madereadyforsupperoverthere，itstruckmeashardonthem。
Theroomwithitstwocotsandfurniturewasasniceaspossible；
andweclosedthedoorupontheadjoiningroom，which，however，seemedalsountenanted。
Mrs。HenrygaveusamealsogoodthatIhaverememberedit，andherhusbandtheJudgestrovehisbestthatweshouldeatitinmerriment。Hepouredouthisanecdoteslikewine，andweshouldhavequicklywarmedtothem；butDr。MacBridesatamongus，givingoccasionalheavyha-ha’s，whichproduced，asMissMollyWoodwhisperedtome，a“dreadfullycavernouseffect。“Wasithissermon，wewondered，thathewasthinkingover？ItoldherofthecopioussheafofthemIhadseenhimpullfromhiswalletoverattheforeman’s。“Goodness！“saidshe。“Thenarewetohearoneeveryevening？“ThisIdoubted；hehadprobablybeenpickingoneoutsuitablefortheoccasion。“Puttinghisbestfootforemost，“
washercomment；“Isupposetheyhavebestfeet，liketherestofus。“Thenshegrewdelightfullysharp。“Doyouknow，whenIfirstheardhimIthoughthisvoicewashearty。Butifyoulisten，you’llfindit’smerelymilitant。Heneverreallymeetsyouwithit。He’soffonhishillwatchingthebattle-fieldthewholetime。“
“Hewillfindahardenedpaganhere。“
“JudgeHenry？“
“Oh，no！Thewildmanyou’retamingbroughtyouKenilworthsafeback。“
Shewassmooth。“Oh，asfortaminghim！Butdon’tyoufindhimintelligent？“
SuddenlyIsomehowknewthatshedidn’twanttotamehim。Butwhatdidshewanttodo？Thethoughtofherhadmadehimblushthisafternoon。Nothoughtofhimmadeherblushthisevening。
AgreatlaughfromtherestofthecompanymademeawarethattheJudgehadconsummatedhistaleofthe“SoleSurvivor。“
“Andso，“hefinished，“theyallwentoffasmadashopsbecauseithadn’tbeenamassacre。“Mr。andMrs。Ogden——theyweretheNewYorkers-gavethisstorymuchapplause，andDr。MacBridehalfaminutelaterlaidhis“ha-ha，“likeaheavystone，uponthegayety。
“I’llneverbeabletostandsevensermons，“saidMissWoodtome。
“Talkingofmassacres，“——Inowhastenedtoaddressthealreadysaddenedtable，——“Ihaverecentlyescapedonemyself。“
TheJudgehadcometoanendofhispowers。“Oh，tellus！“heimplored。
“Seriously，sir，Ithinkwegrazedprettywettragedybutyourextraordinarymanbroughtusoutintocomedysafeanddry。“
Thisgavemetheirattention；and，fromthatafternooninDakotawhenIhadfirststeppedaboardthecaboose，Itoldthemthewholetaleofmyexperience:howIgrewimmediatelyawarethatallwasnotright，bytheVirginian’skickingthecookoffthetrain；how，aswejourneyed，thedarkbubbleofmutinyswelledhourlybeneathmyeyes；andhow，whenitwasthreateningIknownotwhatexplosion，theVirginianhadprickeditwithhumor，sothatitburstinnothingbutharmlesslaughter。
Theireyesfollowedmynarrative:theNewYorkers，becausesucheventsdonothappenupontheshoresoftheHudson；Mrs。Henry，becauseshewasmyhostess；MissWoodfollowedforwhateverherreasonswere——Icouldn’tseehereyes；rather，IFELTherlisteningintentlytothedeedsanddangersofthemanshedidn’tcaretotame。ButitwastheeyesoftheJudgeandthemissionarywhichIsawriveteduponmeindeeduntiltheend；andtheyforthwithmadeplaintheirquitedissimilaropinions。
JudgeHenrystruckthetablelightlywithhisfist。“Iknewit！“
Andheleanedbackinhischairwithafaceofcontentment。Hehadtrustedhisman，andhismanhadprovedworthy。
“Pardonme。“Dr。MacBridehadamannerofsaying“pardonme，“
whichrenderedforgivenesswell-nighimpossible。
TheJudgewaitedforhim。
“AmItounderstandthatthese——a——cow-boysattemptedtomutiny，andwerediscouragedinthisattemptuponfindingthemselveslessskilfulatlyingthanthemantheyhadplottedtodepose？“
Ibeganananswer。“Itwasotherqualities，sir，thathappenedtoberevealedandassertedbywhatyoucallhislyingthat——“
“AndwhatamItocallit，ifitisnotlying？Acompetitionindeceitinwhich，Iadmit，heoutdidthem。
“It’stheirwayto——“
“Pardonme。Theirwaytolie？Theybowdowntothegreatestinthis？“
“Oh，“saidMissWoodinmyear，“givehimup。“
TheJudgetookaturn。“We-ell，Doctor——“Heseemedtostickhere。
Mr。Ogdenhandsomelyassistedhim。“You’vesaidthewordyourself，Doctor。It’sthecompetition，don’tyousee？Thetrialofstrengthbynomatterwhattest。“
“Yes，“saidMissWood，unexpectedly。“Anditwasn’tthatGeorgeWashingtoncouldn’ttellalie。Hejustwouldn’t。I’msureifhe’dundertakentohe’dhavetoldamuchbetteronethanCornwall’s。“
“Ha-ha，madam！Youdrawaningenioussubtletyfromyourbooks。“
“It’sallplaintome，“Ogdenpursued。“Themenweremorose。Thisforemanwasintheminority。Hecajoledthemintoaboutoftallstories，andtoldthetallesthimself。Andwhentheyfoundtheyhadswalloweditwhole——well，itwouldcertainlytakethestarchoutofme，“heconcluded。“Icouldn’tbeaseriousmutineerafterthat。“
Dr。MacBridenowsoundedhisstrongestbass。“Pardonme。Icannotacceptsuchaview，sir。ThereisalevityabroadinourlandwhichImustdeplore。Nomatterhowlenientlyyoumaytrytoputit，intheendwehavethespectacleofastrugglebetweenmenwherelyingdecidesthesurvivalofthefittest。Better，farbetter，ifitwastocome，thattheyhadshothonestbullets。
Thereareworseevilsthanwar。“
TheDoctor’seyeglaredrighteouslyabouthim。Noneofus，I
think，trembled；or，ifwedid，itwaswithemotionsotherthanfear。Mrs。Henryatonceintroducedthesubjectoftrout-fishing，andthushappilyremovedusfromtheedgeofwhateversortofprecipiceweseemedtohaveapproached；forDr。MacBridehadbroughthisrod。Hedilateduponthissportwithfervor，andweassuredhimthatthestreamsuponthewestslopeoftheBowLegMountainswouldaffordhimplentyofit。Thusweendedourmealincarefullypreservedamity。
“Doyouoftenhavethesevisitations？“OgdeninquiredofJudgeHenry。Ourhostwasgivinguswhiskeyinhisoffice，andDr。
MacBride，whilewesmokedapartfromtheladies，hadrepairedtohisquartersintheforeman’shouseprevioustotheservicewhichhewasshortlytohold。
TheJudgelaughed。“Theycomenowandthenthroughtheyear。I
likethebishoptocome。Andthemenalwayslikeit。ButIfearourfriendwillscarcelypleasethemsowell。“
“Youdon’tmeanthey’ll——“
“Oh，no。They’llkeepquiet。Thefactis，theyhaveagooddealbettermannersthanhehas，ifheonlyknewit。They’llbeabletobearhim。Butasforanygoodhe’lldo——“
“Idoubtifheknowsawordofscience，“saidI，musingabouttheDoctor。
“Science！Hedoesn’tknowwhatChristianityisyet。I’veentertainedmanyguests，butnone——Thewholesecret，“brokeoffJudgeHenry，“liesinthewayyoutreatpeople。Assoonasyoutreatmenasyourbrothers，theyarereadytoacknowledgeyou——ifyoudeserveit——astheirsuperior。That’sthewholebottomofChristianity，andthat’swhatourmissionarywillneverknow。“
Therewasasomewhatheavyknockattheofficedoor，andIthinkweallfeareditwasDr。MacBride。ButwhentheJudgeopened，theVirginianwasstandingthereinthedarkness“So！“TheJudgeopenedthedoorwide。Hewasveryheartytothemanhehadtrusted。“You’rebackatlast。“
“Icametorepawt。“
Whiletheyshookhands，Ogdennudgedme。“Thatthefellow？“I
nodded。“Fellowwhokickedthecookoffthetrain？“Iagainnodded，andhelookedattheVirginian，hiseyeandhisstature。
JudgeHenry，properlydemocratic，nowintroducedhimtoOgden。
TheNewYorkeralsomeanttobeproperlydemocratic。“You’rethemanI’vebeenhearingsuchalotabout。“
Butfamiliarityisnotequality。“ThenIexpectyu’havetheadvantageofme，seh，“saidtheVirginian，verypolitely。“ShallIrepawttomorro’？“HisgraveeyeswereontheJudgeagain。Ofmehehadtakennonotice；hehadcomeasanemployeetoseehisemployer。
“Yes，yes；I’llwanttohearaboutthecattleto-morrow。Butstepinsideamomentnow。There’samatter——“TheVirginiansteppedinside，andtookoffhishat。“Sitdown。Youhadtrouble——I’veheardsomethingaboutit，“theJudgewenton。
TheVirginiansatdown，graveandgraceful。Butheheldthebrimofhishatallthewhile。HelookedatOgdenandme，andthenbackathisemployer。Therewasreluctanceinhiseye。Iwonderedifhisemployercouldbegoingtomakehimtellhisownexploitsinthepresenceofusoutsiders；andtherecameintomymemorytheBengaltigeratatrained-animalshowIhadonceseen。
“Youhadsometrouble，“repeatedtheJudge。
“Well，therewasatimewhentheymaybewantedtohavenotions。
They’regoodboys。“Andhesmiledaverylittle。
ContentmentincreasedintheJudge’sface。“Trampasagoodboytoo？“
ButthistimetheBengaltigerdidnotsmile。Hesatwithhiseyefastenedonhisemployer。
TheJudgepassedratherquicklyontohisnextpoint。“You’vebroughtthemallback，though，Iunderstand，safeandsound，withoutascratch？“
TheVirginianlookeddownathishat，thenupagainattheJudge，mildly。“Ihadtopartwithmycook。“
Therewasnouse；Ogdenandmyselfexploded。EvenupontheembarrassedVirginianalargegrinslowlyforceditself。“Iguessyu’knowaboutit，“hemurmured。Andhelookedatmewithasortofreproach。HeknewitwasIwhohadtoldtalesoutofschool。
“Ionlywanttosay，“saidOgden，conciliatingly，“thatIknowI
couldn’thavehandledthosemen。“
TheVirginianrelented。“Yu’nevertried，seh。“
TheJudgehadremainedserious；butheshowedhimselfplainlymoreandmorecontented。“Quiteright，“hesaid。“Youhadtopartwithyourcook。WhenIputamanincharge，Iputhimincharge。
Idon’tmakeparticularsmybusiness。They’retobealwayshis。
Doyouunderstand？“
“Thankyu’。“TheVirginianunderstoodthathisemployerwaspraisinghismanagementoftheexpedition。ButIdon’tthinkheatalldiscerned——asIdidpresently——thathisemployerhadjustbeenputtinghimtoafurthertest，hadlaidbeforehimthetemptationofcomplainingofafellow-workmanandblowinghisowntrumpet，andwasdelightedwithhisreticence。Hemadeamovementtorise。
“Ihaven’tfinished，“saidtheJudge。“Iwascomingtothematter。There’soneparticular——sinceIdohappentohavebeentold。IfancyTrampashaslearnedsomethinghedidn’texpect。“
ThistimetheVirginianevidentlydidnotunderstand，anymorethanIdid。Onehandplayedwithhishat，mechanicallyturningitround。
TheJudgeexplained。“ImeanaboutRoberts。“
ApulseoftriumphshotovertheSoutherner’sface，turningitsavageforthatfleetinginstant。Heunderstoodnow，andwasunabletosuppressthismuchanswer。Buthewassilent。
“Yousee，“theJudgeexplainedtome，“IwasobligedtoletRoberts，myoldforeman，golastweek。Hiswifecouldnothavestoodanotherwinterhere，andagoodpositionwasofferedtohimnearLosAngeles。“
Ididsee。Isawanumberofthings。Isawwhytheforeman’shousehadbeenemptytoreceiveDr。MacBrideandme。AndIsawthattheJudgehadbeenverycleverindeed。ForIhadabstainedfromtellinganytalesaboutthepresentfeelingbetweenTrampasandtheVirginian；buthehaddivinedit。Wellenoughforhimtosaythat“particulars“weresomethingheletalone；heevidentlykeptadeepeyeontheundercurrentsathisranch。HeknewthatinRoberts，Trampashadlostapowerfulfriend。AndthiswaswhatImostsaw，thisfinalfact，thatTrampashadnolongeranyinterveningshield。HeandtheVirginianstoodindeedmantoman。
“Andso，“theJudgecontinuedspeakingtome，“hereIamataveryinconvenienttimewithoutaforeman。Unless，“IcaughtthetwinkleinhiseyesbeforeheturnedtotheVirginian，“unlessyou’rewillingtotakethepositionyourself。Willyou？“