AtthisIlookedathimblankly。“Itisn’tpossiblethat——“
Againhecutmeshortwithalaughalmostsavage。“Youneedn’ttoworryaboutSteve。Hestayedgame。“
WhatthenhadbeenthematterthatheshouldkeepseeingSteve——thathisvisionshouldsoobliteratefromhimwhatIstillshiveredat，andsoshakehimnow？ForheseemedtobegrowingmorestirredasIgrewless。Iaskedhimnofurtherquestions，however，andwewentonforseveralminutes，hebroodingalwaysinthesamefashion，untilheresumedwiththehardindifferencethathadbeforesurprisedme:-“SoEdgaveyoufeelings！Dumbagueandsoforth。“
“Nodoubtwe’renotmadethesameway，“Iretorted。
Hetooknonoticeofthis。“Andyou’dhavebeenmorecomfortableifhe’dactedsameasStevedid。Itcert’nlywasbadseeingEdtakeitthatway，Ireckon。Andyoudidn’tseehimwhenthetimecameforbusiness。Well，here’swhatitis:amanmaybesuchaconfirrnedmiscreantthatkilling’stheonlycureforhim；butstillhe’syourownspecies，andyoudon’twanttohavehimfallaroundandgrabyourlaigsandshowyouhisfearnaked。Itmakesyoufeelashamed。SoEdgaveyoufeelings，andStevemadeeverythingrighteasyforyou！“Therewasironyinhisvoiceashesurveyedme，butitfellawayatonceintosadness。“Bothwasmiscreants。ButifStevehadplayedthecoward，too，itwouldhavebeenawholeheapeasierforme。“Hepausedbeforeadding，“AndStevewasnotamiscreantonce。“
Hisvoicehadtrembled，andIfeltthedeepemotionthatseemedtogainuponhimnowthatactionwasoverandhehadnothingtodobutthink。Andhisviewwassimpleenough:youmustdiebrave。
Failureisasortoftreasontothebrotherhood，andforfeitspity。ItwasSteve’sperfectbearingthathadcaughthisheartsothatheforgotevenhisscornoftheotherman。
Butthiswasbynomeansallthatwastocome。Heharkedbacktothatnotionofaprisonerhelpingtomakeiteasyforhisexecutioner。“Easyplumbtotheend，“hepursued，hismindreviewingtheactsofthemorning。“Why，hetriedtogivemeyournewspaper。Ididn’t——“
“Oh，no，“Isaidhastily。“Ihadfinishedwithit。“
“Well，hetookdyingasnaturallyashetookliving。Likeamanshould。LikeIhopeto。“Againhelookedatthepicturesinhismind。“Noplay-actingnorlastwords。Hejusttoldgood-bytotheboysasweledhishorseunderthelimb——youneedn’ttolooksodainty，“hebrokeoff。“Youain’tgoingtogetanymoreshockingparticulars。“
“IknowI’mwhite-livered，“Isaidwithaspeciesoflaugh。“I
nevercrowdandstarewhensomebodyishurtinthestreet。Igetaway。“
Hethoughtthisover。“Youdon’tmeanallofthat。You’dnothavespokejustthatwayaboutcrowdingandstaringifyouthoughtwellofthemthatstare。Staringain’tcourage；it’strashycuriosity。Nowyoudidnothavethisthing——“
Hehadstretchedouthishandtopoint，butitfell，andhisutterancestopped，andhejerkedhishorsetoastand。Mynervesspranglikeawireathissuddenness，andIlookedwherehewaslooking。Therewerethecottonwoods，closeinfrontofus。Aswehadtravelledandtalkedwehadforgottenthem。Nowtheywereloomingwithinahundredyards；andourtraillaystraightthroughthem。
“Let’sgoaroundthem，“saidtheVirginian。
Whenwehadcomebackfromourcircuitintothetrailhecontinued:“Youdidnothavethatthingtodo。Butamangoesthroughwithhisresponsibilities——andIreckonyoucould。“
“Ihopeso，“Ianswered。“HowaboutEd？“
“Hewasnotaman，thoughwethoughthewastillthis。SteveandIstartedpunchingcattletogetherattheBordeauxoutfit，northofCheyenne。Wedideverythingtogetherinthosedays——workandplay。Sixyearsago。Stevehadmanygoodpointsonced。“
Wemusthavegonetwomilesbeforehespokeagain。“Youprob’lydidn’tnoticeSteve？Imeanthewayheactedtome？“Itwasaquestion，buthedidnotwaitformyanswer。“Steveneversaidawordtomeallthrough。Heshunnedit。Andyousawhowneighborlyhetalkedtotheotherboys。“
“Wherehavetheyallgone？“Iasked。
Hesmiledatme。“Itcert’nlyislonesomenow，forafact。“
“Ididn’tknowyoufeltit，“saidI。
“Feelit！——they’vewenttotherailroad。ThreeofthemarewitnessesinacaseatEvanston，andtheJudgewantsouroutfitatMedicineBow。Steveshunnedme。DidhethinkIwasgoingbackonhim？“
“Whatifhedid？Youwerenot。Andsonobody’sgoingtoWindRiverbutyou？“
“No。DidyounoticeStevewouldnotgiveusanyinformationaboutShorty？Thatwasright。Iwouldhaveactedthatway，too。“Thus，eachtime，hebroughtmebacktothesubject。
Thesunwasnowshiningwarmduringtwoorthreeminutestogether，andgulfsofblueopenedinthegreatwhiteclouds。
Thesemovedandmetamongeachother，andparted，likehandsspreadout，slowlyweavingaspellofsleepoverthedayafterthewakefulnightstorm。Thehugecontoursoftheearthlaybaskinganddrying，andnotonelivingcreature，birdorbeast，wasinsight。Quietwasreturningtomyrevivedspirits，buttherewasnonefortheVirginian。Andashereasonedmattersoutaloud，hismoodgrewmoreovercast。
“Youhaveafriend，andhiswaysareyourways。Youtraveltogether，youspreetogetherconfidentially，andyousuiteachotherdowntotheground。Thenonedayyoufindhimputtinghisirononanotherman’scalf。Youtellhimfairandsquarethosewayshaveneverbeenyourwaysandain’tgoingtobeyourways。
Well，thatdoesnotchangehimany，foritseemshe’sdisturbedovergettingrichquickandbeingabigmanintheTerritory。Andtheyearsgoon，untilyouareforemanofJudgeHenry’sranchandhe——isdanglingbackinthecottonwoods。Whatcanheclaim？Whomadethechoice？Hecannotsay，’HereismyoldfriendthatI
wouldhavestoodby。’Canhesaythat？“
“Buthedidn’tsayit，“Iprotested。
“No。Heshunnedme。“
“Listen，“Isaid。“Supposewhileyouwereonguardhehadwhispered，’Getmeoff’——wouldyouhavedoneit？“
“No，sir！“saidtheVirginian，hotly。
“Thenwhatdoyouwant？“Iasked。“Whatdidyouwant？“
Hecouldnotanswerme——butIhadnotansweredhim，Isaw；soI
pusheditfarther。“Didyouwantindorsementfromthemanyouwerehanging？That’saskingalittletoomuch。“
Buthehadnowanotherconfusion。“StevestoodbyShorty，“hesaidmusingly。“ItwasShorty’smistakecosthimhislife，butallthesamehedidn’twantustocatch——“
“Youaremixingthings，“Iinterrupted。“Ineverheardyoumixthingsbefore。AnditwasnotShorty’smistake。“
Heshowedmomentaryinterest。“Whosethen？“
“Themistakeofwhoevertookafoolintotheirenterprise。“
“That’scorrect。Well，TrampastookShortyin，andStevewouldnottellonhimeither。“
Istilltriedit，saying，“Theywereallinthesameboat。“Butlogicwasuseless；hehadlosthisbearingsinafogofsentiment。Heknew，knewpassionately，thathehaddoneright；
butthesilenceofhisoldfriendtohimthroughthoselasthoursleftastingthatnoreasoningcouldassuage。“Hetoldgood-bytotherestoftheboys；butnottome。“AndnothingthatIcouldpointoutincommonsenseturnedhimfromthethreadofhisownargument。Heworkedroundthecircleagaintoself-justification。
“WasithimIwasdeserting？WasnotthedesertingdonebyhimthedayIspokemymindaboutstealingcalves？Ihavekeptmywaysthesame。Heistheonethattooktonewones。ThemanI
usedtotravelwithisnotthemanbackthere。Samename，tobesure。Andsamebody。Butdifferentin——andyethehadthememory！
Youcan’tneverchangeyourmemory！“
Hegaveasob。ItwasthefirstIhadeverheardfromhim，andbeforeIknewwhatIwasdoingIhadreinedmyhorseuptohisandputmyarmaroundhisshoulders。Ihadnosoonertouchedhimthanhewasutterlyovercome。“IknewSteveawfulwell，“hesaid。
Thuswehadactuallycometochangeplaces；forearlyinthemorninghehadbeenfirmwhileIwasunnerved，whilenowitwasI
whoattemptedtosteadyandcomforthim。
Ihadthesensetokeepsilent，andpresentlyheshookmyhand，notlookingatmeashedidso。Hewasalwaysveryshyofdemonstration。Andhetooktopattingtheneckofhispony。“YouMontehawss，“saidhe，“youthinkyouarewise，butthere’salotofthingsyoudon’tsavvy。“Thenhemadeanewbeginningoftalkbetweenus。
“ItiskindofpitifulaboutShorty。“
“Verypitiful，“Isaid。“Doyouknowabouthim？“theVirginianasked。
“Iknowthere’snorealharminhim，andsomerealgood，andthathehasnotgotthebrainsnecessarytobeahorsethief。“
“That’sso。That’sverytrue。Trampashasledhimindeeperthanhisstaturecanstand。NowbackEastyoucanbemiddlingandgetalong。ButifyougototryathingoninthisWesterncountry，you’vegottodoitWELL。You’vegottodealcyardsWELL；you’vegottostealWELL；andifyouclaimtobequickwithyourgun，youmustbequick，foryou’reapublictemptation，andsomemanwillnotresisttryingtoproveheisthequicker。YoumustbreakalltheCommandmentsWELLinthisWesterncountry，andShortyshouldhavestayedinBrooklyn，forhewillbeanovicehislivelongdays。Youdon’tknowabouthim？Hehastoldmehiscircumstances。Hedon’trememberhisfather，anditwaslikehecouldhaveclaimedthreeorfour。AndIexpecthismotherwasnotmuchinterestedinhimbeforeorafterhewasborn。Heranaround，andwhenhewaseighteenhegottobehelptoagroceryman。Butagirlheranwithkepttakingallhispayandteasinghimformore，andsoonedaythegrocerymancaughtShortyrobbinghistill，andfiredhim。Therewasn’tnoonetotellgood-byto，forthegirlhadtogotothecountrytoseeheraunt，shesaid。SoShortyhungaroundthestoreandkissedthegrocerycatgood-by。He’dbeenusedtofeedingthecat，andshe’dsitinhislapandpurr，hetoldme。Hesendsmoneybacktothatgirlnow。ThishyehcountryisnocountryforShorty，forhewillbeaconspicuousnoviceallhisdays。“
“Perhapshe’llpreferhonestyafterhisnarrowshave，“Isaid。
ButtheVirginianshookhishead。“Trampashasgotholdofhim。“
Thedaywasnowallblueabove，andallwarmanddrybeneath。Wehadbeguntowindinandriseamongthefirstslopesofthefoot-hills，andwehadtalkedourselvesintosilence。Atthefirstrunningwaterwemadealongnooning，andIsleptonthebareground。MybodywaslodgedsofastanddeepinslumberthatwhentheVirginianshookmeawakeIcouldnotcomebacktolifeatonce；itwastheclumpofcottonwoods，smallandfaroutintheplainbelowus，thatrecalledme。
“It’llnotbewatchingusmuchlonger，“saidtheVirginian。Hemadeitasortofjoke；butIknewthatbothofusweregladwhenpresentlywerodeintoasteepercountry，andamongitsfoldsandcarvingslostallsightoftheplain。Hehadnotslept，Ifound。
Hisexplanationwasthatthepacksneededbetterbalancing，andafterthathehadgoneupanddownthestreamonthechanceoftrout。Buthishauntedeyesgavemetherealreason——theyspokeofSteve，nomatterwhathespokeof；itwastobenoshortthingwithhim。