第18章

Thentheytrampedtotheirhorsesandrodeaway。Thespokesmanhadhitthevitalpointunerringly；forcow-punchersareshrewdlyalivetofrankness，anditoftendrawsoutthebestthatisinthem；butitsoppositeaffectsthemunfavorably；andI，needingsleep，sighedtothinkoftheirlatesittingupoverthatjoke。Iwalkedtotheboardboxpainted“HotelBrunswick“——“hotel“insmallitalicsand“Brunswick“inenormouscapitals，theNandtheSwrongsideup。

Heresatagirloutsidethedoor，alone。Herfacewasbroad，wholesome，andstrong，andhereyesalertandsweet。AsIcameshemetmewithachallengingglanceofgood-will。Thosewomenwhojourneyedalongthelineinthewakeofpaydaytotrafficwiththemenemployedastarewellknown；butthisstraightlookseemedlikethegreetingofsomepleasantyoungcowboy。InsurpriseIforgottobecivil，andsteppedfoolishlybyhertoseeaboutsupperandlodging。

AtthethresholdIperceivedalllodgingbespoken。Oneachofthefourbedslayacoatorpistolorotherarticleofdress，andImustlodgemyself。Thereweremysaddle-blankets——ratherwet；orLinMcLeanmightrideinto-nightonhiswaytoRiverside；orperhapsdownatthecorralsIcouldfindsomeotheracquaintancewhosehabitofwashingItrustedandwhosebedImightshare。Failingtheseexpedients，severalemptiesstoodidleuponasiding，andthebox-likedarknessofthesefreight-carswastimely。Nightswereshortnow。Campingout，thedawnbythreeo’clockwouldflowlikesilverthroughtheuniverse，and，sinkingthroughmyblankets，remorselesslypervademyburiedhairandbrain。Butwithcleanstrawinthebottomofanempty，Icouldsleepmyfilluntilfiveorsix。

Idecidedfortheempty，andopenedthesupper-roomdoor，wherethetablewassetformorethanenoughtoincludeme；butthesmellofthebutterthatawaitedusdrovemeoutoftheHotelBrunswicktospendtheremainingminutesintheair。

“Iwasexpectingyou，“saidthegirl。“Well，ifIhaven’tfrightenedhim!“ShelaughedsodelightfullythatIrecoveredandlaughedtoo。

“Why，“sheexplained，“Ijustknewyou’dnotstayinthere。Whichsideareyougoingtobutteryourbreadthisevening？“

“Youhadsmeltit？“saidI，stillcloudywithsurprise。“Yes。

Unquestionably。Veryrancid。“Sheglancedoddlyatme，and，withlessfellowshipinhertone，said，“Iwasgoingtowarnyou——“whensuddenly，downatthecorrals，theboysbegantoshootatlarge。“Oh，dear!“shecried，startingup。“There’strouble。“

“Nottrouble，“Iassuredher。“Toomanyarefiringatoncetobeinearnest。Andyouwouldbesafehere。“

“Me？Aladywithoutescort？Well，Ishouldreckonso!Leastways，wearerespectedwhereIwasraised。Iwasanxiousforthegentlemenovahyondah。Shawhan，K。C。branchoftheLouavullan’Nashvull，ismyhome。“

Thewords“LouisvilleandNashville“spokecreamilyofBlue-grass。

“Unescortedallthatway!“Iexclaimed。

“Isn’titawful？“saidshe，tiltingherheadwithalaugh，andshowingthepistolshecarried。“Butwe’vealwaysbeenawfulinKentucky。NowI

supposeNewYorkwouldneverspeaktopoormeasitpassedby？“Andsheeyedmewithcapable，good-humoredsatire。

“WhyNewYork？“Idemanded。“Guessagain。“

“Well，“shedebated，“well，cowboyclothesandcitylanguage——he’sEnglish!“sheburstout；andthensheturnedsuddenlyred，andwhisperedtoherself，reprovingly，“IfI’mnotactingrude!“

“Oh!“saidI，ratherfamiliarly。

“Itwas，sir；andpleasetoexcuseme。Ifyouhadstartedjokingsofreewithme，I’dhavebeeninsulted。WhenIsawyou——thehatandeverything——

Itookyou——YouseeI’vealwaysbeenthatusedtotalkingto——tofolksaround!“Herbrightfacesaddened，memoriesevidentlyrosebeforeher，andhereyesgrewdistant。

Iwishedtosay，“Treatmeas’folksaround，’“butthistallcountrygirlhadputusonotherterms。OndiscoveringIwasnot“folksaround，“shehadtakenrefugeinderidingme，butswiftlyfeelingnosolidgroundthere，shedrewafirm，clearwoman’slinebetweenus。Plainlyshewasacomradeofmen，inherbuoyantinnocencesecure，yetbynomeansinthedarkastothem。

“Yes，unescortedtwothousandmiles，“sheresumed，“andneverasfarastwentyfromhometilllastTuesday。Iexpectyou’llhavetobescandalized，forI’ddoitrightoveragainto-morrow。“

“You’vegotmeallwrong，“saidI。“I’mnotEnglish；I’mnotNewYork。I

amgoodAmerican，andnotboundedbymyownfarmeither。Nosectionalline，orMasonandDixon，orMissouriRivertattoosme。Butyou，whenyousayUnitedStates，youmeanUnitedKentucky!“

“Didyouever!“saidshe，staringatwhatwasGreektoher——asitistomostAmericans。“AndsoifyouhadasisterbackEast，andsheandyouwerealltherewasofyouanymore，andshehadn’tseenyousince——notsinceyoufirsttooktostayingoutnights，andshestartedtovisityou，you’dnottellher’Fieforshame’？“

“I’dtravelmymoney’slengthtomeether!“saidI。

Awaveofpaincrossedherface。“Natedidn’tknow，“shesaidthen，lightly。“Yousee，Nate’sonlyaboy，andregularthoughtlessaboutwriting。“

Ah!SothisNateneverwrote，andhissisterlovedandchampionedhim!

ManysuchstrayNatesandBobsandBillsgallopedoverWyoming，lostandforgiven。

“I’mstartingforhimintheBuffalostage，“continuedthegirl。

“ThenI’llhaveyourcompanyonawearyroad，“saidI；formyjourneywasnowtothatpartofthecattlecountry。

“ToBuffalo？“shesaid，quickly。“Thenmaybeyou——maybe——MybrotherisNateBuckner。“Shepaused。“Thenyou’renotacquaintedwithhim？“

“Imayhaveseenhim，“Ianswered，slowly。“Butfacesandnamesoutherecomeandgo。“

Iknewhimwellenough。Hewasinjail，convictedofforgerylastweek，waitingtogotothepenitentiaryforfiveyears。Andeventhiswildbordercommunitythathatedlawcourtsandpunishmentshadnotbeensorry，forhehadcheatedhisfriendstoooften，andthewidecharityofthesage-brushdoesnotcoverthatsin。Beneathhisprettylooksanddaringskillwithhorsestheyhadfoundvanityandacold，falseheart；

buthissistercouldnot。Hereshewas，cometofindhimafterlonelyyears，andtothisonesoulthatlovedhimintheworldhowwasItotellthedesolationandthedisgrace？Iwasgladtohearheraskmeifthestagewentsoonaftersupper。

“Nowisn’tthatabother？“saidshe，whenIansweredthatitdidnotstarttillmorning。Sheglancedwithruefulgayetyatthehotel。“Nevermind，“shecontinued，briskly；“I’musedtothings。I’lljustsitupsomewhere。Maybetheagentwillletmestayintheoffice。You’resureallthatshooting’sonlyjollification？“

“Certain，“Isaid。“ButI’llgoandsee。“

“Theyalwayswillhavetheirfun，“saidshe。“ButIhatetohaveapoorboygethurt——evenhimdeservingit!“

“Theyusepistolsinsteadoffire-crackers，“saidI。“Butyoumustneversleepinthatoffice。I’llseewhatwecando。“

“Why，you’rerealkind!“sheexclaimed，heartily。AndIdeparted，wonderingwhatIoughttodo。

PerhapsIshouldhavetoldyoubeforethatSeparwasaplaceonce——asortofplace；butyouwillrelishnow，Iamconvinced，thepithyfableofitsname。

Midwaybetweentwosectionsofthisstillunfinishedlinethat，railafterrailandmileuponmile，crawledovertheearth’sfacevisiblyduringtheconstructinghoursofeachnewday，layacamp。Tothispointtheseunjoinedpieceswereheading，andhereatlengththeymet。CampSeparationithadbeenfitlycalled，buthowshouldtheAmericanrailwaymanaffordtimetosaythat？Separationwasprettyandapt，butneedless；

andwiththesloughingoftwosyllablescamethebrief，businesslikeresult——Separ。Chicago，1137-1/2miles。Itwaslabelledonaboardlargealmostasthehutstation。AY-switch，twosidings，thefatwater-tankandsteam-pump，andasection-housewiththreetreesbeforeitcomposedthenorthside。Southofthetrackwerenotrees。Therewasonelongsidingbythecorralsandcattle-chute，therewereahovelwhereplugtobaccoandcannedgoodswereforsale，ashedwhereyoumightgetyourhorseshod，awirefencethatatshippingtimesenclosedbalesofpressedhay，thehotel，thestagestable，andthelittlestation——somesevenshantiesalltold。Betweenthemwerespacesofdust，theimmediateplainsengulfedthem，andthroughtheirmidstranthefar-vanishingrailroad，towhichtheyhunglikebeadsonagreatstringfromhorizontohorizon。A

greateast-and-weststring，oneendintherosysunatmorning，andoneinthecrimsonsunatnight。Beyondeachsky-linelaycitiesandportswheretheworldwentonoutofsightandhearing。Thislonesteelthreadhadbeenstretchedacrossthecontinentbecauseitwasthedayofhasteandhope，whendollarsseemedmanyandhardtimeswerefew；andfromtheYellowstonetotheRioGrandesimilarthreadswerestretching，andlittleSeparsbydispersedhundredshungonthem，asitwereinspaceeternal。

Canyouwonderthatvigorousyoungmenwithpistolsshould，whentheycametosuchaplace，shootthemofftoletloosetheirunboundedjoyofliving？

Andyetitwasnotthismerelythatbeganthecustom，butanerroroftheagent’s。ThenewstationwasscarcecreatedwhenonemorningHoneyWigginwiththeVirginianhadgallopedinnocentlyinfromtheround-uptotelegraphforsomeadditionalcars。

“I’mdeadontoyou!“squealedtheofficial，droppingflatatthesightofthem；andbangwenthisgunatthem。They，mostnaturally，thoughtitwasamaniac，andranfortheirlivesamongthesupportsofthewater-tank，whileheremainedanchoredwithhisweapon，crouchedbehindtherailingthatfencedhimandhisapparatusfromthelaity；andsomefifteenstrategicminutespassedbeforeallpartieshadcrawledforthtoanunderstanding，andthemessagewaswrittenandpaidforandcomfortablydespatched。Theagentwasanhonestcreature，butoftamehabits，sentforthesakeofhisimperfectlungstothisotherwiseinappropriateair。Hehadlivedchieflyinmid-Westtowns，aseriousreaderofourcomicweeklies；hencetheapparitionofWigginandtheVirginianhadremindedhimsickeninglyofbandits。Hehadexpressmoneyinthesafe，heexplainedtothem，andthiswasahardoldcountry，wasn’tit？anddidtheylikegoodwhiskey？

Theydrankhiswhiskey，butitwasnotwelltohavementionedthataboutthebandits。Bothwereawarethatwhenshavedandwashedoftheirround-upgrimetheycouldlookveryengaging。Thetwocow-punchersrodeout，notangry，butgrievedthatamancomeheretodwellamongthemshouldbesotactless。

“Ifwedon’tgethimusedtous，“observedtheVirginian，“heandhispop-gunwillbeguttin’someblamelessman。“

Forthwiththecattlecountryproceededtogettheagentusedtoit。Thenewswentoverthesage-brushfromBelleFourchetoSweetwater，andplayful，howlinghorsemenmadeittheircustomtogoriotingwithpistolsroundtheticketoffice，educatingtheagent。Hislungsimproved，andhecamedimlytosmileatthislifewhichhedidnotunderstand。Butthecompanydiscernednohumorwhateverinhavingitswater-tankperforated，whichhappenedtwice；andsheriffsanddeputiesandothersymptomsofauthoritybegantoinvestSepar。Nowwhatshouldauthoritydouponthesefreeplains，thiswildernessofdo-as-you-please，wheremerebreathingtheairwaslikeinebriation？Thelarge，headlongchildrenwhosweptinfromthesage-brushandoutagainmeantnothingthattheycalledharmuntiltheyfoundthemselvesresisted。Thenpresentlyhappenedthataffairofthecow-catcher；andlateratoo-zealousmarshal，comeaboutamail-cartheyhadside-trackedandheldwithfiddles，drink，andpetticoats，methisdeathaccidentally，atwhichtheyweresincerelysorryforaboutfiveminutes。Theyvaluedtheirownlivesaslittle，andthatliftsthemforeverfrombasenessatleast。Sothecompany，concludingsuchthingsmustbeenduredforawhileyet，wrotetheirletter，andyouhaveseenhowwrongtheletterwent。AllitwoulddowouldbefromnowontofastenuponSeparitscodeofrecklessness；tomakeshootingthewater-tank(forexample)partofagentleman’sdeportmentwhenheshowedhimselfintown。

Itwasnotnowtheseasonofheavyshipping；to-nighttheirworkwouldbeearlyfinished，andthentheywerelikelytoplayaftertheirmanner。Toarriveinsuchaplaceonherwaytoherbrother，thefeloninjail，madethegirl’sjourneyseemdoublyforlorntomeasIwandereddowntothecorrals。

Asmall，boldvoicehailedme。“Hello，you!“itsaid；andherewasBillyLusk，agednine，inbootsandoveralls，importantlyuselesswithastick，helpingthemenprodthesteersatthechute。

“Thoughtyouwereatschool，“saidI。

“Ah，school’squit，“returnedBilly，andchangedthesubject。“Say，Lin’shuntingyou。He’sanglingtoeatatthehotel。I’mgrubbingwiththeoutfit。“AndBillyresumedhisspeciousactivity。