第10章

“That’swhosheis!“saidtheGovernor，rememberingMrs。McLeanallatonce。“Iknowher。SheusedtobeatSidney。She’sgotanotherhusbandsomewhere。She’soneoftheboys。Oh，that’snothinginthiscountry!“hecontinuedtotheamazedOgden，whohadejaculated“Bigamy!““Lotsofthemmarry，livetogetherawhile，gettiredandquit，travel，catchontoanewman，marryhim，gettiredandquit，travel，catchon——“

“Onemoment，Ibeg，“saidOgden，adjustinghisglasses。“Whatdoesthelaw——“

“Law？“saidtheGovernor。“Lookatthatplace!“Heswepthishandtowardsthevastplainsandthemountains。“Ninety-fivethousandsquaremilesofthat，andsixtythousandpeopleinit。Wehaven’tgotpolicemenyetontopoftheRockyMountains。“

“Isee，“saidtheNew-Yorker。“But——but——wellletAandBrepresentfirstandsecondhusbands，andXrepresentthewoman。Now，doesAknowaboutB？ordoesBknowaboutA？Andwhatdotheydoaboutit？“

“Can’tsay，“theGovernoranswered，jovially。“Can’tgeneralize。Dependsonheapsofthings——love——money——Didyougotocollege？Well，letA

minusXequalBplusX，thenifAandBgetsquared——“

“Oh，cometolunch，“Isaid。“Barker，doyoureallyknowthefirsthusbandisalive？“

“Wasn’tdeadlastwinter。“AndBarkergaveustheparticulars。MissKatiePeckhadnotservedlongintherestaurantbeforeshewaswooedandwonbyamanwhohadbeenaranchcook，asheep-herder，abar-tender，afreighthand，andwasthenhaulingpolesforthegovernment。Duringhisnecessaryabsencesfromhomeshe，too，wentout-of-doors。Thisheoftendiscovered，andwouldbeather，andshewouldthenalsobeathim。Afterthebeatingsoneofthemwouldalwaysleavetheotherforever。ThuswasSidneykeptinsmall-talkuntilMrs。Luskonedayreallydidnotcomeback。“Lusk，“saidtheGovernor，finishinghisstory，“criedaroundthesaloonsforacoupleofdays，andthenwentonhaulingpolesforthegovernment，tillatlasthesaidhe’dheardofabetterjobsouth，andnextweknewofhimhewasroundLeavenworth。Luskwasaprettypoorbird。Owesmetendollars。“

“Well，“Isaid，“noneofuseverknewabouthimwhenshecametostaywithMrs。TayloronBearCreek。ShewasMissPeckwhenLinmadeherMrs。

McLean。“

“You’llnotice，“saidtheGovernor，“howshehasgothimunderinthreeweeks。Oldhand，yousee。“

“PoorLin!“Isaid。

“Lucky，Icallhim，“saidtheGovernor。“Hecanquither。“

“SupposingMcLeandoesnotwanttoquither？“

“She’seducatinghimtowanttorightnow，andIthinkhe’lllearnprettyquick。IguessMr。Lin’sromancewasn’tveryidealthistrip。Hello!herecomesJode。Jode，won’tyoulunchwithus？Mr。Ogden，ofNewYork，Mr。

Jode。Mr。Jodeisoursignal-serviceofficer，Mr。Ogden。“TheGovernor’seyesweresparklinghilariously，andhewinkedatme。

“Gentlemen，good-morning。Mr。Ogden，Iamhonoredtomakeyouracquaintance，“saidthesignal-serviceofficer。

“Jode，whenisitgoingtorain？“saidtheGovernor，anxiously。

NowJodeisthemostextraordinarilysolemnmanIhaveeverknown。Hehasthesolemnityofallscience，addedtotheunspeakableweightofrepresentingfiveoftheoldestfamiliesinSouthCarolina。TheJodesthemselveswerenotoldinSouthCarolina，butimmenselysoin——IthinkhetoldmeitwasLongIsland。HisnameisPoinsettMiddletonManigaultJode。Heusedtoweighahundredandtwenty-eightpoundsthen，buthishealthhasstrengthenedinthatclimate。Hisclotheswereblack；hisfacewaswhite，withblackeyessharpasapin；hehadtheshapeofaspout——

thesamenarrowsizeallthewaydown——andhisvoicewasasdryandlightasanegg-shell。InhisfirstdaysatCheyennehehadconstantlychallengedlargecowboysfortakingfamiliaritieswithhisdignity，andthey，afteronemoment’sbewilderment，hadconcoctedapologiesthatentirelymethisexactions，andgavethemmuchsatisfactionalso。NobodywouldhavehurtJodefortheworld。IntimehecametoseethatWyomingwasagameinventedafterhisbookofruleswaspublished，andhelookedon，butcouldnotplaythegame。Hehadfallen，alongwithotherincongruities，intotheroaringWesternhotch-pot，andhepassedhiscareful，precisedayswithbarometersandweather-charts。

HeansweredtheGovernorwithofficialandSouthCarolinaimpressiveness。

“Thereisnoindicationofdiminutionoftheprevailingpressure，“hesaid。

“Well，that’swhatIthought，“saidthejoyousGovernor，“soI’mgoingtowhoopherup。“

“Whatdoyouexpecttowhoopup，sir？“

“Atmosphere，andallthat，“saidtheGovernor。“Wholebusinesshasgottogetamoveon。I’vesentforarain-maker。“

“Governor，youarecertainlyawag，sir，“saidJode，whoenjoyedBarkerassomepeopleenjoyasymphony，withoutunderstandingit。Butafterwehadreachedtheclubandwerelunching，andJoderealizedthataletterhadactuallybeenwrittentellingHilbruntocomeandbringhisshowerswithhim，thepunctilioussignal-serviceofficerstatedhisposition。

“Haveyourjoke，sir，“hesaid，wavingathin，cleanhand，“butIdeclinetomeethim。“

“Hilbrun？“saidtheGovernor，staring。

“Ifthat’shisname——yes，sir。AsamemberoftheWeatherBureauandtheMeteorologicalSocietyIcanhavenothingtodowiththefellow。“

“Glory!“saidtheGovernor。“Well，Isupposenot。Iseeyourpoint，Jode。

I’llbecarefultokeepyouapart。AsamemberoftheCollegeofPhysiciansI’vefeltthatwayabouthomeopathyandthefaith-cure。Allverywellifpatientswillcall’emin，butcan’tmeet’eminconsultation。Butthreemonths’droughtannually，Jode!It’sslow——tooslow。TheWesternpeoplefeelthatthisconservativemethodtheZodiacdoesitsbusinessbyisoutofdate。“

“Iamquiteserious，sir，“saidJode。“Andletmeexpressmygratificationthatyoudoseemypoint。“Sowechangedthesubject。

Ourweatherschemedidnotatfirstgreatlymovethepublic。Beyondthosewhomadeupthepurse，fewofouracquaintancesexpressedcuriosityaboutHilbrun，andnextafternoonLinMcLeantoldmeinthestreetthathewasdisgustedwithCheyenne’scoldnesstowardtheenterprise。“Buttheboyswouldflyrightatitandstaywithitiftheround-upwasneartown，youbet，“saidhe。

Hewaswalkingalone。“How’sMrs。McLeanto-day？“Iinquired。

“She’swell，“saidLin，turninghiseyefrommine。“Who’syourfriendallbuggedupinEnglishclothes？“

“Aboutasgoodamanasyou，“saidI，“andmorecautious。“

“Himandhiseye-glasses!“saidthescepticalpuncher，stilllookingawayfrommeandsurveyingOgden，whowasapproachingwiththeGovernor。Thatexcellentman，stillatlongrange，brokeoutsmilingtillhisteethshone，andhewavedayellowpaperatus。

“TelegramfromHilbrun，“heshouted；“behereto-morrow“；andhehastenedup。

“Sayshewantsacartatthedepot，andasmallbuildingwherehecanbeprivate，“addedOgden。“Great，isn’tit？“

“Youbet!“saidLin，brightening。TheNewYorker’surbanebutobviousexcitementmollifiedMr。McLean。“Everseenrainmade，Mr。Ogden？“saidhe。

“Never。Haveyou？“

Linhadnot。Ogdenofferedhimacigar，whichthepuncherpronouncedexcellent，andweallagreedtoseeHilbrunarrive。

“We’regoingtoshowthetelegramtoJode，“saidtheGovernor；andheandOgdendepartedonthismissiontothesignalservice。

“Well，Imustbegettingalongmyself，“saidLin；buthecontinuedwalkingslowlywithme。“Where’reyu’bound？“hesaid。

“Nowhereinparticular，“saidI。Andwepacedtheboardsidewalksalittlemore。

“You’regoingtomeetthetrainto-morrow？“saidhe。

“Thetrain？Ohyes。Hilbrun’s。To-morrow。You’llbethere？“

“Yes，I’llbethere。It’ssurebeenadryspell，ain’tit？“

“Yes。Justlikelastyear。Infact，likealltheyears。“

“Yes。I’veneversawitrainanytospeakofinsummer。Iexpectit’stherule。Don’tyou？“

“Ishouldn’twonder。“

“Idon’tguessanymanknowsenoughtobreaksucharule。Doyou？“

“No。Butit’llbefuntoseehimtry。“

“Surefun!Well，Imustbegettingalong。Seeyu’to-morrow。“

“Seeyouto-morrow，Lin。“

Heleftmeatacorner，andIstoodwatchinghistall，depressedfigure。

Ahundredyardsdownthestreetheturned，andseeingmelookingafterhim，pretendedhehadnotturned；andthenItookmystepstowardtheclub，tellingmyselfthatIhadbeensomethingofaskunk；forIhadinquiredforMrs。McLeaninacertaintone，andIhadhintedtoLinthathehadlackedcaution；andthiswasnothingbutawayofsaying“Itoldyouso“tothemanthatisdown。DownLincertainlywas，althoughithadnotcomesohometomeuntilourlittlewalktogetherjustnowalongtheboards。

AttheclubIfoundtheGovernorteachingOgdenaCheyennespecialty——aparticulardrink，theAllstoncocktail。“It’sthebittersthatdoesthetrick，“hewassaying，butsawmeandcalledout：“YououghttohavebeenwithusandseenJode。Ishowedhimthetelegram，youknow。Hereaditthrough，andjusthandeditbacktome，andwentonmonkeyingwithhisanemometer。Everseenhisinstruments？Everyfreshjiggertheygetouthesendsfor。Well，hemonkeyedaway，andwouldn’tsayaword，soIsaid，’Youunderstand，Jode，thistelegramcomesfromHilbrun。’AndJode，hequithisanemometerandsaid，’Imakenodoubt，sir，thatyourdespatchisgenuwine。’Oh，SouthCarolina’sindignantatme!“AndtheGovernorslappedhisknee。“Why，he’ssosetagainstHilbrun，“hecontinued，“I

guessifheknewofsomethinghecouldexplodetostoprainhe’dletherfly!“

“No，hewouldn’t，“saidI。“He’dnotconsiderthathonorable。“

“That’sso，“theGovernorassented。“Jode’llplayfair。“

Itwasthuswehadcometolookatourenterprise——agamebetweenawell-established，respectableweatherbureauandanupstartcharlatan。

Anditwasthecharlatanhadoursympathy——asallcharlatans，whetherreligious，military，medical，political，orwhatnot，havewiththeaverageAmerican。Wemethimatthestation。Thatis，Ogden，McLean，andI；andtheGovernor，beingengaged，sent(unofficially)hissecretaryandtherequestedcart。Linwasanxioustoseewhatwouldbeputinthecart，andIwascuriousabouthowarain-makerwouldlook。Butheturnedoutanunassuming，quietmaninblueserge，withafaceyoucouldnotrememberafterwards，andafewcivil，ordinaryremarks。Heevensaiditwasahotday，asifhehadnorelationswiththeweather；andwhatheputintothecartwereonlytwopacking-boxesofnospecialsignificancetotheeye。

Hedesirednolodgingatthehotel，buttosleepwithhisapparatusinthebuildingprovidedforhim；andwesetoutforitatonce。Itwasanuntenantedbarn，andheaskedthatheandhisassistantmightcutaholeintheroof，uponwhichwenoticedtheassistantforthefirsttime——atallish，good-lookingyoungman，butwithaweakmouth。“ThisisMr。

Lusk，“saidtherain-maker；andweshookhands，OgdenandIexchangingaglance。OurselvesandthecartmarchedupHillStreet——orCapitolAvenue，asithasbecomenamedsinceCheyennehasgrownfullerofpompandemptierofprosperity——andIthoughtwemadeanunusualprocession：theGovernor’ssecretary，unofficiallyleadingthewaytothebarn；thecart，andtherain-makerbesideit，guardinghispacked-upmysteries；McLeanandLusk，walkingtogetherinunconsciousbigamy；andintherear，Odgennudgingmeintheribs。ThatitwasthecorrectLuskwehadwithusI

feltsurefromhisincompetent，healthy，vacantappearance，strong-bodiedandshiftless——thesortofmantowearyofonetradeandanother，andmakeafailureofwifebeatingbetweenwhiles。InTwenty-fourthStreet——

thetown’suttermostrim——theGovernormetus，andstaredatLusk。

“Christopher!“washissingleobservation；butheneverforgetsaface——

cannotaffordto，nowthatheisinpolitics；and，besides，Luskrememberedhim。Youseldomreallyforgetamantowhomyouowetendollars。

“Soyou’vequithaulingpoles？“saidtheGovernor。

“Nothinginit，sir，“saidLusk。

“Isthereanyobjectiontomyhavingaholeintheroof？“askedtherain-maker；forthisthesecretaryhadbeenunabletotellhim。

“What!goingtothrowyourbombsthroughit？“saidtheGovernor，smilingheartily。

Buttherain-makerexplainedatoncethathiswasnotthebombsystem，butamethodattendedbymorerainandlessdisturbance。“Notthatthebombdon’tproducefirst-classresultsattimesandundercircumstances，“