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“WhoelsewouldIbethinkingof？“returnedtheSoutherner。Hisfacehadbecomeverysombre。“Shehasbeenraisedsodifferent！“
hemurmured。Heponderedalittle，whiletheotherswaited，solicitous。
Anewideacametotheproprietor。“Iamactingmayorofthistown，“saidhe。“I’llputhiminthecalabooseandkeephimtillyougetmarriedandaway。
“Saytheword，“repeatedHoneyWiggin。
Scipio’seyemettheproprietor’s，andheshookhisheadaboutaquarterofaninch。Theproprietorshookhistothesameamount。
Theyunderstoodeachother。Ithadcometothatpointwheretherewasnowayout，saveonlytheancient，eternalwaybetweenmanandman。Itisonlythegreatmediocritythatgoestolawinthesepersonalmatters。
“Sohehastalkedaboutmesome？“saidtheVirginian。
“It’sthewhiskey，“Scipioexplained。
“Iexpect，“saidMcLean，“he’drunamileifhewasinastatetoappreciatehisinsinuations。“
“Whichwearecarefulnottomentiontoyu’，“saidWiggin，“unlessyu’inquirefor’em。“
Someofthefoolspresenthaddrawnclosertohearthisinterestingconversation。Ingatheringsofmorethansixtherewillgenerallybeatleastonefool；andthiscompanymusthavenumberedtwentymen。
“Thiscountryknowswellenough，“saidonefool，whohungeredtobeimportant，“thatyoudon’tbrandnocalvesthatain’tyourown。“
ThesaturnineVirginianlookedathim。“Thankyu’，“saidhe，gravely，“foryourindorsementofmycharacter。“Thefoolfeltflattered。TheVirginianturnedtohisfriends。Hishandslowlypushedhishatback，andherubbedhisblackheadinthought。
“Gladtoseeyu’vegotyourgunwithyou，“continuedthehappyfool。“YouknowwhatTrampasclaimsaboutthataffairofyoursintheTetons？HeclaimsthatifeverythingwasknownaboutthekillingofShorty——“
“Takeoneonthehouse，“suggestedtheproprietortohim，amiably。“Yournewswillbefresher。“Andhepushedhimthebottle。Thefoolfeltlessimportant。
“Thistalkhadwenttheroundsbeforeitgottous，“saidScipio，“orwe’dhaveheadeditoff。Hehasgotfriendsintown。“
PerplexityknottedtheVirginian’sbrows。Thiscommunityknewthatamanhadimpliedhewasathiefandamurderer；italsoknewthatheknewit。Butthecasewasoneofpeculiarcircumstances，assuredly。Couldheavoidmeetingtheman？Soonthestagewouldbestartingsouthfortherailroad。Hehadalreadyto-dayproposedtohissweetheartthattheyshouldtakeit。Couldheforhersakeleaveunansweredatalkingenemyuponthefield？Hisownearshadnotheardtheenemy。
Intothesereflectionsthefoolsteppedoncemore。“Ofcoursethiscountrydon’tbelieveTrampas，“saidhe。“Thiscountry——“
Buthecontributednofurtherthoughts。Fromsomewhereintherearofthebuilding，whereitopeneduponthetincansandthehinderpurlieusofthetown，cameamovement，andTrampaswasamongthem，courageouswithwhiskey。
Allthefoolsnowmadethemselvesconspicuous。Onelayonthefloor，knockedtherebytheVirginian，whosearmhehadattemptedtohold。OthersstruggledwithTrampas，andhisbulletsmashedtheceilingbeforetheycoulddragthepistolfromhim。“Therenow！therenow！“theyinterposed；“youdon’twanttotalklikethat，“forhewaspouringoutatideofhateandvilification。
YettheVirginianstoodquietbythebar，andmanyaneyeofastonishmentwasturneduponhim。“I’dnotstandhalfthatlanguage，“somemutteredtoeachother。StilltheVirginianwaitedquietly，whilethefoolsreasonedwithTrampas。Butnoearthlyfootcanstepbetweenamanandhisdestiny。Trampasbrokesuddenlyfree。
“Yourfriendshavesavedyourlife，“herangout，withobsceneepithets。“I’llgiveyoutillsundowntoleavetown。“
Therewastotalsilenceinstantly。
“Trampas，“spoketheVirginian，“Idon’twanttroublewithyou。“
“Heneverhaswantedit，“Trampassneeredto
