“I’ma-goingto。I’ma-goingtocampoutinthemountains。I’dliketoseeyouwhenyoucamp。I’dliketocampwithyou。Mightn’tIsometime？“
BillyhaddrawnnearertoLin，andwaslookingupathimadoringly。
“Youbet!“saidLin；andthoughhedidnot，perhaps，entirelymeanthis，itwaswithacuriouslysoftenedfacethathebegantolookatBilly。Aswithdogsandhishorse，soalwaysheplayedwithwhatchildrenhemet——
thefewinhissage-brushworld；butthiswasceasingtobequiteplayforhim，andhishandwenttotheboy’sshoulder。
“Fathertookmecampingwithhimonce，thetimemotherwasoff。Fathergetsawfuldrunk，too。I’vequitLaramieforgood。“
Linsatup，andhishandgrippedtheboy。“Laramie!“saidhe，almostshoutingit。“Yu’——yu’——isyournameLusk？“
Buttheboyhadshrunkfromhiminstantly。“You’renotgoingtotakemehome？“hepiteouslywailed。
“Heavenandheavens!“murmuredLinMcLean。“Soyou’reherkid!“
Herelaxedagain，downinhischair，hislegsstretchedtheirstraightlengthbelowthechairinfront。Hewaswakedfromhisbewildermentbyabrushingunderhim，andtherewasyoungBillydivingforescapetotheaisle，likethecorneredcitymousethathewas。LinnippedthatpoorlittleattemptandhadthelimpBillyseatedinsideagainbeforethetwoindiscussionbeyondhadseenanything。Hehadsaidnotawordtotheboy，andnowwatchedhisunhappyeyesseizinguponthevariousexitsanddispositionsofthetheatre；norcouldheimagineanythingtotellhimthatshouldrestoretheperishedconfidence。“Whydidyu’leadhimoff？“
heaskedhimselfunexpectedly，andfoundthathedidnotseemtoknow；
butashewatchedtherestlessandestrangedrunawayhegrewmoreandmoresorrowful。“Ijusthatehimtothinkthatofme，“hereflected。Thecurtainrose，andhesawBillymakeuphismindtowaituntiltheyshouldallbegoingoutinthecrowd。WhilethechildrenofCaptainGrantgrewhotterandhotterupontheirfather’sgeographictrail，Linsatsayingtohimselfanumberofcontradictions。“He’snothingtome；what’sanyofthemtome？“Driventobaybyhisbewilderment，herestatedthefactsofthepast。“Why，she’ddesertedhimandLuskbeforeshe’deverlaideyesonme。Ineedn’ttobothermyself。Hewasn’tneverevenmystep-kid。“Thepast，however，broughtnoguidance。“Lord，what’sthethingtodoaboutthis？IfIhadanyhome——Thisisastinkin’worldinsomerespects，“
saidMr。McLean，aloud，unknowingly。Theladyinthechairbeneathwhichthecow-puncherhadhislegsnudgedherhusband。TheytookitforemotionoverthesadfortuneofCaptainGrant，andtheirbacksshook。Presentlyeachturned，andsawthesingularmanwithuntamed，wide-openeyesgloweringatthestage，andbothbacksshookagain。
OncemorehishandwaslaidonBilly。“Say!“Theboyglancedathim，andquicklyaway。
“Lookatme，andlisten。“
Billyswervinglyobeyed。
“Iain’tafteryu’，andneverwas。Thishere’syourbusiness，notmine。
Areyu’listenin’good？“
Theboymadeanod，andLinproceeded，whispering：“You’vegotnocalltobelievewhatIsaytoyu’——yu’vebeenliedto，Iguess，prettyoften。SoI’llnotstopyu’runnin’andhidin’，andI’llnevergiveitawayIsawyu’，butyu’keepdoin’whatyu’please。I’lljustgonow。I’vesawallI
want，butyouandyourfriendsstaywithittillitquits。Ifyu’happentowishtospeaktomeaboutthatpistolorbears，yu’comearoundtoSmith’sPalace——that’sthebosshotelhere，ain’tit？——andifyu’don’tcometoolateI’llnotbegonetobed。ButthistimeofnightI’mliabletogetsleepy。Tellyourfriendsgood-byeforme，andbegoodtoyourself。I’veappreciatedyourcompany。“
Mr。McLeanenteredSmith’sPalace，and，engagingaroomwithtwobedsinit，didalittledelicatelyingbymeansofthetruth。“It’salostboy——
arunaway，“hetoldtheclerk。“He’llnotbeextraclean，Iexpect，ifhedoescome。Maybehe’llgivemetheslip，andI’llhaveajobcutoutto-morrow。I’llthankyu’toputmymoneyinyoursafe。“
Theclerkplacedhimselfatthedisposalofthesecretservice，andLinwalkedupanddown，lookingattherailroadphotographsforsometenminutes，whenMasterBillypeeredinfromthestreet。
“Hello!“saidMr。McLean，casually，andreturnedtoafinepictureofPike’sPeak。
Billyobservedhimforaspace，and，receivingnofurtherattention，camesteppingalong。“I’mnota-goingbacktoLaramie，“hestated，warningly。
“Iwouldn’t，“saidLin。“Itain’thalfthetownDenveris。Well，good-night。Sorryyu’couldn’tcallsooner——I’mdeadsleepy。“
“O-h!“Billystoodblank。“IwishI’dshookthedarnedoldshow。Say，lemmeblackyourbootsinthemorning？“
“Notsuremytraindon’tgotooearly。“
“I’mup!I’mup!Igetaroundtoallof’em。“
“Wheredoyu’sleep？“
“Sleepingwiththeengine-mannow。Whycan’tyouputthatonmeto-night？“
“Goin’up-stairs。Thisgentlemanwouldn’tletyougoup-stairs。“
Buttheearnestlypetitionedclerkconsented，andBillywasthefirsttohastenintotheroom。HestoodrapturouswhileLinbuckledthebeltroundhisscantystomach，andingeniouslybuttonedthesuspendersoutsidetheaccoutrementtoretarditsimmediatedescenttoearth。
“Diditeverkillaman？“askedBilly，touchingthesix-shooter。
“No。Itain’tneverhadtodothat，butIexpectmaybeit’sstoppedsomekillin’me。“
“Oh，leavemewearitjustaminute!Doyoucollectarrow-heads？Ithinkthey’rebully。There’sthefinestoneyoueverseen。“Hebroughtouttherelic，tightlywrappedinpaper，severalpieces。“Ifoun’itmyself，campingwithfather。Itwasstickinginacrackrightontopofarock，butnobody’dseenittillIcamealong。Ain’titfine？“
Mr。McLeanpronounceditagem。
“Fatheran’mefoundalot，an’theymademothermadlayingaround，an’
shethrowed’emout。ShetakesstufffromKelley’s。“
“Who’sKelley？“
“Hekeepsthedrug-storeatLaramie。Mothergetsawfulfunny。That’showshewaswhenIcamehome。ForItoldMr。Perkinshelied，an’Iranthen。
An’Iknowedwellenoughshe’dlickmewhenshegotthroughherspell——
an’fathercan’tstopher，an’I——ah，Iwassickofit!She’slamedmeuptwicebeatingme——an’Perkinswantingmetosay’Godblessmymother!’
a-gettingupanda-goingtobed——he’saflubdub!An’soIclearedout。
ButI’djustasleavessaidforGodtoblessfather——an’you。I’lldoitnowifyousayit’sanysense。“
Mr。McLeansatdowninachair。“Don’tyu’doitnow，“saidhe。
“Youwouldn’tlikemother，“Billycontinued。“Youcankeepthat。“HecametoLinandplacedthearrow-headinhishands，standingbesidehim。“Doyoulikebirds’eggs？Icollectthem。Igottwenty-fivekinds——sage-hen，an’bluegrouse，an’willow-grouse，an’lotsmorekindsharder——butI
couldn’tbringallthemfromLaramie。Ibroughtthemagpie’s，though。D’
youcaretoseeamagpieegg？Well，youstayto-morrowan’I’llshowyouthaten’someotherthingsIgottheengine-manletsmekeepthere，forthere’sboysthatwouldstealanegg。An’Icouldtakeyouwherewecouldfirethatpistol。Betyoudon’tknowwhatthatis!“
Hebroughtoutasmalltinboxshapedlikeathimble，inwhichwerethingsthatrattled。
Mr。McLeangaveitup。
“That’skinni-kinnicseed。Youcanhavethat，forIgotsomemorewiththeengine-man。“
Linreceivedthissecondtokenalso，andthankedthegiverforit。Hisfirstfeelinghadbeentopreventtheboy’spartingwithhistreasures，butsomethingthatcamenotfromthepolishofmannersandexperiencemadehimknowthatheshouldtakethem。Billytalkedaway，layingbarehislittlesoul；thestreetboythatwasnotquitecomemadeplaceforthechildthatwasnotquitegone，andunimportantwordsandconfidencesdroppedfromhimdisjointedasheclimbedtothekneeofMr。McLean，andinadvertentlytookthatcow-puncherforsomesortofparenthehadnothithertomet。Itlastedbutashortwhile，however，forhewenttosleepinthemiddleofasentence，withhisheaduponLin’sbreast。Themanheldhimperfectlystill，becausehehadnotthefaintestnotionthatBillywouldbeimpossibletodisturb。Atlengthhespoketohim，suggestingthatbedmightprovemorecomfortable；and，findinghowitwas，roseandundressedtheboyandlaidhimbetweenthesheets。Thearmsandlegsseemedawareofthemovesrequiredofthem，andstirredconveniently；anddirectlytheheadwasuponthepillowthewholesmallframeburroweddown，withouttheopeningofaneyeorachangeinthebreathing。Linstoodsometimebythebedside，withhiseyesonthelong，curlinglashesandthecurlyhair。Thenheglancedcraftilyatthedooroftheroom，andathimselfinthelooking-glass。HestoopedandkissedBillyontheforehead，and，risingfromthat，gavehimselfahangdogstareinthemirror，andsooninhisownbedwassleepingthesoundsleepofhealth。
Hewasfaintlyrousedbythechurchbells，andlaystill，lingeringwithhissleep，hiseyesclosed，andhisthoughtsunshaped。Ashebecameslowlyawareofthemorning，theringingandthelightreachedhim，andhewakedwholly，and，stilllyingquiet，consideredthestrangeroomfilledwiththebellsandthesunofthewinter’sday。“WherehaveI
strucknow？“heinquired；andaslastnightreturnedabruptlyuponhismind，heraisedhimselfonhisarm。
TheresatResponsibilityinachair，washedcleananddressed，watchinghim。
“You’reawfullate，“saidResponsibility。“ButIweren’ta-goingwithouttellingyougood-bye。“
“Go？“exclaimedLin。“Gowhere？Yu’surelyain’tleavin’metoeatbreakfastalone？“Thecow-punchermadehisvoiceveryplaintive。SetResponsibilityfreeafterallhistroubletocatchhim？Thiswasmorethanhecoulddo!
“I’vegottogo。IfI’dthoughtyou’dwantformetostay——why，yousaidyouwasa-goingbytheearlytrain!“
“Butthedurnedthing’sgotawayonme，“saidLin，smilingsweetlyfromthebed。
“IfIhadn’ta-promisedthem——“
“Who？“
“SidneyEllisandPeteGoode。Why，youknowthem；yougrubbedwiththem。“
“Shucks!“
“We’rea-goingtohavefunto-day。“
“Oh!“
“Forit’sChristmas，an’we’veboughtsomegoodcigars，an’Petesayshe’lllearnmesure。O’courseI’vesmokedsome，youknow。ButI’djustasleavesstayedwithyouifI’donlyknowedsooner。Iwishyoulivedhere。Didyousmokewholebigcigarswhenyouwasbeginning？“
“Doyoulikeflapjacksandmaplesyrup？“inquiredtheartfulMcLean。
“That’swhatI’mfiguringoninsidetwentyminutes。“
“Twentyminutes!Ifthey’dwait——“
“Seehere，Bill。They’vequitexpectingyu’，don’tyu’think？I’doughttowaked，yu’see，butIslep’andslep’，andkep’yu’frommeetin’yourengagements，yu’see——foryoucouldn’tgo，ofcourse。Amancouldn’ttreatamanthatwaynow，couldhe？“
“Coursehecouldn’t，“saidBilly，brightening。
“Andtheywouldn’twait，yu’see。Theywouldn’tfoolawayChristmas，thatonlycomesoncedayear，kickin’theirheelsandsayin’’Where’sBilly？’
They’dsay，’Billhassuremadeotherarrangements，whichhe’llexplaintousathisleesyure。’Andthey’dskipwiththecigars。“
Theadvocatepaused，effectively，andfromhisbolsterregardedBillywithaconvincingeye。
“That’sso，“saidBilly。
“Andwherewouldyu’bethen，Bill？Inthestreet，outoffriends，outofChristmas，andleftbothways，notobaccerandnoflapjacks。Now，Bill，whatdoyu’saytousputtingupaChristmasdealtogether？Justyouandme？“
“I’dlikethat，“saidBilly。“Isitallday？“
“Iwasthinkin’ofallday，“saidLin。“I’llnotmakeyu’doanythingyu’drathernot。“
“Ah，theycansmokewithoutme，“saidBilly，withsuddenacrimony。“I’llsee’emto-morro’。“
“That’syou!“criedMr。McLean。“Now，Bill，youhustledownandtellthemtokeepatableforus。I’llgetmyclothesonandfollowyu’。“
Theboywent，andMr。McLeanprocuredhotwateranddressedhimself，tyinghisscarfwithgreatcare。“WishedI’dacleanshirt，“saidhe。
“ButIdon’tlookverybad。Shavin’yesterdayafternoonwasagoodmove。“
Hepickedupthearrow-headandthekinni-kinnic，andwasparticulartostoretheminhissafestpocket。“Iain’tsurewhetheryou’recrazyornot，“saidhetothemaninthelooking-glass。“Iain’tneverbeensure。“
Andheslammedthedoorandwentdown-stairs。
HefoundyoungBillonguardoveratableforfour，withallthechairstiltedagainstitaswarningtostrangers。Noonesatatanyothertableorcameintotheroom，foritwaslate，andtheplacequiteemptiedofbreakfasters，andtheseveralentertainedwaitershadgatheredbehindBilly’simportant-lookingback。Linprovidedathoroughmeal，andBillypronouncedtheflannelcakessuperiortoflapjacks，whichwerenotuponthebilloffare。
“I’dliketoseeyouoften，“saidhe。“I’llcomeandseeyouifyoudon’tlivetoofar。“