第18章
“Idon’tknowaboutpromotion，“hereplied。“Theboyshavebeenusedtoseein’meoneofthemselves。Whydon’tyoucomealongwithusfarasPlattsmouth？“Thusheshiftedthesubjectfromhimself，andcalledtomynoticethelocomotivesbackinguptohiscars，andremindedmethatfromPlattsmouthIhadthechoiceoftwotrainsreturning。Buthecouldnothideorbelittlethisconfidenceofhisemployerinhim。Itwasthecareofseveralthousandperishabledollarsandthecontrolofmen。Itwasacompliment。Thereweremoresteersthanmentoberesponsiblefor；butnoneofthesteershadbeensuddenlypickedfromtheherdandsetabovehisfellows。Moreover，Chicagofinishedupthesteers；butthenew-madedeputyforemanhadthentoleadhissixhighlyunoccupiedbrethrenawayfromtowns，andbackinpeacetotheranch，ordisappointtheJudge，whoneededtheirservices。
Thesethingssometimesgowronginalandwheretheysayyouareallbornequal；andthatquarterofanodinColonelCyrusJones’seatingpalaceheldmoreequalitythananywholenodyoucouldsee。ButtheVirginiandidnotseeit，therebeingatimeforallthings。
Wetrundleddowntheflopping，heavy-eddiedMissouritoPlattsmouth，andtheretheybackedusontoasiding，theChristianEndeavorbeingexpectedtopassthatway。Andwhiletheequalityabsorbedthemselvesinadeepbutharmlessgameofpokerbythesideoftherailwayline，theVirginianandIsatonthetopofacar，contemplatingthesandyshallowsofthePlatte。
“Ishouldthinkyou’dtakeahand，“saidI。
“Poker？Withthemkittens？“Oneflashoftheinnermanlightenedinhiseyesanddiedaway，andhefinishedwithhisgentledrawl，“WhenIplay，Iwantittobeinterestin’。“HetookoutSirWalter’sKenilworthoncemore，andturnedthevolumeoverandoverslowly，withoutopeningit。YoucannottellifinspirithewanderedonBearCreekwiththegirlwhosebookitwas。Thespiritwillgooneroad，andthethoughtanother，andthebodyitsownwaysometimes。“QueenElizabethwouldhaveplayedamightypow’fulgame，“washisnextremark。
“Poker？“saidI。
“Yes，seh。DoyouexpaictEuropehasgotanyqueenequaltoheratpresent？“
Idoubtedit。
“Victoria’dgetprettynighslainslidingchipsoutagaynstElizabeth。Onlymos’prob’lyVictoriashe’dinsistonahalf-centlimit。YouhavereadthishyehKenilworth？Well，dealElizabethacehigh，an’shecouldscareRobertDudleywithafullhouseplumbouto’thebettin’。“
IsaidthatIbelievedsheunquestionablycould。
“And，“saidtheVirginian，“ifEssex’splaygotnexthertoonear，Ireckonshe’dhavestackedthecyards。Say，d’yu’
rememberShakespeare’sfatman？“
“Falstaff？Oh，yes，indeed。“
“Ain’tthatgrand？Why，hemakesmentalkthewaytheydoinlife。Ireckonhecouldn’tgetprintedto-day。It’sarightdownshameShakespearecouldn’tknowaboutpoker。He’dhavehadFalstaffplayingalldayatthatTearsheetoutfit。AndthePrincewouldhavebeathim。“
“ThePrincehadthebrains，“saidI。
“Brains？“
“Well，didn’the？“
“Inevehthoughttonotice。Likeasnothedid。“
“AndFalstaffdidn’t，Isuppose？“
“Oh，yes，seh！Falstaffcouldhaveplayedwhist。“
“Isupposeyouknowwhatyou’retalkingabout；Idon’t，“saidI，forhewasdrawlingagain。
Thecow-puncher’seyerestedamomentamiablyuponme。“Youcanplaywhistwithyourbrains，“hemused，——“brainsandcyards。Nowcyardsareonlyoneo’themanifestationsofpokerinthishyehworld。Oneo’theshapesyufoolwithitinwhentheday’sworkisoveh。IfamanisbuiltlikethatPrinceboywasbuilt(andit’sawaydowndeepbeyondbrains)，he’llplaywinnin’pokerwithwhateverhandhe’sholdin’whenthetroublebegins。Maybeitwillbeamean，triflin’army，oranemptysix-shooter，oralamehawss，ormaybejustnothin’buthisnaturalcountenance。’Mostanyoldthingwilldoforafello’likethatPrinceboytoplaypokerwith。“
“ThenI’dbegratefulforyourdefinitionofpoker，“saidI。
AgaintheVirginianlookedmeoveramiably。“Youputupamightyprettygameo’whistyourself，“heremarked。“Don’tthatgiveyouthecontentedspirit？“AndbeforeIhadanyreplytothis，theChristianEndeavorbegantocomeoverthebridge。ThreeinstalmentscrossedtheMissourifromPacificJunction，boundforPike’sPeak，everycarswathedinbrightbunting，andateachwindowaChristianwithahandkerchief，joyouslyshrieking。Thenthecattletrainsgottheopensignal，andIjumpedoff。“TelltheJudgethesteerswasallrightthisfar，“saidtheVirginian。
Thatwasthelastofthedeputyforemanforawhile。
MyroadtoSunkCreeklayinnostraightline。ByrailIdivergednorthwesttoFortMeade，andthence，aftersomestaywiththekindmilitarypeople，Imademywayonahorse。UphereintheBlackHillsitsluicedrainmostintolerably。ThehorseandI
enjoyedthecountryandourselvesbutlittle；andwhenfinallyI
changedfromthesaddleintoastage-coach，Icaughtathankfulexpressionupontheanimal’sface，andreturnedthesame。
“Sixlegsinsidethisjerkyto-night？“saidsomebody，asI
climbedthewheel。“Well，we’llgivethanksfornothavin’
eight，“headdedcheerfully。“Clampyourmindontothat，Shorty。“Andheslappedtheshoulderofhisneighbor。NaturallyI
tookthesetwoforoldcompanions。Butwewerealltotalstrangers。TheytoldmeofthenewgoldexcitementatRawhide，andsupposeditwouldbringuptheNorthernPacific；andwhenI
explainedthemillionsowedtothisroad’sGermanbondholders，theywereofopinionthataGermanwouldstrikeitricheratRawhide。Wespokeofallsortsofthings，andinoursilenceI
gloatedontheautumnholidaypromisedmebyJudgeHenry。HislastletterhadsaidthatanoutfitwouldbestartingforhisranchfromBilingsontheseventh，andhewouldhaveahorseforme。Thiswasthefifth。Sowesixlegsinthejerkytravelledharmoniouslyonovertherain-guttedroad，gettingnodeeperknowledgeofeachotherthanwhatouroutsidesmightimply。
Notthatweconcealedanything。ThemanwhohadslappedShortyintroducedhimselfearly。“ScipioleMoyne，fromGallipolice，Ohio，“hesaid。“TheeldestofusalwaysgetscalledScipio。It’sFrench。Butusfolkshavebeenwhiteforahundredyears。“Hewaslimberandlight-muscled，andfellskilfullyabout，evadingbruiseswhenthejerkyreeledorroseonend。Hehadastrange，long，jocularnose，verywary-looking，andableachedblueeye。
Cattlewashisbusiness，asarule，butoflatehehadbeen“lookingaroundsome，“andRawhideseemedmuchonhisbrain。
Shortystruckmeas“lookingaround“also。Hewasquiteshort，indeed，andthejerkyhurthimalmosteverytime。Hewaslight-hairedandmild。Thinkofayellowdogthatislost，andfancieseachnewcomerinsightisgoingtoturnouthismaster，andyouwillhaveShorty。
ItwastheNorthernPacificthatsurprisedusintointimacy。WewerenearingMedora。Wehadmadealastarrangementofourlegs。
Ilaystretchedinsilence，placidintheknowledgeitwassoontoend。SoIdrowsed。Ifeltsomethingsudden，and，waking，sawScipiopassingthroughtheair。AsShortynextshotfromthejerky，Ibeheldsmokeandthelocomotive。TheNorthernPacifichadchangeditsschedule。Avaliseisapoorcompanionforcatchingatrainwith。Therewasruttedsandandlumpy，knee-highgreasewoodinourshortcut。Apieceofstraywiresprangfromsomeholeandhungcaracolingaboutmyankle。Tincansspunfrommystride。Butwemadeaconspicuousrace。Twoofuswavedhats，andtherewasnomomentthatsomeoneofuswasnotscreeching。
Itmeanttwenty-fourhourstous。
Perhapswefailedtocatchthetrain’sattention，thoughthetheoryseemsmonstrous。Asitmovedoffinourfaces，smoothandeasyandinsulting，Scipiodroppedinstantlytoawalk，andwetwoothersoutstrippedhimandcamedesperatelytotheemptytrack。Therewentthetrain。Evenstillitspuffsweretheseparatedpuffsofstarting，thatbitten-off，snortykind，andsweatandourtruenaturesbrokefreelyforth。
Ikickedmyvalise，andthensatonit，dumb。
Shortyyieldedhimselfupaloud。Allhishumblesecretscameoutofhim。Hewalkedaimlesslyround，lamenting。Hehadlosthisjob，andhementionedtheranch。Hehadplayedcards，andhementionedtheman。Hehadsoldhishorseandsaddletocatchafriendonthistrain，andhementionedwhatthefriendhadbeengoingtodoforhim。Hetoldastringofgriefsandnamestotheair，asiftheairknew。
MeanwhileScipioarrivedwithextremeleisureattherails。Hestuckhishandsintohispocketsandhisheadoutattheverysmalltrain。Hisbleachedblueeyesshuttoslitsashewatchedtherearcarinitssmoke-bluroozeawaywestwardamongthemoundedbluffs。“Luckyit’soutofrange，“Ithought。ButnowScipiospoketoit。
“Why，youseemtothinkyou’veleftmebehind，“hebeganeasily，infawningtones。“You’retoomuchofakidtohavesuchthoughts。Agesome。“Hisnextremarkgrewlesswheedling。“I
wouldn’tbeabitproudtomeetyu’。Why，ifIwasseentravellin’withyu’，I’dhavetoexplainittomyfriends！Thinkyou’vegotmeleft，doyu’？Justbecauseyu’ridethroughthiscountryonarail，doyu’claimyu’canfindyourwayaround？I
couldtakeyu’outtenyardsinthebrushandloseyu’intenseconds，youspangle-roofedhobo！LeaveMEbehind？yourecentblanket-mortgageyearlin’！Youplush-lined，nickel-plated，whistlin’washroom，d’yu’figureIcan’tgoeastjustassoonaswest？OrI’llstayrighthereifitsuitsme，yu’
dude-inhabitedhot-box！Why，yu’coon-bossedface-towel——“Butfromhereheroseinflightsofnoveltythatappalledandheldmespellbound，andwhicharenotformetosaytoyou。Thenhecamedowneasilyagain，andfinishedwithexpressionsofsympathyforitbecauseitcouldneverhaveknownamother。
“Doyouexpaictitcouldshowamaleparentoffhand？“inquiredaslowvoicebehindus。Ijumpedround，andtherewastheVirginian。
“Maleparent！“scoffedthepromptScipio。“Ain’tyouheardaboutTHEMyet？“
“Them？Wastheretwo？“
“Two？TheblamedthingwassiredbyawholedoggoneDutchsyndicate。“
“Why，thepiebaldsonofagun！“respondedtheVirginian，sweetly。“Igotthemsteersthroughallright，“headdedtome。
“Sorrytoseeyu’getsoouto’breathaftehthetrain。Isyourvalisesufferin’any？“
“Who’she？“inquiredScipio，curiously，turningtome。
TheSouthernersatwithanewspaperontherearplatformofacaboose。Thecaboosestoodhitchedbehindamileorsooffreighttrain，andthetrainwasheadedwest。Soherewasthedeputyforeman，hissteersdeliveredinChicago，hismen(Icouldhearthem)safeinthecaboose，hispaperinhislap，andhislegsdanglingateaseovertherailing。Heworethelookofamanforwhomthingsaregoingsmooth。AndformethewaytoBillingswassmoothnow，also。
“Who’she？“Scipiorepeated。
Butfrominsidethecabooseloudlaughterandnoisebrokeonus。
Someonewasreciting“Andit’smynighttohowl。“
“We’llallhowlwhenwegettoRawhide，“saidsomeotherone；andtheyhowlednow。
“Thesehyehsteamcyars，“saidtheVirginiantoScipio，“makeaman’slanguagemightynighasspeedyashistravel。“OfShortyhetooknonoticewhatever——nomorethanofthemanifestationsinthecaboose。
“Soyu’heardmespeakin’totheexpress，“saidScipio。“Well，I
guess，sometimesI——Seehere，“heexclaimed，fortheVirginianwasgravelyconsideringhim，“Imayhavetalkedsome，butI
walkedawholelot。Youdidn’tcatchMEsquanderingnospeed。
Soonas——“
“Inoticed，“saidtheVirginian，“thinkin’camequickertoyu’
thanrunnin’。“
IwasgladIwasnotShorty，tohavemymeasuretakenmerelybymywayofmissingatrain。AndofcourseIwassorrythatIhadkickedmyvalise。
“Oh，Icouldtellyu’dbeenenjoyin’us！“saidScipio。“Observin’
somebodyelse’sscrapealwayskindo’restsmetoo。Maybeyou’reaphilosopher，butmaybethere’sapairofusdrawdinthisdeal。“
ApprovalnowgrewplainuponthefaceoftheVirginian。“Byyourlaigs，“saidhe，“youareusedtothesaddle。“
“I’dbecalledusedtoit，Iexpect。“
“Byyourhands，“saidtheSoutherner，again，“youain’tropedmanysteerslately。Beencookin’orsomething？“
“Say，“retortedScipio，“tellmyfuturesomenow。Drawaconclusionfrommymouth。“