Ourlittlefirewasbuiltbesidethecaboose，sothecookingthingsmightbeeasilyreachedandputback。Youwouldscarcelythinksuchoperationsheldanyinterest，evenforthehungry，whenthereseemedtobenothingtocook。Afewsticksblazingtamelyinthedust，afrying-pan，halfatinbucketoflard，somewater，andbarrenplatesandknivesandforks，andthreesilentmenattendingtothem——thatwasall。Butthetravellerscametosee。Thesewaifsdrewnearus，andstood，asad，lore，shiftingfringeofaudience；fourtobeginwith；andthentwowanderedaway；andpresentlyoneofthesecameback，findingitworseelsewhere。“Supper，boys？“saidhe。“Breakfast，“saidScipio，crossly。Andnomoreofthemaddressedus。IheardthemjoylesslymentionWallStreettoeachother，andSaratoga；IevenheardthenameBrynMawr，whichisnearPhiladelphia。ButthesefragmentsofhomedroppedinthewildernesshereinMontanabesideafreightcaboosewereofnointeresttomenow。
“Lookslikefrogsdownthere，too，“saidScipio。“Seethemmarshyslogsfullofweeds？“WetookalittleturnandhadasightoftheVirginianquiteactiveamongtheponds。“Hush！I’mgettingsomethoughts，“continuedScipio。“Hewasn’tsorryenough。Don’tinterruptme。“
“I’mnot，“saidI。
“No。ButI’d’mostcaughta-hold。“AndScipiomutteredtohimselfagain，“Hewasn’tsorryenough。“Presentlyhesworeloudandbrilliantly。“Tellyu’！“hecried。“WhatdidhesaytoTrampasafterthatplaytheyexchangedoverrailroadimprovementsandTrampasputthejoshonhim？Didn’thesay，’Trampas，Ithoughtyou’dbeafraidtodoit？’Well，sir，Trampashadbetterhavebeenafraid。Andthat’swhathemeant。There’swherehewasbringin’ittoTrampasmadeanawfulbadplaythen。Youwait。
Glory，buthe’saknowin’man！Coursehewasn’tsorry。Iguesshehadthehardestkindofworktolookassorryashedid。Youwait。“
“Wait？Whatfor？Goon，man！Whatfor？“
“Idon’tknow！Idon’tknow！Whateverhandhe’sbeenholdin’up，thisistheshow-down。He’splayedforashow-downherebeforethecaboosegetsoffthebridge。Comebacktothefire，orShorty’llbeleavin’itgoout。Growhappysome，Shorty！“hecriedonarriving，andhishandcrackedonShorty’sshoulder。
“Supper’sinsight，Shorty。Foodforreflection。“
“Noneforthestomach？“askedthepassengerwhohadspokenoncebefore。
“We’refiguringonthattoo，“saidScipio。Hiscrossnesshadmeltedentirelyaway。
“Why，they’recow-boys！“exclaimedanotherpassenger；andhemovednearer。
FromthestationTrampasnowcameback，hisherdfollowinghimlesscompactly。Theyhadfoundfamine，andnohopeofsuppliesuntilthenexttrainfromtheEast。ThiswasnofaultofTrampas’s；buttheywerefollowinghimlesscompactly。Theycarriedonepieceofcheese，thesizeofafist，theweightofabrick，thehueofacorpse。Andthepassengers，seeingit，exclaimed，“There’sOldFaithfulagain！“andtookofftheirhats。
“Yougentlemenmetthatcheesebefore，then？“saidScipio，delighted。
“It’sbeenofferedmethreetimesadayforfourdays，“saidthepassenger。“Didhewantadollaroradollarandahalf？“
“Twodollars！“blurtedouttheenthusiast。AndallofussaveTrampasfellintofitsofimbecilelaughter。
“Herecomesourgrub，anyway，“saidScipio，lookingofftowardthemarshes。Andhishilaritysoberedawayinamoment。
“Well，thetrainwillbeinsoon，“statedTrampas。“Iguesswe’llgetadecentsupperwithoutfrogs。“
AllinterestsettlednowupontheVirginian。Hewascomingwithhismanandhisgunnysack，andthegunnysackhungfromhisshoulderheavily，asafullsackshould。Hetooknonoticeofthegathering，butsatdownandpartlyemptiedthesack。“There，“
saidhe，verybusinesslike，tohisassistant，“that’sallwe’llwant。Ithinkyou’llfindareadymarketforthebalance。“
“Well，mygracious！“saidtheenthusiast。“Whatfooleatsafrog？“
“Oh，I’mfoolenoughforatadpole！“criedthepassenger。Andtheybegantotakeouttheirpocket-books。
“Youcancookyoursrighthyeh，gentlemen，“saidtheVirginian，withhisslowSoutherncourtesy。“Thedining-cyarsdon’tlookliketheywerefiredup。“
“Howmuchwillyousellacouplefor？“inquiredtheenthusiast。
TheVirginianlookedathimwithfriendlysurprise。“Why，helpyourself！We’realltogetheryetawhile。Helpyourselves，“herepeated，toTrampasandhisfollowers。Thesehungbackamoment，then，withaslinkingmotion，setthecheeseupontheearthandcameforwardnearerthefiretoreceivesomesupper。
“Itwon’tscarcelybeDelmonicostyle，“saidtheVirginiantothepassengers，“noryetSayntAugustine。“HemeantthegreatAugustin，thetraditionalchefofPhiladelphia，whosehistoryI
hadsketchedforhimatColonelCyrusJones’seatingpalace。
Scipionowofficiated。Hisfrying-panwasbusy，andprosperousodorsrosefromit。
“Runforabucketoffreshwater，Shorty，“theVirginiancontinued，beginninghismeal。“Colonel，yu’cookprettyneargood。Ifyu’hadsold’emasadvertised，yu’dhavecert’nlymadeaname。“
Severalwerenoweatingwithsatisfaction，butnotScipio。Itwasallthathecoulddotocookstraight。Thewholemanseemedtoglisten。Hiseyewasshuttoaslitoncemore，whiletheinnocentpassengersthankfullyswallowed。
“Now，yousee，youhavemadesomemoney，“begantheVirginiantothenativewhohadhelpedhimgetthefrogs。
“Betyourlife！“exclaimedtheman。“Divvy，won’tyou？“Andheheldouthalfhisgains。
“Keep’em，“returnedtheSoutherner。“Ireckonwe’resquare。ButIexpaictthey’llnotequalDelmonico’s，seh？“hesaidtoapassenger。
“Don’ttrustthejudgmentofamanashungryasIam！“exclaimedthetraveller，withalaugh。Andheturnedtohisfellow-travellers。“DidyoueverenjoysupperatDelmonico’smorethanthis？“
“Never！“theysighed。
“Why，lookhere，“saidthetraveller，“whatfoolsthepeopleofthistownare！Herewe’vebeenallthesestarvingdays，andyoucomeandgetaheadofthem！“
“That’srighteasyexplained，“saidtheVirginian。“I’vebeenwheretherewasbigmoneyinfrawgs，andthey’ain’tbeen。
They’reallcattlehyeh。Talkcattle，thinkcattle，andthey’rebankruptinconsequence。Fallenthrough。Ain’tthatso？“heinquiredofthenative。
“That’sabouttheway，“saidtheman。
“It’smightyhardtodowhatyourneighborsain’tdoin’，“pursuedtheVirginian。“Montanaisallcattle，an’thesefolksmustbecattle，an’nevernoticethecountryrighthyehistoosmallforarange，an’swampy，anyway，an’justwaitin’tobeafrawgranch。“
Atthis，allworeafaceofcarefulreserve。
“I’mnotclaimin’tobesmarterthanyoufolkshyeh，“saidtheVirginian，deprecatingly，tohisassistant。“Buttravellin’
learnsamanmanycustoms。Youwouldn’tdothebusinesstheydoneatTulare，California，northsideo’thelake。Theycert’nlyutilizedthemhopelessswampssplendid。Ofcoursetheyputupbigcapitalandwentintoitscientific，gettin’advicefromthegovernmentFishCommission，an’suchlikeknowledge。Yu’see，theyhadbigmarketsfortheirfrawgs，——SanFrancisco，LosAngeles，andcleartoNewYorkaftehtheSouthernPacificwasthrough。Butuphyehyu’couldselltopassengerseverydaylikeyu’donethisoneday。Theywouldgettoknowyu’alongtheline。
Competingswampsarescarce。Thedining-cyarswouldtakeyourfrawgs，andyu’wouldhavetheYellowstoneParkforfourmonthsintheyear。Themhotelsareanxioustoplease，an’theywouldbuyoffyu’whattheirEasternpatronsesteemasfine-eatin’。Andyoufolkswouldbesellin’somethinginsteado’nothin’。“
“That’sapracticalidea，“saidatraveller。“Andlittlecost。“
“Andlittlecost，“saidtheVirginian。
“WouldEasternpeopleeatfrogs？“inquiredtheman。
“Lookatus！“saidthetraveller。
“Delmonicodoesn’tgiveyu’suchatreat！“saidtheVirginian。
“Notexactly！“thetravellerexclaimed。
“Howmuchwouldbepaidforfrogs？“saidTrampastohim。AndI
sawScipiobendclosertohiscooking。
“Oh，Idon’tknow，“saidthetraveller。“We’vepaidprettywell，yousee。“
“You’relateforTulare，Trampas，“saidtheVirginian。
“IwasnotthinkingofTulare，“Trampasretorted。Scipio’snosewasinthefrying-pan。
“Mos’comicalspotyoueverstruck！“saidtheVirginian，lookingrounduponthewholecompany。Heallowedhimselfabroadsmileofretrospect。“Tohear’emtalkfrawgsatTulare！Sameasotherfolkstalkshawssesorsteersorwhateverthey’reraisingtosell。Yu’dfallintoityourselvesifyu’startedthebusiness。
Anythingaman’sbreadandbutterdependson，he’sgoingtobeearnestabout。Don’tcareifitisafrawg。“
“That’sso，“saidthenative。“Anditpaidgood？“
“Theonlymoneyinthecountywasrightthere，“answeredtheVirginian。“Itwasadeadcounty，andonlyfrawgswasmovin’。Butthatbusinesswasa-fannin’tobeatfourofakind。Itmadeyu’
feelstrangeatfirst，asIsaid。Forallthemenhadbeencattle-menatonetimeoranother。Tillyu’gotaccustomed，itwouldgive’mostanybodyashocktohear’emspeakaboutherdin’
thebullsinapasturebythemselves。“TheVirginianallowedhimselfanothersmile，butbecameseriousagain。“Thatwastheirpolicy，“heexplained。“Exceptatcertaintimeso’yeartheykeptthebullsseparate。TheFishCommissiontold’emthey’dbetter，anditcert’nlyworkedmightywell。Itorsomethingdid——for，gentlemen，hush！buttherewasmillions。You’dhavesaidallthefrawgsintheworldhadtakenchargeatTulare。Andthemoneyrolledin！Gentlemen，hush！’twasagoldminefortheowners。
Fortypercenttheynettedsomeyears。Andtheypaidgenerouswages。FortheycouldselltoallthemFrenchrestaurantsinSanFrancisco，yu’see。AndtherewastheCliffHouse。AndthePalaceHotelmadeitaspecialty。AndtheofficerstookfrawgsatthePresidio，an’AngelIsland，an’Alcatraz，an’Benicia。LosAngeleswasbeginnin’itsboom。Thecorner-lotsharpswantedsomethingbywayofvarnish。An’sotheydazzledEasterninvestorswithadvertisin’TularefrawgscleartoNewOrleansan’
NewYork。’TwasonlyinSacramentofrawgswasdull。IexpaicttheCalifornialegislaturewastooor’n’ryforthemfine-raisedluxuries。TheytellofoneofthemsenatorsthatherakedamillionoutofLosAngelesrealestate，andstartedinforabang-upmealwithchampagne。Wantedtoscatterhisnewgoldthickan’quick。Buthegotastrayamongallthefancydishes，an’justyelledrightoutbeforetheladies，’Damnit！bringmefortydollars’worthofhamandaiggs。’Hewasafunnysenator，now。“
TheVirginianpaused，andfinishedeatingaleg。Andthenwithdiabolicarthemadeafeintatwanderingtonewfieldsofanecdote。“Talkin’ofsenators，“heresumed，“SenatorWise——“
“HowmuchdidyousaywageswereatTulare？“inquiredoneoftheTrampasfaction。
“Howmuch？Why，Ineverknewwhattheforemangot。Theregularhandsgotahundred。SenatorWise——“
“AhundredaMONTH？“
“Why，itwaswetan’muddywork，yu’see。Amanriskedrheumatismsome。Heriskeditagooddeal。Well，IwasgoingtotellaboutSenatorWise。WhenSenatorWisewasspeakingofhisvisittoAlaska——“
“Fortypercent，wasit？“saidTrampas。
“Oh，Imustcallmywife’“saidthetravellerbehindme。“ThisiswhatIcameWestfor。“Andhehurriedaway。
“Notfortypercentthebadyears，“repliedtheVirginian。“Thefrawgshadenemies，sameascattle。Irememberwhenapelicangotinthespringpasture，andtheherdbrokethroughthefence——“
“Fence？“saidapassenger。
“Ditch，seh，andwirenet。Everypasturewasasquareswampwithaditcharound，andawirenet。Yu’veheardthemournful，mixed-upsoundabigbunchofcattlewillmake？Well，seh，asyu’
druvfromtherailroadtotheTularefrawgranchyu’couldhear’emamile。Springtimethey’dsinglikegirlsintheorganloft，andbyAugusttheywereaboutreadytohireoutforbass。Andallwasfittobesoloists，ifI’majudge。Butinabadyearitmightonlybetwentypercent。Thepelicanrushed’emfromthepasturerightintotheSanJoaquinRiver，whichwasclosebytheproperty。Thebigbalanceoftheherdstampeded，andthoughofcoursetheycameoutonthebanksagain，thenewshadwentaround，andfolksbelowatHemleneatmostof’emjusttospitethecompany。Yu’see，afrawginariverismorehopelessthananymavericklooseontherange。AndtheyneverstruckanyplantobrandtheirstockandProveownership。“
“Well，twentypercentisgoodenoughforme，“saidTrampas，“ifRawhidedon’tsuitme。“