatedher。Andshehatedhimsameasshehates’emall。“
“Inamedhermyself，“saidI，“afterIcametonoticeherparticularly。There’sanoldmaidathomewho’scharitable，andbelongstotheCrueltytoAnimals，andsheneverknowswhethershehadbettercrossinfrontofastreetcarorwait。Inamedthehenafterher。Doessheeverlayeggs？“
TheVirginianhadnot“troubledhishaid“overthepoultry。
“Well，Idon’tbelievesheknowshow。Ithinkshecamenearbeingarooster。“
“She’ssuremanly-lookin’，“saidtheVirginian。Wehadwalkedtowardthecorral，andhewasnowscrutinizingEm’lywithinterest。
Shewasanegregiousfowl。Shewashugeandgaunt，withgreatyellowbeak，andshestoodstraightandalertinthemannerofresponsiblepeople。Therewassomethingwrongwithhertail。Itslantedfartooneside，onefeatherinittwiceaslongastherest。Feathersonherbreasttherewerenone。Thesehadbeenwornentirelyoffbyherhabitofsittinguponpotatoesandotherroughabnormalobjects。Andthislenttoherappearanceanairofbeingdecollete，singularlyatvariancewithherotherwiseprudishensemble。Hereyewasremarkablybright，butsomehowithadanoutragedexpression。Itwasasifshewentabouttheworldperpetuallyscandalizedoverthedoingsthatfellbeneathhernotice。Herlegswereblue，long，andremarkablystout。
“She’doughttowearknickerbockers，“murmuredtheVirginian。
“She’dlookaheapbetter’nsomeo’themcollegestudents。Andshe’llsetonpotatoes，yu’say？“
“Shethinksshecanhatchoutanything。I’vefoundherwithonions，andlastTuesdayIcaughtherontwoballsofsoap。“
Intheafternoonthetallcow-puncherandIrodeouttogetanantelope。
Afteranhour，duringwhichhewascompletelytaciturn，hesaid:
“Ireckonmaybethishyehlonesomecountryain’tbeenhealthyforEm’lytolivein。Itain’tforsomehumans。Themoldtrappersinthemountainsgetsskewedinthehaidmightyoften，an’talksoutloudwhennobody’snigher’nahundredmiles。“
“Em’lyhasnotbeensolitary，“Ireplied。“Therearefortychickenshere。“
“That’sso，“saidhe。“Itdon’texplainher。“
Hefellsilentagain，ridingbesideme，easyandindolentinthesaddle。Hislongfigurelookedsolooseandinertthattheswift，lightspringhemadetothegroundseemedanimpossiblefeat。HehadseenanantelopewhereIsawnone。
“Takeashotyourself，“Iurgedhim，ashemotionedmetobequick。“YounevershootwhenI’mwithyou。“
“Iain’thyehforthat，“heanswered。“Nowyou’velethimgetawayonyu’！“
Theantelopehadintruthdeparted。
“Why，“hesaidtomyprotest，“Icanhitthemthingsanyday。
What’syournotionastoEm’ly？“
“Ican’taccountforher，“Ireplied。
“Well，“hesaidmusingly，andthenhismindtookoneofthoseparticularturnsthatmademelovehim，“Tayloroughttoseeher。
She’dbejusttheschoolmarmforBearCreek！“
“She’snotmuchliketheeating-houseladyatMedicineBow，“I
said。
Hegaveahilariouschuckle。“No，Em’lyknowsnothingo’themjoys。Soyu’havenonotionabouther？Well，I’vegotone。I
reckonmaybeshewashatchedafterabigthunderstorm。“
“Inabigthunderstorm！“Iexclaimed。
“Yes。Don’tyu’knowaboutthem，andwhatthey’lldotoaiggs？A
bigcaseo’lightnin’andthunderwilladdleaiggsandkeep’emfromhatchin’。AndIexpectonecamealong，andalltheotheraiggsofEm’ly’ssetdidn’thatchout，butgotplumbaddled，andshehappenednottogetaddledthatfar，andsoshejustmanagedtomakeitthrough。Butshecert’nlyain’tgotastronghaid。““I
fearshehasnot，“saidI。
“Mightyhon’bleintentions，“heobserved。“Ifshecan’tmakeouttolayanything，shewantstohatchsomethin’，andbeamotheranyways。“
“Iwonderwhatrelationthelawconsidersthatahenistothechickenshehatchedbutdidnotlay？“Iinquired。
TheVirginianmadenoreplytothisfrivoloussuggestion。Hewasgazingoverthewidelandscapegravelyandwithapparentinattention。HeinvariablysawgamebeforeIdid，andwasoffhishorseandcrouchedamongthesagewhileIwasstillgettingmyleftfootclearofthestirrup。Isucceededinkillinganantelope，andwerodehomewiththeheadandhindquarters。
“No。“saidhe。“It’ssurethethunder，andnotthelonesomeness。
Howdoyu’likethelonesomenessyourself？“
ItoldhimthatIlikedit。
“Icouldnotlivewithoutitnow，“hesaid。“Thishasgotintomysystem。“Heswepthishandoutatthevastspaceofworld。“I
wentbackhometoseemyfolksonced。Motherwasdyin’slow，andshewantedme。Istayedayear。ButthemVirginiamountainscouldpleasemenomore。Aftehshewasgone，Itoldmybrothersandsistersgood-by。Welikeeachotherwellenough，butIreckonI’llnotgoback。“
WefoundEm’lyseateduponacollectionofgreenCaliforniapeaches，whichtheJudgehadbroughtfromtherailroad。
“Idon’tmindheranymore，“Isaid；“I’msorryforher。“
“I’vebeensorryforherrightalong，“saidtheVirginian。“Shedoeshatetheroostersso。“Andhesaidthathewasmakingacollectionofeveryclassofobjectwhichhefoundhertreatingaseggs。
ButEm’ly’segg-industrywasterminatedabruptlyonemorning，andherunquestionedenergiesdivertedtoanewchannel。Aturkeywhichhadbeensittingintheroot-houseappearedwithtwelvechildren，andafamilyofbantamsoccurredalmostsimultaneously。
Em’lywasimportantlyscratchingthesoilinsidePaladin’scorralwhenthebantamtribeofnewlyborncamebydownthelane，andshecaughtsightofthemthroughthebars。Shecrossedthecorralatarun，andinterceptedtwoofthechicksthatweretrailingsomewhatbehindtheirrealmamma。Thesesheundertooktoappropriate，andassumedahightonewiththebantam，whowasthesmaller，andhenceobligedtoretreatwithherstillnumerousfamily。Iinterfered，andputmattersstraight；buttheadjustmentwasonlytemporary。InanhourIsawEm’]yimmenselybusywithtwomorebantams，leadingthemaboutandtakingacareofthemwhichImustadmitseemedperfectlyefficient。
Andnowcamethefirstincidentthatmademesuspecthertobedemented。
Shehadproceededwithherchangelingsbehindthekitchen，whereoneoftheirrigationditchesranunderthefencefromthehay-fieldtosupplythehousewithwater。Somedistancealongthisditchinsidethefieldwerethetwelveturkeysintheshort，recentlycutstubble。AgainEm’lysetoffinstantlylikeadeer。
Sheleftthedismayedbantamsbehindher。Shecrossedtheditchwithonejumpofherstoutbluelegs，flewoverthegrass，andwasatonceamongtheturkeys，where，withaninstinctofmaternityasundiscriminatingasitwasreckless，sheattemptedtohuddlesomeofthemaway。Butthisothermammawasnotabantam，andinafewmomentsEm’lywasentirelyroutedinherattempttoacquireanewvarietyoffamily。
ThisspectaclewaswitnessedbytheVirginianandmyself，anditovercamehim。Hewentspeechlessacrosstothebunk-house，byhimself，andsatonhisbed，whileItooktheabandonedbantamsbacktotheirowncircle。
Ihaveoftenwonderedwhattheotherfowlsthoughtofallthis。
Someimpressionitcertainlydidmakeuponthem。Thenotionmayseemoutofreasontothosewhohavenevercloselyattendedtootheranimalsthanman；butIamconvincedthatanycommunitywhichsharessomeofourinstinctswillsharesomeoftheresultingfeelings，andthatbirdsandbeastshaveconventions，thebreachofwhichstartlesthem。Iftherebeanythinginevolution，thiswouldseeminevitable；Atallevents，thechicken-housewasupsetduringthefollowingseveraldays。Em’lydisturbednowthebantamsandnowtheturkeys，andseveraloftheselatterhaddied，thoughIwillnotgosofarastosaythatthiswastheresultofhermisplacedattentions。Nevertheless，I
wasseriouslythinkingoflockingheruptillthebroodsshouldbealittleolder，whenanothereventhappened，andallwassuddenlyatpeace。
TheJudge’ssettercameinonemorning，wagginghertail。Shehadhadherpuppies，andshenowtookustowheretheywerehoused，inbetweenthefloorofabuildingandthehollowground。Em’lywasseatedonthewholelitter。
“No，“IsaidtotheJudge，“Iamnotsurprised。Sheiscapableofanything。“
Inhernewchoiceofoffspring，thishenhadatlengthencounteredanunworthyparent。Thesetterwasboredbyherownpuppies。Shefoundtheholeunderthehouseanobscureandmonotonousresidencecomparedwiththediningroom，andourcompanymorestimulatingandsympatheticthanthatofherchildren。Amuch-pettedcontactwithoursuperiorracehaddevelopedherdogintelligenceaboveitsnaturallevel，andturnedherintoanunnatural，neglectfulmother，whowasconstantlyforgettinghernurseryforworldlypleasures。
Atcertainperiodsofthedaysherepairedtothepuppiesandfedthem，butcameawaywhenthisperfunctoryceremonywasaccomplished；andshewasgladenoughtohaveagovernessbringthemup。ShemadenoquarrelwithEm’ly，andthetwounderstoodeachotherperfectly。Ihaveneverseenamonganimalsanyarrangementsocivilizedandsoperverted。ItmadeEm’lyperfectlyhappy。Toseehersittingalldayjealouslyspreadingherwingsoversomeblindpuppieswassufficientlycurious；butwhentheybecamelargeenoughtocomeoutfromunderthehouseandtoddleaboutintheproudhen’swake，Ilongedforsomedistinguishednaturalist。Ifeltthatourignorancemadeusinappropriatespectatorsofsuchaphenomenon。Em’lyscratchedandclucked，andthepuppiesrantoher，pawedherwiththeirfatlimplittlelegs，andretreatedbeneathherfeathersintheirgamesofhideandseek。Conceive，ifyoucan，whatconfusionmusthavereignedintheirinfantmindsastowhothesetterwas！
“Ireckontheythinkshe’sthewet-nurse，“saidtheVirginian。
Whenthepuppiesgrewtobeboisterous，IperceivedthatEm’ly’smissionwasapproachingitsend。Theyweretooheavyforher，andtheirincreasingscopeofplayfulnesswasnotinherline。Onceortwicetheyknockedherover，uponwhichshearoseandpeckedthemseverely，andtheyretiredtoasafedistance，andsittinginacircle，yappedather。Ithinktheybegantosuspectthatshewasonlyahenafterall。SoEm’lyresignedwithanindifferencewhichsurprisedme，untilIrememberedthatifithadbeenchickens，shewouldhaveceasedtolookafterthembythistime。