“Howbeautiful！howIloveit！“whisperedthegirl“But，oh，howbigitis！“Andsheleanedagainstherloverforaninstant。Itwasherspiritseekingshelter。To-day，thisvastbeauty，thisprimalcalm，hadinitforhersomethingalmostofdread。Thesmall，comfortable，greenhillsofhomerosebeforeher。SheclosedhereyesandsawVermont。avillagestreet，andthepost-office，andIvycoveringanoldfrontdoor，andhermotherpickingsomeyellowrosesfromabush。
Atasound，hereyesquicklyopened；andherewasherloverturnedinhissaddle，watchinganotherhorsemanapproach。ShesawtheVirginian’shandinacertainposition，andknewthathispistolwasready。Buttheothermerelyovertookandpassedthem，astheystoodatthebrowofthehill。
ThemanhadgivenonenodtotheVirginian，andtheVirginianonetohim；andnowhewasalreadybelowthemonthedescendingroad。
ToMollyWoodhewasastranger；butshehadseenhiseyeswhenhenoddedtoherlover，andsheknew，evenwithoutthepistol，thatthiswasnotenmityatfirstsight。Itwasnotindeed。Fiveyearsofgatheredhatehadlookedoutoftheman’seyes。Andsheaskedherloverwhothiswas。
“Oh，“saidhe，easily，“justamanIseenowandthen。“
“IshisnameTrampas？“saidMollyWood。
TheVirginianlookedatherinsurprise。“Why，wherehaveyouseenhim？“heasked。
“Nevertillnow。ButIknew。“
“Mygracious！Yu’nevertoldmeyu’hadmind-readingpowers。“Andhesmiledserenelyather。
“IknewitwasTrampasassoonasIsawhiseyes。“
“Mygracious！“herloverrepeatedwithindulgentirony。“Imustbemightycarefulofmyeyeswhenyou’relookin’at’em。“
“Ibelievehedidthatmurder，“saidthegirl。
“Whosemindareyu’readin’now？“hedrawledaffectionately。
Buthecouldnotjokeheroffthesubject。Shelookhisstronghandinhers，tremulously，somuchofitasherlittlehandcouldhold。“Iknowsomethingaboutthat——that——lastautumn，“shesaid，shrinkingfromwordsmoredefinite。“AndIknowthatyouonlydid——“
“WhatIhadto，“hefinished，verysadly，butsternly，too。
“Yes，“sheasserted，keepingholdofhishand。“Isupposethat——lynching——“shealmostwhisperedtheword“istheonlyway。Butwhentheyhadtodiejustforstealinghorses，itseemssowickedthatthismurderer——“
“Whocanproveit？“askedtheVirginian。
“Butdon’tyouknowit？“
“Iknowaheapo’thingsinsidemyheart。Butthat’snotproving。
Therewasonlythebody，andthehoofprints——andwhatfolksguessed。“
“Hewasneverevenarrested！“thegirlsaid。
“No。Hehelpedelectthesheriffinthatcounty。“
ThenMollyventuredastepinsidetheborderofherlover’sreticence。“Isaw——“shehesitated，“justnow，Isawwhatyoudid。“
Hereturnedtohiscaressingirony。“You’llhavemeplumbscaredifyoukeeponseein’things。“
“Youhadyourpistolreadyforhim。“
“Why，IbelieveIdid。Itwasmightyunnecessary。“AndtheVirginiantookoutthepistolagain，andshookhisheadoverit，likeonewhohasbeencaughtinablunder。
Shelookedathim，andknewthatshemuststepoutsidehisreticenceagain。Byloveandhersurrendertohimtheirpositionshadbeenexchanged。
Hewasnotnow，asthroughhislongcourtinghehadbeen，herhalf-obeying，half-refractoryworshipper。Shewasnolongerhishalf-indulgent，half-scornfulsuperior。Herbetterbirthandschoolingthathadoncebeenweaponstokeephimathisdistance，orbringheroffvictoriousintheirencounters，hadgivenwaybeforetheonsetofthenaturalmanhimself。Sheknewhercow-boylover，withallthathelacked，tobemorethanevershecouldbe，withallthatshehad。Hewasherworshipperstill，buthermaster，too。Thereforenow，againstthebafflingsmilehegaveher，shefeltpowerless。Andonceagainapangofyearningforhermothertobenearherto-dayshotthroughthegirl。ShelookedfromheruntamedmantotheuntameddesertofWyoming，andthetownwhereshewastotakehimasherweddedhusband。Butforhissakeshewouldnotlethimguessherloneliness。
HesatonhishorseMonte，consideringthepistol。Thenheshowedherarattlesnakecoiledbytherootsofsomesage-brush。“CanI
hitit？“heinquired。
“Youdon’toftenmissthem，“saidshe，strivingtobecheerful。
“Well，I’mtoldgettingmarriedunstringssomemen。“Heaimed，andthesnakewasshattered。“Maybeit’stooearlyyetfortheunstringingtobegin！“Andwithsomedeliberationhesentthreemorebulletsintothesnake。“Ireckonthat’senough，“saidhe。
“Wasnotthefirstone？“
“Oh，yes，forthesnake。“Andthen，withonelegcrookedcow-boyfashionacrossinfrontofhissaddle-horn，hecleanedhispistol，andreplacedtheemptycartridges。
Oncemoresheventurednearthelineofhisreticence。“Has——hasTrampasseenyoumuchlately？“
“Why，no；notforarightsmartwhile。ButIreckonhehasnotmissedme。“
TheVirginianspokethisinhisgentlestvoice。Buthisrebuffedsweetheartturnedherfaceaway，andfromhereyesshebrushedatear。
HereinedhishorseMontebesideher，anduponhercheekshefelthiskiss。“Youarenottheonlymind-reader，“saidhe，verytenderly。Andatthissheclungtohim，andlaidherheaduponhisbreast。“Ihadbeenthinking，“hewenton，“thatthewayourmarriageistobewasthemostbeautifulway。“
“Itisthemostbeautiful，“shemurmured。
Heslowlyspokeouthisthought，asifshehadnotsaidthis。“Nofolkstostare，nofuss，nojokesandribbonsandbestbonnets，nopubliceyenortalkin’oftongueswhenmostyu’wanttohearnothingandsaynothing。“
Sheansweredbyholdinghimcloser。
“JustthebishopofWyomingtojoinus，andnotevenhimafterwe’reoncejoined。IdidthinkthatwouldbeaheadofallwaystogetmarriedIhaveseen。“
Hepausedagain，andshemadenorejoinder。
“Butwehaveleftoutyourmother。“
Shelookedinhisfacewithquickastonishment。Itwasasifhisspirithadheardthecryofherspirit。
“Thatisnowherenearright，“hesaid。“Whatiswrong。“
“Shecouldneverhavecomehere，“saidthegirl。
“Weshouldhavegonethere。Idon’tknowhowIcanaskhertoforgiveme。“
“Butitwasnotyou！“criedMolly。
“Yes。BecauseIdidnotobject。Ididnottellyouwemustgotoher。Imissedthepoint，thinkingsomuchaboutmyownfeelings。
Foryousee——andI’veneversaidthistoyouuntilnow——yourmotherdidhurtme。Whenyousaidyouwouldhavemeaftermyyearsofwaiting，andIwroteherthatlettertellingherallaboutmyself，andhowmyfamilywasnotlikeyours，and——and——alltherestItoldher，whyyouseeithurtmenevertogetawordbackfromherexceptjustmessagesthroughyou。ForIhadtalkedtoheraboutmyhopesandmyfailings。IhadsaidmorethaneverI’vesaidtoyou，becauseshewasyourmother。Iwantedhertoforgiveme，ifshecould，andfeelthatmaybeIcouldtakegoodcareofyouafterall。ForitwasbadenoughtohaveherdaughterquitherhometoteachschoolouthyehonBearCreek。Badenoughwithouthavin’metocomealongandmakeitworse。Ihavemissedthepointinthinkingofmyownfeelings。“
“Butit’snotyourdoing！“repeatedMolly。
Withhisdeepdelicacyhehadputthewholematterasahardshiptohermotheralone。Hehadsavedheranypainofconfessionordenial。“Yes，itismydoing，“henowsaid。“Shallwegiveitup？“
“Givewhat——？“Shedidnotunderstand。
“Why，theorderwe’vegotitfixedin。Plansare——well，they’renomorethanplans。Ihatethenotionofchanging，butIhatehurtingyourmothermore。Or，anyway，IOUGHTtohateitmore。Sowecanshift，ifyu’sayso。It’snottoolate。“
“Shift？“shefaltered。
“Imean，wecangotoyourhomenow。Wecanstartbythestageto-night。Yourmothercanseeusmarried。Wecancomebackandfinishinthemountainsinsteadofbeginninginthem。It’llbejustmerelyshifting，yu’sec。“
Hecouldscarcelybringhimselftosaythisatall；yethesaiditalmostasifhewereurgingit。Itimpliedarenunciationthathecouldhardlybeartothinkof。Toputoffhisweddingday，theblissuponwhosethresholdhestoodafterhisthreeyearsoffaithfulbattleforit，andthatweddingjourneyhehadarranged:
fortherewerethemountainsinsight，thewoodsandcanyonswherehehadplannedtogowithherafterthebishophadjoinedthem；thesolitudeswhereonlythewildanimalswouldbe，besidesthemselves。Hishorses，histent，hisrifle，hisrod，allwerewaitingreadyinthetownfortheirstartto-morrow。Hehadprovidedmanydaintythingstomakehercomfortable。Well，hecouldwaitalittlemore，havingwaitedthreeyears。Itwouldnotbewhathisheartmostdesired:therewouldbethe“publiceyeandthetalkingoftongues“——buthecouldwait。Thehourwouldcomewhenhecouldbealonewithhisbrideatlast。Andsohespokeasifheurgedit。
“Never！“shecried。“Never，never！“
Shepusheditfromher。Shewouldnotbrooksuchsacrificeonhispart。Weretheynotgoingtohermotherinfourweeks？Ifherfamilyhadwarmlyacceptedhim——buttheyhadnot；andinanycase，ithadgonetoofar，itwastoolate。Shetoldherloverthatshewouldnothearhim，thatifhesaidanymoreshewouldgallopintotownseparatelyfromhim。Andforhissakeshewouldhidedeepfromhimthislonelinessofhers，andthehurtthathehadgivenherinrefusingtosharewithherhistroublewithTrampas，whenothersmustknowofit。
Accordingly，theydescendedthehillslowlytogether，lingeringtospinouttheselastmileslong。Manyrideshadtaughttheirhorsestogosidebyside，andsotheywentnow:thegirlsweetandthoughtfulinhersedategrayhabit；andthemaninhisleathernchapsandcartridgebeltandflannelshirt，lookinggravelyintothedistancewiththelevelgazeofthefrontier。
Havingreadhissweetheart’smindveryplainly，thelovernowbrokehisdearestcustom。Itwashiscodenevertospeakillofanymantoanywoman。Men’squarrelswerenotforwomen’sears。
Inhisscheme，goodwomenweretoknowonlyafragmentofmen’slives。Hehadlivedmanyoutlawyears，andhiswideknowledgeofevilmadeinnocencedoublyprecioustohim。Butto-dayhemustdepartfromhiscode，havingreadhermindwell。Hewouldspeakevilofonemantoonewoman，becausehisreticencehadhurther——andwasshenotfarfromhermother，andverylonely，dowhathecould？Sheshouldknowthestoryofhisquarrelinlanguageaslightandcasualashecouldveilitwith。
Hemadeanobliquestart。Hedidnotsaytoher:“I’lltellyouaboutthis。YousawmegetreadyforTrampasbecauseIhavebeenreadyforhimanytimethesefiveyears。“Hebeganfarofffromthepointwiththatrootedcautionofhis——thatcautionwhichissharedbytheprimalsavageandtheperfecteddiplomat。
“There’scert’nlyarightsmarto’differencebetweenmenandwomen，“heobserved。
“You’requitesure？“sheretorted。
“Ain’titfortunate？——thatthere’sboth，Imean。“
“Idon’tknowaboutfortunate。Machinerycouldprobablydoalltheheavyworkforuswithoutyourhelp。
“Andwho’dinventthemachinery？“
Shelaughed。“Weshouldn’tneedthehuge，noisythingsyoudo。
Ourworldwouldbeagentleone。“
“Oh，mygracious！“
“Whatdoyoumeanbythat？“
“Oh，mygracious！Getalong，Monte！Agentleworldallfullofladies！“
“Doyoucallmengentle？“inquiredMolly。
“Nowit’safunnythingaboutthat。Haveyu’evernoticedajokeaboutfathers-in-law？There’sjustasmanyfathers-asmothers-in-law；butwhichsideareyourjokes？“
Mollywasnotvanquished。“That’sbecausethemenwritethecomicpapers，“saidshe。
“Hearthat，Monte？Themenwrite’em。Well，iftheladieswroteacomicpaper，Iexpectthatmightbegentle。“
Shegaveupthisbattleinmirth；andheresumed:-“Butdon’tyoureallyreckonit’suncommontomeetafather-in-lawflouncin’
aroundthehouse？Asforgentle——OnceIhadtosleepinaroomnextaladies’temperancemeetin’。Oh，heavens！Well，Icouldn’tchangemyroom，andthehotelman，heapologizedtomenextmawnin’。Saiditdidn’tsurprisehimthehusbandsdranksome。“