第6章

“KatiePeck，andwasnoteasytoread，hereandthere。Butyoucouldpieceoutthedriftofit，andtherewasMrs。Taylorbyyourside，eagertohelpyouwhenyoustumbled。MissPeckwrotethatshewasoverworkedinSidney，Nebraska，andneededaholiday。WhentheweathergrewwarmsheshouldliketocometoBearCreekandbelikeoldtimes。“Liketocomeandbelikeoldtimes“filledMrs。Taylorwithsentimentandthecow-puncherswithexpectation。ButitisalongwayfromFebruarytowarmweatheronBearCreek，andevencow-puncherswillforgetaboutanewgirlifshedoesnotcome。ForseveralweeksIhadnotheardMissPeckmentioned，andoldgirlshadtodo。Yesterday，however，whenIpaidavisittoMissMollyWood(theBearCreekschoolmistress)，IfoundherkeepinginorderthecabinandthechildrenoftheTaylors，whiletheyweregoneforty-fivemilestothestagestationtomeettheirguest。

“Well，“saidLin，judicially，“MissWoodisalady。“

“Yes，“saidI，withdeepgravity。ForIwasthinkingofanoccasionwhenMr。McLeanhaddiscoveredthattruthsomewhatabruptly。

Linthoughtfullycontinued。“Sheis——she’s——she’s——whatareyoulaughin’

at？“

“Oh，nothing。Youdon’tseequitesomuchofMissWoodasyouusedto，doyou？“

“Huh!Sothat’sgotaround。Well，o’courseI’doughtt’veknowedbetter，Isuppose。Allthesame，there’slotsandlotsofgirlsdolikegettin’

kissedagainsttheirwishes——andyouknowit。“

“Butthepointwouldratherseemtobethatshe——“

“Wouldratherseem!Don’tyu’startthatprofessorstyleo’yours，orI’ll——I’lltalkmorewickednessinworselanguagethaneveryu’veheardmedoyet。“

“Impossible!“Imurmured，sweetly，andMasterLinwenton。

“Astopoint——thatdon’tneedtobeexplainedtome。She’saladyallright。“Heruminatedforamoment。“Shehasaboutscaredalltheboysoff，though，“hecontinued。“Andthat’swhatyougetbybeingrefined，“

heconcluded，asifProvidencehadatlengthspokeninthismatter。

“ShehasnotscaredoffaboyfromVirginia，Inotice，“saidI。“Hewasthereyesterdayafternoonagain。RiddenallthewayoverfromSunkCreek。

Didn’tseemparticularlyfrightened。“

“Oh，well，nothin’alarmshim——notevenrefinement，“saidMr。McLean，withhisgrin。“Andshe’llfoolyourVirginianlikeshedonethebalanceofus。Youwait。Shucks!Ifallthegirlswerethatchilly，why，whatwoulduspoorpunchersdo？“

“Youhavemecornered，“saidI，andwesatinaphilosophicalsilence，Linonthefloorstill，andIatthewindow。ThereIlookedoutuponascenemyeyesnevertiredofthen，norcanmymemorynow。Springhadpassedoveritwithitsfirst，lighteststeps。Thepasturedlevelsundulatedinemerald。Throughthemany-changingsage，thatjustthismomentofto-daywaslilac，shonegreensscarceaweekoldinthedimplesofthefoot-hills；andgreensnew-bornbeneathtoday’ssunmeltedamongthem。Aroundthedoublingofthecreekinthewillowthicketsglimmeredskeinedveilsofyellowanddelicatecrimson。Thestreampouredturbulentlyawayfromthesnowsofthemountainsbehindus。Itwentwindinginmanyfoldsacrossthemeadowsintodistanceandsmallness，andsovanishedroundthegreatredbattlementofwallbeyond。Uponthiswerefallingthedeephuesofafternoon——violet，rose，andsaffron，swimmingandmeetingasifsomeprismhaddissolvedandflowedovertheturretsandcrevicesofthesandstone。FaroverthereIsawadotmove。

“Atlast!“saidI。

Linlookedoutofthewindow。“It’smorethanTommy，“saidhe，atonce；

andhiseyesmadeitoutbeforeminecould。“It’sawagon。That’sTommy’sbald-facedhorsealongside。He’sfoolingtothefinish，“Linseverelycommented，asif，afterallthisdelay，thereshouldatleastbeahomestretch。

Presently，however，ahomestretchseemedlikelytooccur。Thebald-facedhorseexecutedsomelivelymanoeuvres，andTommy’svoicereachedusfaintlythroughthelightspringair。Hewasevidentlyhowlingtheremarkablestrainofyellsthatthecow-punchersinventedasthespeechbestunderstoodbycows——Oi-ee，yah，whoop-yahye-ee，oooo-oop，oop，oop-oop-oop-oop-yah-hee!“Butthatgivesyounoideaofit。Alphabetsareworsethanphotographs。Itisnotthelungsofeverymanthatcanproducetheseeffects，norevenfromarmies，eagles，ormulesweresuchsoundseverheardonearth。Thecow-puncherinventedthem。Andwhenthelastcow-puncherislaidtorest(ifthat，alas!havenotalreadybefallen)

theyellswillbeforevergone。Singularlyenough，thecattleappearedtoappreciatethem。Tommyalwaysdidthemverybadly，andthatwasplainevenatthisdistance。Nordidhegiveusahomestretch，afterall。Thebald-facedhorsemadeanumberofevolutionsandreturnedbesidethewagon。

“Showin’off，“remarkedLin。“Tommy’sshowin’off。“Suspicioncrossedhisface，andthencertainty。“Why，wemighthaveknowedthat!“heexclaimed，indudgeon。“It’sher。“Hehastenedoutsideforabetterlook，andIcametothedoormyself。“That’swhatitis，“saidhe。“It’sthegirl。Ohyes。

That’sTaylor’sbuckskinpairhetradedBalaamfor。Shecomebythestageallrightyesterday，yu’see，butshehasbeentootiredtotravel，yu’

see，orelse，maybe，Taylorwantedtoresthisbuckskins——they’refour-year-olds。Orelse——anyway，theylaidoverlastnightatPowderRiver，andTommyhehasjustlaidovertoo，yu’see，holdin’themailbackonustwenty-fourhours——andthat’syourpostmaster!“

Itwasourpostmaster，andthishehaddone，quiteasthevirtuouslyindignantMcLeansurmised。HadItakenthesameinterestinthenewgirl，IsupposethatItooshouldhavefeltvirtuouslyindignant。

LinandIstoodoutsidetoreceivethetravellers。Astheircavalcadedrewnear，Mr。McLeangrewsilentandwatchful，hiswholeattentionfocusedupontheTaylors’vehicle。Itsapproachwasjoyous。Itsgearmadeacheerfulclanking，Taylorcrackedhiswhipandencouraginglychirrupedtohisbuckskins，andTommy’sapparatusjingledmusically。ForTommyworeuponhimselfandhissaddleallthethingsyoucanwearintheWildWest。

Exceptthathishairwasnotlong，ourpostmastermighthaveconductedashowandmintedgoldbyexhibitinghisromanticpersonbeforetheeyesofprinces。Hebeganwithablack-and-yellowrattlesnakeskinforahat-band，hecontinuedwithafringedandbeadedshirtofbuckskin，andconcludedwithlarge，tinklingspurs。Ofcourse，therewerethingsbetweenhisshirtandhisheels，butallleatheranddeadlyweapons。Hehadalsoariata，acuerta，andtapaderos，andfrequentlyemployedtheseSpanishnamesfortheobjects。IwishthatIhadnotlostTommy’sphotographinRockyMountaincostume。Youmustunderstandthathewasreallypretty，withblueeyes，ruddycheeks，andagracefulfigure；and，besides，hehadtwenty-fourhours’startofpoordustyLin，whosebestclotheswereelsewhere。

YoumighthavesupposedthatitwouldbeMrs。TaylorwhoshouldpresentustoherfriendfromSidney，Nebraska；butTommyonhishorseundertooktheofficebeforethewagonhadwellcometoastandstill。“Goodfriendsofmine，andgentlemen，both，“saidhetoMissPeck；andtous，“Aladywhoseacquaintancewillproveatreattooursection。“

Weallbowedateachotherbeneaththefloridexpanseoftheserecommendations，andIwasproceedingtomurmursomethingaboutitsbeingalongjourneyandafinedaywhenMissPeckcutmeshort，gaily：

“Well，“sheexclaimedtoTommy，“IguessI’mprettynearreadyforthemeggsyou’vespokesomuchabout。“

IhavenotoftenseenMr。McLeanlosehispresenceofmind。Heneededmerelytoexclaim，“Why，Tommy，youtoldmeyourhenshadnotbeenlayingsinceChristmas!“andwecouldhavesatquietandletTommytrytofindalltheeggsthathecould。Butthenewgirlwasasoreembarrassmenttothecow-puncher’swits。PoorLinstoodbythewheelsofthewagon。HelookedupatMissPeck，helookedoveratTommy，hisfeaturesassumedaruefulexpression，andhewretchedlyblurted，“Why，Tommy，I’vebeenandeat’em。“

“Well，ifthatain’t!“criedMissPeck。ShestaredwithinterestatLinashenowassistedhertodescend。

“All？“falteredTommy。“Notthefournests？“

“I’vehadthreemeals，yu’know，“Linremindedhim，deprecatingly。

“Ihelpedhim，“saidI。“Teninnocent，fresheggs。Butwehaveleftsomeham。Forgiveus，please。“

“Ideclare!“saidMissPeck，abruptly，androlledhersluggish，invitingeyesuponme。“You’reacase，too，Iexpect。“

Butshetookonlybriefnoteofme，althoughitwasfromheadtofoot。Inherstarethedullshineoffamiliaritygrewvacant，andsheturnedbacktoLinMcLean。“Youcarrythat，“saidshe，andgavethepleasedcow-puncherahandvalise。

“I’lllookafteryourthings，MissPeck，“calledTommy，nowspringingdownfromhishorse。Theeggtragedyhadmomentarilystunnedhim。

“You’llattendtothemailfirst，Mr。Postmaster!“saidthelady，butfavoringhimwithalookfromherlargeeyes。“There’splentyofgentlemenhere。“WiththatherglancefavoredLin。Shewentintothecabin，hefollowingherclose，withtheTaylorsandmyselfintherear。

“Well，IguessI’maboutcollapsed!“saidshe，vigorously，andsankupononeofTommy’schairs。

Thefragilearticlefellintosticksbeneathher，andLinleapedtoherassistance。Heplacedheruponafirmerfoundation。Mrs。Taylorbroughtabasinandtoweltobathethedustfromherface，Mr。Taylorproducedwhiskey，andIfoundsugarandhotwater。Tommywoulddoubtlesshavedonesomethinginthewayofassistanceorrestoratives，buthewasgonetothestablewiththehorses。

“ShallIgetyourmedicinefromthevalise，deary？“inquiredMrs。Taylor。

“Notnow，“hervisitoranswered；andIwonderedwhysheshouldtakesuchaquicklookatme。

“We’llsoonhaveyu’independentofmedicine，“saidLin，gallantly。“Ourclimateandsceneryherehasfrequentlyraisedthedead。“

“You’reacase，anyway!“exclaimedthesickladywithrichconviction。

Thecow-punchernowsathimselfontheedgeofTommy’sbed，and，throwingonelegacrosstheother，begantoraiseherspiritswithcheerfultalk。

Shesteadilywatchedhim——hisfacesometimes，sometimeshislounging，masculinefigure。Whilehethusdevotedhisattentionstoher，TaylordepartedtohelpTommyatthestable，andgoodMrs。Taylor，busywithsupperforallofusinthekitchen，expressedherjoyathavingheroldfriendofchildhoodforavisitaftersomanyyears。

“SicknesshaschangedpoorKatiesome，“saidshe。“ButI’mhopingshe’llgetbackherlooksonBearCreek。“

“SheseemslessfeeblethanIhadunderstood，“Iremarked。

“Yes，indeed!Idobelieveshe’sfeelingstronger。Shewasthattiredanddownyesterdaywiththelongstage-ride，anditissolonesome!ButTaylorandIheartenedherup，andTommycamewiththemail，andto-dayshe’srealspruced-uplike，feelingshe’samongfriends。“

“Howlongwillshestay？“Iinquired。

“Justaslongasevershewants!MeandKatiehasn’tmetsincewewasyounggirlsinDubuque，forIlefthomewhenImarriedTaylor，andhebroughtmetothiscountryrightsoon；anditain’tbeenlikeDubuquemuch，thoughifIhadittodooveragainI’ddojustthesame，asTaylorknows。Katieandmehasn’twroteeven，nottillthisFebruary，foryoualwaysmeantoandyoudon’t。Well，it’llbelikeoldtimes。Katie’llbemostthirty-four，Iexpect。Yes。IwasseventeenandshewassixteentheverymonthIwasmarried。Poorthing!Sheoughttohavegotsomegoodmanforahusband，butIexpectshedidn’thaveanychance，fortherewasabigfam’lyo’themgirls，andoldPeckusedtoactrealscandalous，gettingdrunksofolksdidn’tvisitthereeveningsscarcelyatall。Andsoshequithome，itseems，andgotapositionintherailroadeating-houseatSidney，andnowshehaspoorhealthwithfeedingthembigtrainsdayandnight。“

“Abiscuit-shooter!“saidI。

LoyalMrs。Taylorstirredsomebatterinsilence。“Well，“saidshethen，“I’mtoldthat’swhattheyard-handsoftherailroadcallthempoorwaiter-girls。Youmighthearitaroundtheswitchesatthemdivisionstations。“

Ihadhearditinhigherplacesalso，butmeeklyacceptedthereproof。

Ifyouhavemadeyourtrans-Missourijourneysonlysincetheneweraofdining-cars，thereisaquantityofthingsyouhavecometoolatefor，andwillneverknow。Threetimesadayinthebravedaysofoldyousprangfromyourscarce-haltedcaratthesummonsofagong。Youdiscernedbyinstincttherightdirection，and，passingsteadilythroughdoorways，hadtaken，beforeyouknewit，oneofsomesixtychairsinaroomoftablesandcatsupbottles。Behindthechairs，standingattention，aplatoonofAmazons，thick-wristed，pink-and-blue，beganimmediatelyaswiftchant。Ithymnedthetotalbill-of-fareatablow。Inthisinexpressibleceremonythenameofeverydishwenthurtlingintothenext，telescopedtoshapelessness。Moreover，ifyoustoppedyourAmazoninthemiddle，itdislocatedher，andshemerelywentbackandtookafreshstart。Thechantwasalwaysthesame，butyouneverlearnedit。Assoonasitbegan，yourmindsnappedshutliketheupperberthinaPullman。Youmusthaveutteredappropriatewords——evenaparrotwill——fornextyouwereeatingthings——pie，ham，hotcakes——asfastasyoucould。