第19章
“I’mrightdistressed，“unseveredthegentleSoutherner，“we’venotadropintheoutfit。“
“Oh，drinkwithmeuptown！“criedScipio“I’mpleasedtodeathwithyu’。“
TheVirginianglancedwherethesaloonsstoodjustbehindthestation，andshookhishead。
“Why，itain’tabitfartowhiskeyfromhere！“urgedtheother，plaintively。“Stepdown，now。ScipioleMoyne’smyname。Yes，you’relookin’formybrassear-rings。Butthereain’tnoearringsonme。I’vebeenwhiteforahundredyears。Stepdown。
I’veaforty-dollarthirst。“
“You’recertainlywhite，“begantheVirginian。“But——“
Herethecabooseresumed:
“I’mwild，andwoolly，andfullofpeas；
I’mhardtocurryabovetheknees；
I’mashe-wolffromBitterCreek，andIt’smynighttoho-o-wl——“
Andastheyhowledandstamped，thewheelsofthecaboosebegantoturngentlyandtomurmur。
TheVirginianrosesuddenly。“Willyu’savethatthirstandtakeaforty-dollarjob？“
“Missin’trains，profanity，orwhat？“saidScipio。
“I’lltellyu’soonasI’msure。“
AtthisScipiolookedhardattheVirginian。“Why，you’retalkin’
business！“saidhe，andleapedonthecaboose，whereIwasalready。“IWASthinkin’ofRawhide，“headded，“butIain’tanymore。“
“Well，goodluck！“saidShorty，onthetrackbehindus。
“Oh，say！“saidScipio，“hewantedtogoonthattrain，justlikeme。“
“Geton，“calledtheVirginian。“Butastogettingajob，heain’tjustlikeyou。“SoShortycame，likealostdogwhenyouwhistletohim。
Ourwheelscluckedoverthemain-lineswitch。Atrain-handthrewitshutafterus，jumpedaboard，andreturnedforwardovertheroofs。Insidethecaboosetheyhadreachedthethirdhowlingoftheshe-wolf。
“Friendsofyourn？“saidScipio。
“Myoutfit，“drawledtheVirginian。
“Doyu’alwaystraveloutside？“inquiredScipio。
“It’slonesomeinthere，“returnedthedeputyforeman。Andhereoneofthemcameout，slammingthedoor“Hell！“hesaid，atsightofthedistanttown。Then，truculently，totheVirginian，“ItoldyouIwasgoingtogetabottlehere。“
“Haveyourbottle，then，“saidthedeputyforeman，andkickedhimoffintoDakota。(ItwasnotNorthDakotayet；theyhadnotdividedit。)TheVirginianhadaimedhispistolataboutthesametimewithhisboot。ThereforethemansatinDakotaquietly，watchingusgoawayintoMontana，andofferingnoobjections。
Justbeforehebecametoosmalltomakeout，wesawhimriseandremovehimselfbacktowardthesaloons。
“ThatistheonlystepIhavehadtotakethiswholetrip，“saidtheVirginian。Heholsteredhispistolwithajerk。“Ihavebeenfearinghewouldforceitonme。“Andhelookedatempty，recedingDakotawithdisgust。“Sonyehbackhome！“hemuttered。
“Knownyourfriendlong？“whisperedScipiotome。
“Fairly，“Ianswered。
Scipio’sbleachedeyesbrightenedwithadmirationasheconsideredtheSoutherner’sback。“Well，“hestatedjudicially，“startawfulearlywhenyu’gotofoolwithhim，orhe’llmakeyoufeelunpunctual。“
“IexpaictI’vehadthemalmostallofthreethousandmiles，“
saidtheVirginian，tiltinghisheadtowardthenoiseinthecaboose。“AndI’vestrovetodeliverthembackasIreceivedthem。Thewholelot。AndIwouldhave。Buthehasspoiledmyhopes。“ThedeputyforemanlookedagainatDakota。“It’sadisappointment，“headded。“YoumayknowwhatImean。“
Ihadknownalittle，butnottotheverydeep，oftheman’sprideandpurposeinthistrust。Scipiogavehimsympathy。“Theremustbequiteabalanceof’emleftwithyu’yet，“saidScipio，cheeringly。
“Ihadtheboysplumbcontented，“pursuedthedeputyforeman，hurtintoopentalkofhimself。“AwayalongasfarasSayntPaulIhadthemreconciledtomyauthority。Thenthisnewsaboutgoldhadtostrikeus。“
“Andthey’rea-dreamin’nuggetsandParisianbowleyvards，“
suggestedScipio。
TheVirginiansmiledgratefullyathim。
“Fortuneisshinin’brightandblindin’totheirdelicateyoungeyes，“hesaid，regaininghisusualself。
Wealllistenedamomenttotherejoicingswithin。
“Energetic，ain’tthey？“saidtheSoutherner。“Butnoneof’emwaswhelpedsavageenoughtosinghimselfbloodthirsty。Andthoughthey’restrainin’mightyearnestnottobetame，they’regoin’backtoSunkCreekwithmeaccordin’totheJudge’sawders。
NeveracalfofthemwilldeserttoRawhide，foralltheirdangerousness；norIain’tgoin’tohaveanyfussoverit。Onlyoneisleftnowthatdon’tsing。MaybeIwillhavetomakesomearrangementsabouthim。ThemanIhavepartedwith，“hesaid，withanotherglanceatDakota，“wasourcook，andIwillaskyu’
toreplacehim，Colonel。“
Scipiogapedwide。“Colonel！Say！“HestaredattheVirginian。
“DidImeetyu’atthepalace？“
“Notexacklymeet，“repliedtheSoutherner。“Iwaspresentonemawnin’las’monthwhenthisgentlemanawdehedfrawgs’laigs。“
“Sakesandsaints，butthatwasameanposition！“burstoutScipio。“Ihadtotellallcomersanythingallday。Standupandjumplanguagehotoffmybrainat’em。Andthepaydon’tnearcompensateforthedrainonthesystem。Idon’tcarehowgoodamanis，youlethimkeepa-tappin’hispresenceofmindrightalong，withouttakin’alay-off，andyou’llhavehimsick。Yes，sir。You’llhithisnerves。SoItoldthemtheycouldhiresomefreshman，forIwasgoin’backtopunchcattleorfightIndians，ortakearestsomehow，forIdidn’tproposetogetjaded，andmeonlytwenty-fiveyearsold。Thereain’tnoregularColonelCyrusJonesanymore，yu’know。HemetaCheyennetelegraphpoleinseventy-four，andwasburied。Buthispalacewasdoin’bigbusiness，andhehadbeenakindofattraction，andsotheyalwayskeepalivebearoutside，andsomepoorfello’，fixedupliketheColonelusedtobe，inside。Andit’saturrublemeanposition。CourseI’llcookforyu’。Yu’veadandymemoryforfaces！“
“Iwasn’trightconvincedtillIkickedhimoffandyougavethatshuttoyoureyesagain，“saidtheVirginian。
Oncemorethedooropened。Amanwithslimblackeyebrows，slimblackmustache，andablackshirttiedwithawhitehandkerchiefwaslookingsteadilyfromonetotheotherofus。
“Goodday！“heremarkedgenerallyandwithoutenthusiasm；andtotheVirginian，“Where’sSchoffner？“
“Iexpaicthe’llhavegothisbottlebynow，Trampas。“
Trampaslookedfromonetotheotherofusagain。“Didn’thesayhewascomingback？“
“Heremindedmehewasgoingforabottle，andaftehthathedidn’twaittosayathing。“
Trampaslookedattheplatformandtherailingandthesteps。“Hetoldmehewascomingback，“heinsisted。
“Idon’treckonhehascome，notwithoutheclumbupahaidsomewhere。An’Imus’say，whenhegotoffhedidn’tlooklikeamandoeswhenhehastheintentiono’returnin’。“
AtthisScipiocoughed，andparedhisnailsattentively。Wehadalreadybeenavoidingeachother’seye。Shortydidnotcount。
Sincehegotaboard，hismeekseathadbeenthebottomstep。
ThethoughtsofTrampasseemedtobeindifficulty。“Howlong’sthistrainbeenstarted？“hedemanded。
“Thishyehtrain？“TheVirginianconsultedhiswatch。“Why，it’sbeenfanningitarightsmartlittlewhile，“saidhe，layingnostressuponhisindolentsyllables。
“Huh！“wentTrampas。Hegavetherestofusafinalunlovelyscrutiny。“Itseemstohavebecomeapassengertrain，“hesaid。
Andhereturnedabruptlyinsidethecaboose。
“Ishethememberwhodon’tsing？“askedScipio。
“That’sthespecimen，“repliedtheSoutherner。
“Hedon’tseemmusicalintheface，“saidScipio。
“Pshaw！“returnedtheVirginian。“Why，yousurelyain’tthemantominduglymugswhenthey’rehollow！“
Thenoiseinsidehaddroppedquicklytostillness。Youcouldscarcelycatchthesoundoftalk。Ourcaboosewasclickingcomfortablywestward，railafterrail，mileuponmile，whilenightwasbeginningtorisefromearthintothecloudedsky。
“IwonderiftheyhavesentasearchpartyforwardtohuntSchoffner？“saidtheVirginian。“IthinkI’llmaybejointheirmeeting。“Heopenedthedooruponthem。“Kindo’darkhyeh，ain’tit？“saidhe。Andlightingthelantern，heshutusout。
“Whatdoyu’think？“saidScipiotome。“WillhetakethemtoSunkCreek？“
“Heevidentlythinkshewill，“saidI。“Hesayshewill，andhehasthecourageofhisconvictions。“
“Thatain’tnearenoughcouragetohave！“Scipioexclaimed。
“There’stimesinlifewhenamanhasgottohavecourageWITHOUT
convictions——WITHOUTthem——orheisnogood。Nowyourfriendisthatdeepconstitootedthatyoudon’tknowandIdon’tknowwhathe’sthinkin’aboutallthis。“
“Ifthere’stobeanygun-play，“putintheexcellentShorty，“I’llstandinwithhim。“
“Ah，gotobedwithyourgun-play！“retortedScipio，entirelygood-humored。“IstheJudgepayingforacarloadofdeadpuncherstogatherhisbeefforhim？Andthisain’tapropositionworthaman’sgettin’hurtforhimself，anyway。“
“That’sso，“Shortyassented。
“No，“speculatedScipio，asthenightdrewdeeperroundusandthecabooseclick-cluckedandclick-cluckedovertherailjoints；
“he’swaitin’forsomebodyelsetoopenthispot。I’llbethedon’tknowbutonethingnow，andthat’sthatnobodyelseshallknowhedon’tknowanything。“
Scipiohaddeliveredhimself。Helightedacigarette，andnomorewisdomcamefromhim。Thenightwasestablished。Therollingbad-landssankawayinit。Atrain-handhadarrivedovertheroof，andhangingtheredlightsoutbehind，leftusagainwithoutremarkorsymptomofcuriosity。Thetrain-handsseemedinterestedintheirownsocietyandlivedintheirowncaboose。A
chillwindwithwetinitcameblowingfromtheinvisibledraws，andbroughtthefeelofthedistantmountains。
“That’sMontana！“saidScipio，snuffing。“Iamgladtohaveitinsidemylungsagain。“
“Ain’tyu’gettingcooloutthere？“saidtheVirginian’svoice。
“Plentyroominside。“
Perhapshehadexpectedustofollowhim；orperhapshehadmeantustodelaylongenoughnottoseemlikeareenforcement。“ThesegentlemenmissedtheexpressatMedora，“heobservedtohismen，simply。
WhattheytookusforuponourentranceIcannotsay，orwhattheybelieved。Theatmosphereofthecaboosewaschargedwithvoicelesscurrentsofthought。Bywayofafriendlybeginningtothethreehundredmilesofcaboosewewerenowtosharesointimately，Irecalledmyselftothem。ItrustednomoreoftheChristianEndeavorhaddelayedthem。“Iamsoluckytohavecaughtyouagain，“Ifinished。“IwasafraidmylastchanceofreachingtheJudge’shadgone。“
ThusIsaidanumberofthingsdesignedtobeagreeable，buttheymetmysmalltalkwiththesmallesttalkyoucanhave。“Yes，“forinstance，and“Prettywell，Iguess，“andgravestrikingsofmatchesandthoughtfullooksatthefloor。IsupposewehadmadetwentymilestotheimperturbableclickingofthecaboosewhenoneatlengthaskedhisneighborhadheeverseenNewYork。
“No，“saidtheother。“Floodedwithdudes，ain’tit？“
“Swimmin’，“saidthefirst。
“Leakin’，too，“saidathird。
“Well，mygracious！“saidafourth，andbeathiskneeinprivatedelight。Noneofthemeverlookedatme。ForsomereasonIfeltexceedinglyillatease。
“GoodclothesinNewYork，“saidthethird。
“Richfood，“saidthefirst。
“Fresheggs，too，“saidthethird。