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HeretheVirginianbrokedownoverhisownfantasticinventions，andgaveajoyouschuckleincompanywithhissweetheart。“Yes，there’sabigheapo’differencebetweenmenandwomen，“hesaid。
“Takethatfello’andmyself，now。“
“Trampas？“saidMolly，quicklyserious。Shelookedalongtheroadahead，anddiscernedthefigureofTrampasstillvisibleonitswaytotown。
TheVirginiandidnotwishhertobeserious——morethancouldbehelped。“Why，yes，“hereplied，withawavinggestureatTrampas。
“Takehimandme。Hedon’tthinkmucho’me！Howcouldhe？AndI
expecthe’llnever。Butyu’sawjustnowhowitwasbetweenus。
Wewerenotabitlikeatemperancemeetin’。“
Shecouldnothelplaughingatthetwisthegavetohisvoice。
Andshefelthappinesswarmingher；forintheVirginian’stoneaboutTrampaswassomethingnowthatnolongerexcludedher。Thushebeganhisgradualrecital，inacadencealwayseasy，andmoreandmoremusicalwiththenativeaccentoftheSouth。Withthelightturnhegaveit，itspureuglinessmeltedintocharm。
“No，hedon’tthinkanythingofme。OnceamanintheJohnDayValleydidn’tthinkmuch，andbyCanadadeOroImetanother。Itwillalwaysbesohereandthere，butTrampasbeats’emall。Fortheothershavealwaysexpressedthemselves——gotshutoftheirpooropinionintheopenair。
“Yu’see，IhadtoexplainmyselftoTrampasarightsmartwhileago，longbeforeeverIlaidmyeyesonyu’。Itwasjustnothingatall。AlittlematterofcyardsinthedayswhenIwasapttospendmymoneyandmyholidaysprettyheadlong。Mygracious，whatnonsensicaltimesIhavehad！ButIwasapttowinatcyards，’speciallypoker。AndTrampas，hemetmeonenight，andIexpecthemusthavethoughtIlookedkindo’young。Sohehatedlosin’
hismoneytosuchayoung-lookin’men，andhetookhiswayofsayin’asmuch。Ihadtoexplainmyselftohimplainly，sothathelearnedrightawaymyagehadgotitsgrowth。
“Well，Iexpecthehatedthatworse，havingtoreceivemyexplanationwithfolkslookin’onatuspubliclythat-a-way，andhimwithoutfurtherideasoccurrin’tohimatthemoment。That’swhatstartedhispooropinionofme，nothavin’ideasatthemoment。Andsotheboysresumedtheircyards。
“I’dmostforgotaboutit。ButTrampas’smem’ryisoneofhisstrongpoints。Nextthing——oh，it’sagoodwhilelater——hegetstolosin’fleshbecauseJudgeHenrygavemechargeofhimandsomeotherpuncherstakingcattle——“
“That’snotnext，“interruptedthegirl。
“Not？Why——“
“Don’tyouremember？“shesaid，timid，yeteager。“Don’tyou？“
“BlamedifIdo！“
“Thefirsttimewemet？“
“Yes；mymem’rykeepsthat——likeIkeepthis。“Andhebroughtfromhispocketherownhandkerchief，thetokenhehadpickedupatariver’sbrinkwhenhehadcarriedherfromanoverturnedstage。
“Wedidnotexactlymeet，then，“shesaid。“Itwasatthatdance。
Ihadn’tseenyouyet；butTrampaswassayingsomethinghorridaboutme，andyousaid——yousaid，’Riseonyourlegs，youpolecat，andtellthemyou’realiar。’WhenIheardthat，Ithink——I
thinkitfinishedme。“AndcrimsonsuffusedMolly’scountenance。
“I’dforgot，“theVirginianmurmured。Thensharply，“Howdidyouhearit？“
“Mrs。Taylor——“
“Oh！Well，amanwouldneverhavetoldawomanthat。“
Mollylaughedtriumphantly。“ThenwhotoldMrs。Taylor？“
Beingcaught，hegrinnedather。“Ireckonhusbandsareaspecialkindofman，“wasallthathefoundtosay。“Well，sinceyoudoknowaboutthat，itwasthenextmoveinthegame。TrampasthoughtIhadnocalltostophimsayin’whathepleasedaboutawomanwhowasnothin’tome——then。Butallwomenoughttobesomethin’toaman。SoIhadtogiveTrampasanotherexplanationinthepresenceoffolkslookin’on，anditwasjustlikethecyards。Noideasoccurredtohimagain。Anddowngoeshisopinionofmesomemore！
“Well，Ihavenotbeenabletoraiseit。Therehasbeenthisandthatandtheother，——yu’knowmostofthelaterdoingsyou
