themlittlethingsasnearasIcouldthewayIfoundthem，sothatthebearwouldnotsuspicionme。ForIwasaimingtogether。AndMissPeck，shesurewantedthehideforherbirthday。SoIwentback。Theshe-bearwasoff，andIcrumbupinsidetherock，andIwaitedaturrublelongspelltillthesuntravelledcleanaroundthecanyon。Mrs。Bearcomehomethough，abigcinnamon；andIraisedmygun，butlaiditdowntoseewhatshe’ddo。Shescrapesaroundandsnuffs，andthecubsstartwhining，andshetalksbackto’em。Nextshesitsupawfulbig，andliftsupacubandholdsittoherclosewithbothherpaws，sameasaperson。Andsherubbedherearaginthecub，andthecubsorto’nippedher，andshecuffedthecub，andtheothercubcametoddlin’，andawaytheystartsrollingallthreeof’em!Iwatchedthatforalongwhile。Thatbigthingjustnursedandplayedwiththemlittlecubs，beatin’emforachangeoncedinawhile，andtalkin’，andoncedinawhileshe’dsitupsolemnandlookallaroundsolife-likethatInearbusted。Why，howwasIgoin’
tospoilthat？SoIcomeaway，veryquiet，youbet!forI’dhavehatedtohaveMrs。Bearnoticeme。MissPeck，shelaughed。SheclaimedIwasscaredtoshoot。“
“Afteryouhadtoldherwhyitwas？“saidI。
“Beforeandafter。Ididn’ttellherfirst，becauseIfeltkindoffoolish。ThenTommywentandhekilledthebearallright，andshehastheskinnow。Ofcoursetheboysjoshedmeaheapaboutgettin’beatbyTommy。“
“Butsinceshehastakenyou？“saidI。
“Sheain’tsaidit。ButshewillwhensheunderstandsTommy。“
Ifanciedthattheladyunderstood。TheonceIhadseenhersheappearedtomeaswhatmightbetermedanexpertinmen，andonetounderstandalsotherealityofTommy’sranchandallowance，andhowgreatlythesedifferedfromBoxElder。ProbablytheonethingshecouldnotunderstandwaswhyLinsparedthemotherandhercubs。AdesertedhomeinDubuque，acareerinarailroadeating-house，asomewhatvaguepast，andapresentlackingcontext——indeed，IhopedwithallmyheartthatTommywouldwin!
“Lin，“saidI，“I’mbackinghim。“
“Backaway!“saidhe。“Tommycanpleaseawoman——himandhisblueeyes——
buthedon’tsavvyhowtomakeawomanwanthim，notanybetterthanheknowsaboutkillin’Injuns。“
“DidyouhearabouttheCrows？“saidI。
“Aboutyoungbucksgoingonthewar-path？Shucks!That’sputupbythepapersofthissection。They’reaimin’togetUncleSamtoorderhistroopsout，andthenfolkscansellhayandstuffto’em。IfTommybelievedanyCrows——“hestopped，andsuddenlyslappedhisleg。
“What’sthematternow？“Iasked。
“Oh，nothing。“Hetooktosinging，andhisfacegrewroguishtoitsfullextent。“Whatmadeyu’saythattome？“heasked，presently。
“Saywhat？“
“Aboutmarrying。Yu’don’tthinkI’dbetter。“
“Idon’t。“
“Oncedinawhileyu’tellmeI’mflighty。Well，Iam。Whoop-ya!“
“Coltsoughtnottomarry，“saidI。
“Sure!“saidhe。AnditwasnotuntilwecameinsightoftheVirginian’sblackhorsetiedinfrontofMissWood’scabinnexttheTaylors’thatLinchangedthelivelycourseofthoughtthatwasevidentlyfillinghismind。
“Tellyu’，“saidhe，touchingmyarmconfidentiallyandpointingtotheblackhorse，“forallherVermontrefinementshe’sawomanjustthesame。
Shelikeshimdanglingroundhersoearnest——himthatnobodyeversawdanglebefore。Andhehasquitspreein’withtheboys。Andwhatdoeshegetbyit？IamgladIwasnotraisedgoodenoughtoappreciatetheMissWoodsofthisworld，“headded，defiantly——“exceptatlongrange。“
AttheTaylors’cabinwefoundMissWoodsittingwithheradmirer，andTommyfromRiversidecometoadmireMissPeck。Thebiscuit-shootermightpassfortwenty-seven，certainly。Somethinghadagreedwithher——whetherthemedicine，orthemountainair，orsomuchmasculinecompany；whateverhaddoneit，shehadbloomedintobrutalcomeliness。Herhairlookedcurlier，herfigurewasshapelier，herteethshonewhiter，andhercheekswerealusty，overbearingred。AndtheresatMollyWoodtalkingsweetlytoherbig，graveVirginian；tolookatthem，therewasnodoubtthathehadbeen“raisedgoodenough“toappreciateher，nomatterwhathadbeenhisraising!
Lingreetedeveryonejauntily。“Howareyu’，MissPeck？Howareyu’，Tommy？“saidhe。“Hearthenews，Tommy？CrowInjunsonthewar-path。“
“Ideclare!“saidthebiscuit-shooter。
TheVirginianwasabouttosaysomething，buthiseyemetLin’s，andthenhelookedatTommy。Thenwhathedidsaywas，“Ihadn’tbeengoin’tomentionittotheladiesuntilitwasrightsure。“
“Youneedn’ttobeafraid，MissPeck，“saidTommy。“There’slotsofmenhere。“
“Who’safraid？“saidthebiscuit-shooter。
“Oh，“saidLin，“maybeit’slikemostnewswegetinthiscountry。Twoweeksstaleandaliewhenitwasfresh。“
“Ofcourse，“saidTommy。
“Hello，Tommy!“calledTaylorfromthelane。“Yourhorsehasbrokehisreinandrundownthefield。“
Tommyroseindisgustandspedaftertheanimal。
“Imustbecookingsuppernow，“saidKatie，shortly。
“I’llstirforyu’，“saidLin，grinningather。
“Comealongthen，“saidshe；andtheydepartedtotheadjacentkitchen。
MissWood’sgrayeyesbrightenedwithmischief。ShelookedatherVirginian，andshelookedatme。
“Doyouknow，“shesaid，“IusedtobesoafraidthatwhenBearCreekwasn’tnewanymoreitmightbecomedull!“
“MissPeckdoesn’tfinditdulleither，“saidI。
MollyWoodimmediatelyassumedalookofdoubt。“Butmightn’titbecomejust——justalittletryingtohavetwogentlemensovery——determined，youknow？“
“Onlyoneisdetermined，“saidtheVirginianMollylookedinquiring。
“LinisdeterminedTommyshallnotbeathim。That’sallitamountsto。“
“Dearme，whatanotion!“
“No，ma’am，nonotion。Tommy——well，Tommyisconsideredharmless，ma’am。
Acow-puncherofreputationinthiscountrywouldcert’nlyneverletTommygetahaidofhimthatway。“
“It’spleasanttoknowsometimeshowmuchwecount!“exclaimedMolly。
“Why，ma’am，“saidtheVirginian，surprisedatherflashofindignation，“whereisanycountin’withoutsomelove？“
“DoyoumeantosaythatMr。McLeandoesnotcareforMissPeck？“
“Ireckonhethinkshedoes。Butthereisamightywidedifferencebetweenthinkin’andfeelin’，ma’am。“
IsawMolly’seyesdropfromhis，andIsawtherosedeepeninhercheeks。Butjustthenaloudvoicecamefromthekitchen。
“You，Lin，ifyoutryanyofyourfoolin’withme，I’llhisteyu’soverthejiste!“
“Allcow-punchers——“Iattemptedtoresume。
“Quitnow，LinMcLean，“shoutedthevoice，“orI’llputyusthroughthatwindow，anditshut。“
“Well，MissPeck，I’mgettin’mostafulldoseo’thistreatment。Eversinceyu’comeI’vebeendoingmybest。Andyu’justcoughinmyface。
AndnowI’mgoingtoquitandcoughback。“
“Wouldyouenjoywalkin’outtillsupper，ma’am？“inquiredtheVirginianasMollyrose。“Youwasspeakingofgatheringsomeflowersyondeh。“
“Why，yes，“saidMolly，blithely。“Andyou’llcome？“sheaddedtome。
ButIwasontheVirginian’sside。“Imustlookaftermyhorse，“saidI，andwentdowntothecorral。
DaywasslowlygoingasItookmyponytothewater。CorncliffMesa，CrowheartButte，theseshoneintheraysthatcamethroughthecanyon。Thecanyon’ssidesliftedliketawnycastlesinthesamelight。WhereIwalkedtheodorofthousandsofwildroseshungoverthemarginwherethethicketsgrew。Highintheupperair，magpiesweresailingacrossthesilentblue。SomewhereIcouldhearTommyexplainingloudlyhowheandGeneralCrookhadpumpedleadintohundredsofIndians；andwhensupper-
timebroughtusallbacktothedoorhewasfinishingtheaccounttoMrs。
Taylor。MollyandtheVirginianarrivedbearingflowers，andhewassayingthatfewcow-punchershadanyreasonforsavingtheirmoney。
“Butwhenyougetold？“saidshe。
“Wemostlydon’tlivelongenoughtogetold，ma’am，“saidhe，simply。
“ButIhaveareason，andIamsaving。“
“Givemetheflowers，“saidMolly。AndshelefthimtoarrangethemonthetableasLincamehurryingout。
“I’vetoldher，“saidhetotheSouthernerandme，“thatI’veaskedhertwiced，andI’mgoingtoletherhaveonemorechance。AndI’vetoldherthatifit’salogcabinshe’smarryin’，whyTommyisasuregoodwoodenpieceoffurnituretoputinsideit。AndIguesssheknowsthere’snotmuchwoodenfurnitureaboutme。Iwanttospeaktoyou。“HetooktheVirginianroundthecorner。Butthoughhewouldnotconfideinme，I
begantodiscernsomethingquitedefiniteatsupper。
“CattlemenwilllosestockiftheCrowsgetdownasfarasthis，“hesaid，casually，andMrs。Taylorsuppressedatitter。
“Ain’tithawsesthe’rerepawtedasrunningoff？“saidtheVirginian。
“Chapcomeintotheround-upthisafternoon，“saidLin。“Buthewasrattled，andtoldaheapo’factsthatwouldn’tsquare。“
“Ofcoursetheywouldn’t，“saidTommy，haughtily。
“Oh，there’snothinginit，“saidLin，dismissingthesubject。
“Haveyu’beentotheoperasincewewenttoCheyenne，Mrs。Taylor？“
Mrs。Taylorhadnot。
“Lin，“saidtheVirginian，“didyueverseethatoperaCyarmen？“
“Youbet。Fellow’sgirlquitshimforabullfighter。Getshimupinthemountains，andquitshim。Hewasn’tmuchgood——notinherclasso’
sports，smugglin’andsuch。“
“Ireckonshewasdoubtfulofhimfromthestart。Tookhimtothemount’instoexperiment，wherethey’dnothaveinterruption，“saidtheVirginian。
“Talkingofmountains，“saidTommy，“thisrangehereusedtobeagreatplaceforIndianstillweran’emoutwithTerry。Pumpedleadintotheredsons-of-guns。“
“Youbet，“saidLin。“Doyu’figurethatgirltiredofherbull-fighterandquithim，too？“
“Ireckon，“repliedtheVirginian，“thatthebull-fighterworebetter。“
“Fansandtavernsandgypsiesandsportin’，“saidLin。“My!butI’dliketoseethemcountrieswithorangesandbull-fights!OnlyIexpectSpain，maybe，ain’tkeepin’itupsogayaswhen’Carmen’happened。“
Thetable-talksoonleftromanceandturneduponsteersandalfalfa，agrassbutlatelyintroducedinthecountry。NofurthermentionwasmadeofthehostileCrows，andfromthisIdrewthefalseconclusionthatTommyhadnotcomeuptotheirhopesinthematterofrecitinghiscampaigns。Butwhenthehourcameforthosevisitorswhowerenotspendingthenighttotaketheirleave，TaylordrewTommyasidewithme，andInoticedtheVirginianspeakingwithMollyWood，whosefaceshoweddiversion。
“Don’tseemtomakeanythingofit，“whisperedTaylortoTommy，“buttheladieshavegottheirmindsonthisIndiantruck。“
“Why，I’lljustexplain——“beganTommy。
“Don’t，“whisperedLin，joiningus。“Yu’knowhowwomenare。Oncetheytakeanotion，why，themoreyu’denythesurertheyget。Now，yu’see，himandme“hejerkedhiselbowtowardstheVirginian“mustgobacktocamp，forwe’reonsecondrelief。“
“Andtheladieswouldsleepbetterknowingtherewasanothermaninthehouse，“saidTaylor。
“Inthatcase，“saidTommy，“I——“
“Yu’see，“saidLin，“they’vebeentoldaboutTenSleepbeingburnedtwonightsago。“
“Itain’t!“criedTommy。
“Why，ofcourseitain’t，“drawledtheingeniousLin。“Butthat’swhatI
say。YouandIknowTenSleep’sallright，butwecan’treportfromourownknowledgeseeingitallright，andthereitis。Theygetthesenervousnotions。“
“Justdon’tappeartomakeanythingspecialofnotgoingbacktoRiverside，“repeatedTaylor，“but——“
“Butjustkindofstayhere，“saidLin。
“Iwill!“exclaimedTommy。“Ofcourse，I’mgladtooblige。“
IsupposeIwasslow-sighted。Allthispainsseemedtomelargerthanitsresults。TheyhadimposeduponTommy，yes。Butwhatofthat？HewastobekeptfromgoingbacktoRiversideuntilmorning。Unlesstheyproposedtovisithisemptycabinandplaytricks——butthatwouldbetoochildish，evenforLinMcLean，tosaynothingoftheVirginian，hisoccasionalpartnerinmischief。
“InspiteoftheCrows，“Isatiricallytoldtheladies，“Ishallsleepoutside，asIintended。I’venouseforhousesatthisseason。“