“Well，Trampasisaimin’totrainhim。Yu’see，supposin’yu’
werefiguringtoturnprofessionalthief——yu’dbelookin’aroundforaniceyoungtrustfulaccomplicetotakeallthepunishmentandletyoutaketherest。“
“Nosuchthing！“criedScipio，angrily。“I’mnoshirker。“Andthen，perceivingtheVirginian’sexpression，hebrokeoutlaughing。“Well，“heexclaimed，“yu’fooledmethattime。“
“Looksthatway。ButIdomeanitaboutTrampas。“
PresentlyScipiorose，andnoticedthehalf-finishedexerciseupontheVirginian’sdesk。“Trampasisarollingstone，“hesaid。
“Arollingpieceofmud，“correctedtheVirginian。
“Mud！That’sright。I’marollingstone。SometimesI’dmostliketoquitbeing。“
“That’seasydone，“saidtheVirginian。
“Nodoubt，whenyu’vefoundthemossyu’wanttogather。“AsScipioglancedattheschoolbooksagain，asparklelurkedinhisbleachedblueeye。“Icanciphersome，“hesaid。“ButIexpectI’vegotmyownnotionsaboutspelling。“
“Iretainafewprivateideasthatwaymyself，“remarkedtheVirginian，innocently；andScipio’ssparklegatheredlight。
“Astomygeography，“hepursued，“that’sawayoutlooseinthebrush。IsBenningtonthecapitalofVermont？Andhowd’yu’spellbridegroom？“
“Lastpoint！“shoutedtheVirginian，lettingabookflyafterhim:“don’tletbadnessandgoodnessworryyu’，foryu’llneverbeajudgeofthem。“
ButScipiohaddodgedthebook，andwasgone。Ashewenthisway，hesaidtohimself，“Allthesame，itmustpaytofallregularinlove。“Atthebunkhousethatafternoonitwasobservedthathewasunusuallysilent。Hisexitfromtheforeman’scabinhadletinabreathofwintersochillthattheVirginianwenttoseehisthermometer，aChristmaspresentfromMrs。Henry。Itregisteredtwentybelowzero。Afterrevivingthefiretoawhiteblaze，theforemansatthinkingoverthestoryofShorty:whatitsuseless，feeblepasthadbeen；whatwouldbeitsuseless，feeblefuture。
Heshookhisheadoverthesombrequestion，WasthereanywayoutforShorty？“Itmaybe，“hereflected，“thatthemwhosepleasurebringsyu’intothisworldowesyu’aliving。Butthatdon’tmaketheworldresponsible。Theworlddidnotbegetyou。Ireckonmanhelpsthemthathelpthemselves。Asfortheuniverse，itlookslikeitdidtoowholesaleabusinesstoturnoutanarticleuptostandardeveryclip。Yes，itissorrowful。ForShortyiskindtohishawss。“
IntheeveningtheVirginianbroughtShortyintohisroom。Heusuallyknewwhathehadtosay，usuallyfounditeasytoarrangehisthoughts；andaftersucharrangingthewordscameofthemselves。ButashelookedatShorty，thisdidnothappentohim。Therewasnotalineofbadnessintheface；yetalsotherewasnotalineofstrength；nopromiseineye，ornose，orchin；
thewholethingmeltedtoastubby，featurelessmediocrity。Itwasacountenancelikethousands；andhopelessnessfilledtheVirginianashelookedatthislostdog，andhisdull，wistfuleyes。
Butsomebeginningmustbemade。
“Iwonderwhatthethermometerhasgottobe，“hesaid。“Yu’canseeit，ifyu’llholdthelamptothatrightsideofthewindow。“
Shortyheldthelamp。“Ineverusedany，“hesaid，lookingoutattheinstrument，nevertheless。
TheVirginianhadforgottenthatShortycouldnotread。Sohelookedoutofthewindowhimself，andfoundthatitwastwenty-twobelowzero。“Thisisprettygoodtobacco，“heremarked；andShortyhelpedhimself，andfilledhispipe。
“Ihadtorubmyleftearwithsnowto-day，“saidhe。“Iwasjustintime。“
“Ithoughtitlookedprettyfreezyoutwhereyu’wasriding，“
saidtheforeman。
Thelostdog’seyesshowedplainastonishment。“Wedidn’tseeyououtthere，“saidhe。
“Well，“saidtheforeman，“it’llsoonnotbefreezinganymore；
andthenwe’llallbewarmenoughwithwork。Everybodywillbeworkingallovertherange。AndIwishIknewsomebodythathadalotofstableworktobeattendedto。Icert’nlydoforyoursake。“
“Why？“saidShorty。
“Becauseit’stherightkindofajobforyou。“
“Icanmakemore——“beganShorty，andstopped。
“Thereisatimecoming，“saidtheVirginian，“whenI’llwantsomebodythatknowshowtogetthefriendshipofhawsses。I’llwanthimtohandlesomespecialhawssestheJudgehasplansabout。JudgeHenrywouldpayfiftyamonthforthat。“
“Icanmakemore，“saidShorty，thistimewithstubbornness。
“Well，yes。Sometimesamancan——whenhe’snotworthit，Imean。
Butitdon’tgenerallylast。“
Shortywassilent。“Iusedtomakemoremyself，“saidtheVirginian。
“You’remakingalotmorenow，“saidShorty。
“Oh，yes。ButImeanwhenIwasfoolingaroundtheearth，jumpingfromjobtojob，andhellingallovertownbetweenwhiles。Iwasnotworthfiftyamonththen，nortwenty-five。ButtherewasnightsImadeaheapmoreatcyards。“
Shorty’seyesgrewlarge。
“Andthen，bang！itwasgonewithtreatin’themenandthegirls。“
“Idon’talways——“saidShorty，andstoppedagain。
TheVirginianknewthathewasthinkingaboutthemoneyhesentEast。“Afterawhile，“hecontinued，“Inoticedarightstrangefact。ThemoneyImadeeasythatIWASN’Tworth，itwentlikeitcame。Istrainedmyselfnonegettin’orspendin’it。ButthemoneyImadehardthatIWASworth，whyIbegantofeelrightcarefulaboutthat。AndnowIhavegotsavingsstowedaway。Ifonceyu’couldknowhowgoodthatfeels——“
“SoIwouldknow，“saidShorty，“withyourluck。“
“What’smyluck？“saidtheVirginian，sternly。
“Well，ifIhadtookuplandalongacreekthatnevergoesdryandproveduponitlikeyouhave，andifIhadsawthatlandraiseitsvalueonmewithmeliftingnofinger——“
“Whydidyouliftnofinger？“cutintheVirginian。“Whostoppedyu’takingupland？Diditnotstretchinfrontofyu’，behindyu’，allaroundyu’，thebiggest，baldestopportunityinsight？
ThatwasthetimeIliftedmyfinger；butyu’didn’t。“
Shortystoodstubborn。
“Butnevermindthat，“saidtheVirginian。“Takemylandawayto-morrow，andI’dstillhavemysavingsinbank。Because，yousee，Ihadtoworkrighthardgatheringthemin。IfoundoutwhatIcoulddo，andIsettleddownanddidit。Nowyoucandothattoo。Theonlytoughpartisthefindingoutwhatyou’regoodfor。
Andforyou，thatisfound。Ifyou’lljustdecidetoworkatthisthingyoucando，andgentlethosehawssesfortheJudge，you’llbehavingsavingsinabankyourself。“
“Icanmakemore，“saidthelostdog。
TheVirginianwasonthepointofsaying，“Thengetout！“Butinstead，hespokekindnesstotheend。“Theweatherisfreezingyet，“hesaid，“anditwillbeforagoodlongwhile。Takeyourtime，andtellmeifyu’changeyourmind。“
AfterthatShortyreturnedtothebunkhouse，andtheVirginianknewthattheboyhadlearnedhislessonofdiscontentfromTrampaswithathoroughnesspastallunteaching。ThispettytriumphofevilseemedscarceofthesizetocountasanyvictoryovertheVirginian。Butallmengraspatstraws。Sincethatfirstmoment，whenintheMedicineBowsaloontheVirginianhadshutthemouthofTrampasbyaword，themanhadbeentryingtogetevenwithoutrisk；andateachsuccessiveclashofhisweaponwiththeVirginian’s，hehadmerelymetanotherpublichumiliation。Therefore，nowattheSunkCreekRanchinthesecoldwhitedays，acertainlurkinginsolenceinhisgaitshowedplainlyhisopinionthatbydisaffectingShortyhehadmadesomesortofreprisal。
Yes，hehadpoisonedthelostdog。Inthespringtime，whentheneighboringranchesneededadditionalhands，ithappenedastheVirginianhadforeseen，——Trampasdepartedtoa“betterjob，“ashetookpainstosay，andwithhimthedocileShortyrodeawayuponhishorsePedro。
Lovenowwasnotanylongersnowbound。Themountaintrailswereopenenoughforthesurefeetoflove’ssteed——thathorsecalledMonte。Butdutyblockedthepathoflove。InsteadofturninghisfacetoBearCreek，theforemanhadotherjourneystomake，fullofheavywork，andwatchfulness，andcouncilswiththeJudge。Thecattlethievesweregrowingbold，andwinterhadscatteredthecattlewidelyovertherange。ThereforetheVirginian，insteadofgoingtoseeher，wrotealettertohissweetheart。Itwashisfirst。
TheletterwhichtheVirginianwrotetoMollyWoodwas，ashasbeenstated，thefirstthathehadeveraddressedtoher。I
think，perhaps，hemayhavebeenalittleshyastohisskillintheepistolaryart，alittleanxiouslestanysustainedproductionfromhispenmightcontainblundersthatwouldtoostaringlyremindherofhisscantlearning。Hecouldturnoffabusinesscommunicationaboutsteersorstockcars，oranyotherofthesubjectsinvolvedinhisprofession，withabrevityandaclearnessthatledtheJudgetoconfidethree-quartersofsuchcorrespondencetohisforeman。“Writetothe76outfit，“theJudgewouldsay，“andtellthemthatmywagoncannotstartfortheround-upuntil，“etc。；or“WritetoCheyenneandsaythatiftheywillholdameetingnextMondayweek，Iwill，“etc。AndthentheVirginianwouldwritesuchcommunicationswithease。
Buthisfirstmessagetohisladywasscarcelywrittenwithease。
Itmustbeclassed，Ithink，amongthoseproductionswhicharestyledliteraryEFFORTS。Itwascompletedinpencilbeforeitwascopiedinink；andthatfirstdraftofitinpencilwaswell-nighillegiblewitherasuresandamendments。Thestateofmindofthewriterduringitscompositionmaybegatheredwithoutfurtherdescriptiononmypartfromaslightinterruptionwhichoccurredinthemiddle。
Thedooropened，andScipioputhisheadin。“Youcomingtodinner？“heinquired。
“Yougotohell，“repliedtheVirginian。
“Mylinks！“saidScipio，quietly，andheshutthedoorwithoutfurtherobservation。
Totellthetruth，Idoubtifthisletterwouldeverhavebeenundertaken，farlesscompletedanddespatched，hadnotthelover’sheartbeenwrungwithdisappointment。Allwinterlonghehadlookedtothatdaywhenheshouldknockatthegirl’sdoor，andhearhervoicebidhimcomein。Allwinterlonghehadbeenchoosingtheridehewouldtakeher。Hehadimaginedasunnyafternoon，ahiddengrove，ashelteringcleftofrock，arunningspring，andsomewordsofhisthatshouldconquerheratlastandleavehislipsuponhers。Andwiththiscontrolledfirepentupwithinhim，hehadcountedthedays，scratchingthemoffhiscalendarwithadigeachnightthatonceortwicesnappedthepen。Then，whenthetrailstoodopen，thismeetingwasdeferred，putoffforindefinitedays，orweeks；hecouldnottellhowlong。So，grippinghispencilandtracingheavywords，hegavehimselfwhatconsolationhecouldbywritingher。
Theletter，dulystampedandaddressedtoBearCreek，setforthuponitstravels；andtheseweredeviousandlong。Whenitreacheditsdestination，itwassometwentydaysold。Ithadgonebyprivatehandattheoutset，takenthestagecoachatawaypoint，becomelateinthatstagecoach，reachedapointoftransfer，andwaitedthereforthepostmastertobegin，continue，end，andrecoverfromagameofpoker，mingledwithwl1iskey。
Thenitoncemoreproceeded，wasdroppedattherightwaypoint，andcarriedbyprivatehandtoBearCreek。Theexperienceofthisletter，however，wasnotatallaremarkableoneatthattimeinWyoming。
MollyWoodlookedattheenvelope。ShehadneverbeforeseentheVirginian’shandwritingSheknewitinstantly。Sheclosedherdoor。andsatdowntoreaditwithabeatingheart。