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methanIdeserved，andthatmademebehavebetterthanI
naturallywantedto。Mademequitagirloncedintimeforhernottolosehergoodname。Andsothat’sonethingIhaveneverdone。AndifeverIwastohaveasonorsomebodyIsetstoreby，Iwouldwishtheirlottobetoknowoneortwogoodfolksmightywell——menorwomen——womenpreferred。“
HehadlookedawayagaintothehillsbehindSunkCreekranch，towhichourwalkinghorseshadnowalmostbroughtus。
“Asforparsons“——thegestureofhisarmwasadisclaimingone——“Ireckonsomeparsonshavearighttotellyu’tobegood。
ThebishopofthishyehTerritoryhasaright。ButI’lltellyu’
this:amiddlin’doctorisaporething，andamiddlin’lawyerisaporething；butkeepmefromamiddlin’manofGod。“
Onceagainhehadreducedit，butIdidnotlaughthistime。I
thoughtthereshouldintruthbeheavydamagesformalpracticeonhumansouls。Butthehotglowofhiswords，andthevisionofhisdeepestinnermanitrevealed，fadedawayabruptly。
“Whatdoyu’makeofthepropositionyondeh？“Ashepointedtothecauseofthisquestionhehadbecomeagainhisdaily，engaging，saturnineself。
ThenIsawoverinafencedmeadow，towhichwewerenowclose，whathewaspleasedtocall“theproposition。“PropositionintheWestdoes，infact，meanwhateveryouatthemomentplease，——anoffertosellyouamine，acloud-burst，aglassofwhiskey，asteamboat。Thistimeitmeantastrangercladinblack，andofaclericaldeportmentwhichwouldinthatatmosphereandtoawatchfuleyebevisibleforamileortwo。
“Ireckonedyu’hadn’tnoticedhim，“wastheVirginian’sreplytomyejaculation。“Yes。Hesetmegoin’onthesubjectawhileback。Iexpectheisanothermissionarytousporecow-boys。“
Iseemedfromahundredyardstofeelthestranger’sforcefulpersonality。Itwasinhiswalk——Ishouldbettersaystalk——ashepromenadedalongthecreek。Hishandswerebehindhisback，andtherewasanairofwaiting，ofdispleasedwaiting，inhismovement。
“Yes，he’llbeamissionary，“saidtheVirginian，conclusively；
andhetooktosinging，orrathertowhining，withhisheadtiltedatanabsurdangleupwardatthesky:
“’DarisabigCar’linanigger，Aboutdesizeofdischileorp’rapsalittlebigger，BydenameofJimCrow。
Datwhatdewhitefolkscallhim。
IfeverIseeshintI’tendsfortomaulhim，JusttoletdewhitefolksseeSuchananimosasheCan’twalkaroundthestreetsandscandalizeme。’“
Thelanewhichwasconductingustothegroupofranchbuildingsnowturnedacornerofthemeadow，andtheVirginianwentonwithhissecondverse:
“’Greatbigfool，hehasn’tanyknowledge。
Gosh！howcouldhe，whenhe’sneverbeentoscollege？
NeitherhasI。
ButI’secomemightynigh；
IpeakedthroughdedoorasIwentby。’“
Hewasbeginningathirdstanza，butstoppedshort；ahorsehadneighedclosebehindus。
“Trampas，“saidhe，withoutturninghishead，“wearehome。“
“Itlooksthatway。“SometenyardswerebetweenourselvesandTrampas，wherehefollowed。
“AndI’lltroubleyu’formyropeyu’tookthismawnin’insteado’yourown。“
“Idon’tknowasit’syourropeI’vegot。“Trampasskilfullyspokethissothatapreciselyoppositemeaningflowedfromhiswords。
Ifitwasdiscussionhetriedfor，hefailed。TheVirginian’shandmoved，andforonethick，flashingmomentmythoughtswereevidentlyalsothethoughtsofTrampas。ButtheVirginianonlyheldouttoTrampastheropewhichhehaddetachedfromhissaddle。
“Takeyourhandoffyourgun，Trampas。IfIhadwantedtokillyu’you’dbelyingninedaysbackontheroadnow。Here’syourrope。Didyu’expectI’dnotknowit？It’stheonlyoneincampthestiffnessain’talldrugoutofyet。Ormaybeyu’expectedmetonoticeand——nottakenotice？“
“Idon’tspendmytimeinexpectationsaboutyou。If——“
TheVirginianwheeledhishorseacrosstheroad。“Yu’retalkin’
toosoonafterreachin’safety，Trampas。Ididn’ttellyu’tohandmethatropethismawnin’，becauseIwasbusy。Iain’tforemannow；andIwantthatrope。“
Trampasproducedasmileasskilfulashisvoice。“Well，Iguessyourhavingmineprovesthisoneisyours。“HerodeupandreceivedthecoilwhichtheVirginianheldout，unloosingthedisputedoneonhissaddle。Ifhehadmeanttodeviseaslippery，evasiveinsult，nosmalltrickincow-landcouldbemoreoffensivethanthistakinganotherman’srope。Anditisthesmalltrickswhichleadtothebigbullets。Trampasputasmoothcoatingofplausibilityoverthewholetransaction。“Aftertheropecorralwehadtomakethismorning“——histonewasmockexplanatory——“theropeswasallstrewedroundcamp，andinthehustleI——“
“Pardonm
