Mr。McLeanwasintheticket-office，wherethenewspaperhadtransientlyremindedhimofpolitics。“WallStreet，“hewasexplainingtotheagent，“hasbeenlunchedonbythemRoss-childs，andthey’removingon。FeedingalongtoChicago。Wewant——“Herehenoticedmeand，dragginghisgauntletoff，shookmyhandwithhislustygrasp。
“Youreldestsonjustsaidyouwereinhastetofindme，“Iremarked。
“Loseyou，hemeant。Thekidgetshiswordstwisted。“
“Didn’tknowyouwereafather，Mr。McLean，“simperedtheagent。
Linfixedhiseyeontheman。“Andyoudon’tknowitnow，“saidhe。Thenheremovedhiseye。“Let’sgrub，“headdedtome。Myfrienddidnotwalktothehotel，butslowlyroundandabout，withafaceovercast。“Billyisagoodkid，“hesaidatlength，and，stopping，begantokicksmallmoundsinthedust。Politicsfloatedlightlyoverhim，butherewasamatterdwellingwithhim，heavyandreal。“He’sdeadstuckonbeingacow-puncher，“hepresentlysaid。
“Someday——“Ibegan。
“Hedon’twanttowaitthatlong，“Linsaid，andsmiledaffectionately。
“And，anyhow，whatis’someday’？Somedaywepuncherswillnotbehere。
Thelivingwillbescattered，andthedead——well，they’llbeallright。
Haveyu’studiedthewirefence？It’sspreadingtocatchuslikenetsdothesalmonintheColumbiaRiver。Nomoresalmon，nomorecow-punchers，“
statedMr。McLean，sententiously；andhiswordsmademesad，thoughI
knowthatprogresscannotsparelandandwaterforsuchthings。“ButBilly，“Linresumed，“hasagreedtoschoolagainwhenitstartsupinthefall。HetakeshismedicinebecauseIwanthimto。“Affectioncreptanewoverthecow-puncher’sface。“Hecanlearnbookswiththequickestwhenhewants，thatBearCreekschool-marmsays。Buthe’doughttohavearegularmothertill——tillIcandoforhim，yu’know。It’sonwholesomehimseeingandhearingtheboys——andme，andmewhenIforget!——butshucks!howcanIfixit？Billywassureenoughdroppedanddeserted。ButwhenIfoundhimthelittlecalfcouldrunandnoticelikeeverything!“
“Ishouldhateyourcontract，Lin，“saidI。“Adopting’satouch-and-gobusinessevenwhenamanhasahome。“
“I’llfillthecontract，youbet!Iwishthelittleson-of-a-gunwasmine。I’maheapmorenaturaltohimthanthatpairofdrunkardsthatgothim。Helikesme：Ithinkhedoes。I’vehadtolickhimnowandthen，butLord!hisbadnessisallright——notsneaky。I’lltakehimhuntingnextmonth，andthentheforeman’swifeatSunkCreekboardshimtillschool。
Onlywhentheymove，JudgeHenry’llmakehisVirginiamanforeman——andhe’sgotnowomantolookafterBilly，yu’see。“
“He’saskingonehardenough，“saidI，digressing。
“Ohyes；asking!Talkofadopting——“saidMr。McLean，andhiswide-open，hazeleyeslookedawayashecougheduneasily。Thenabruptlylookingatmeagain，hesaid：“Don’tyougetoffanymoretruckabouteldestsonandthat，willyu’，friend？Theboysarejoshingmenow——notthatIcareforwhatmighteasyenoughbeso，butthere’sBilly。Maybehe’dnotmind，butmaybehewouldafterawhile；andIamkindo’seton——well——hedidn’thaveagoodtimetillheshookthathomeofhis，andI’mgoingtomakethisoldbitchofaworldpayhimwhatsheoweshim，ifIcan。Nowyou’lldropjoshing，won’tyu’？“Hisforeheadwasmoistovergettingthethingsaidandlayingbaresomuchofhissoul。
“Andsotheworldowesusagoodtime，Lin？“saidI。
Helaughedshortly。“Shemusthavebeendeadbroke，then，quiteawhile，youbet!Ohno。MaybeIusedtotravelonthatbasis。Butseehere“Linlaidhishandonmyshoulder，“ifyoucan’texpectagoodtimeforyourselfinreason，youcansuremakethekidshappyouto’reason，can’tyu’？“
Ifairlyopenedmymouthathim。
“Ohyes，“hesaid，laughinginthatshortwayagainandhetookhishandoffmyshoulder；“I’vebeenthinkingawonderfullotsincewemetlast。
IguessIknowsomethingsyu’haven’tgottoyetyourself——Why，there’sagirl!“
“Thatthereis!“saidI。“Andcertainlytheworldowesherabetter——“
“She’safine-looker，“interruptedMr。McLean，payingmenofurtherattention。Herethedecrepit，straw-hattedproprietoroftheHotelBrunswickstuckhisbeardoutofthedooranduttered“Supper!“withashrillcroak，atwhichthegirlrose。
“Come!“saidLin，“let’shurry!“
ButIhookedmyfingersinhisbelt，andinspiteofhisplaintiveoathsatmylosinghimthebestseatatthetable，toldhiminthreewordsthesister’sdevotedjourney。
“NateBuckner!“heexclaimed。“Himwithadecentsister!“
“It’stheotherwayround，“saidI。“Herwithhimforabrother!“
“Hegoestothepenitentiarythisweek，“saidLin。“Hehadnomorecashtostakehislawyerwith，andthelawyerlostinterestinhim。SohissistercouldhavewaitedforherconvictawaybackatJoliet，andsavedtimeandmoney。Howdidsheactwhenyu’toldher？“
“I’venottoldher。“
“Not？Tookindo’notyourbusiness？Well，well!You’doughttoknowbetter’nme。Onlyitdon’tseemrighttolether——no，sir；it’snotright，either。PutitherbrotherwasdeadandMiss。Fligg’shusbandwouldlikedearlytomakehimdead，you’dnotlethercomeslapupagainstthenewsunwarned。Youwouldtellherhewassick，andstarthergently。“
“Death’sdifferent，“saidI。
“Shucks!Andshe’stofindhimcaged，andwaitingforstripesandashavedhead？Howd’yu’knowshemightn’thatethatworse’nifhe’dbeenjustshotlikeamaninahusbandscrape，insteadofjailedlikeaskunkforthieving？No，sir，shemustn’t。Thinkofhowit’llbe。Quickasthestagepullsupfronto’theBuffalopost-office，plumpshe’llbedownaheadofthemail-sacks，inquiringafterherbrother，andallthatcrowdaroundstaring。Why，wecan’tletherdothat；shecan’tdothat。Ifyoudon’tfeelsointerfering，I’mgoodforthisjobmyself。“AndMr。McLeantooktheleadandmarchedjinglingintosupper。
Theseathehadcovetedwasvacant。Oneithersidethegirlwereemptychairs，twoorthree；forwiththatclean，shyrespectofthefrontierthatdivinesandevadesagoodwoman，thedustycompanyhadsatitselfatadistance，andMr。McLean’sbestseatwasopentohim。Yethehadveeredawaytotheothersideofthetable，andhisusuallyrovingeyeattemptednogallantry。Heatesedately，anditwasnotuntilafterlongweeksandmanyhappeningsthatMissBucknertoldLinshehadknownhewaslookingatherthroughthewholeofthismeal。Thestraw-hattedproprietorcameandwent，bearingbeefsteakhammeredflattomakeittender。Thegirlseemedtheonehappypersonamongus；forsupperwasgoingforwardwiththeinvariablealkalietiquette，allfacesbroodingandfeedingamidadishearteningsilenceasofguiltorbereavementthatspringsfromIhaveneverbeenquitesurewhat——perhapsreversiontothenativeanimalabsorbedinhismeat，perhapsalittlefromeveryguest’suneasinesslesthedrinkhiscoffeewrongorstumbleintheacceptedusesofthefork。
Indeed，adiffident，uncleansedyouthnearestMissBucknerpresentlywipedhismouthuponthecloth；andMr。McLean，knowingbetterthanthat，eyedhimforthisconductinthepresenceofalady。Thelivelystrengthofthebuttermust，Ithink，havereachedallintheroom；atanyrate，thetable-clothlad，troubledbyMr。McLean’seye，nowrelievedthegeneralsilencebyobserving，chattily：
“Say，friends，thatbutterain’tinnotrance。“
“Ifit’stoorichforyou，“croakedtheenragedproprietor，“useaxle-dope。“
Thecompanycontinuedgravelyfeeding，whileIstruggledtopreservethedecorumofsadness，andMissBuckner’sfacewasalsounsteady。ButsternnessmantledinthecountenanceofMr。McLean，untiltheharmlessboy，embarrassedtopieces，offeredtheuntastedsmelling-dishtoLin，tome，helpedhimself，andfinallythrusttheplateatthegirl，saying，inhisTexasidiom，“Havebutter。“
Hespokeintheshellvoiceofadolescence，andon“butter“crackedanoctaveupintothetreble。MissBucknerwasspeechless，andcouldonlyshakeherheadattheplate。
Mr。McLean，however，thoughtshewasoffended。“Shewouldn’tchoosefornone，“hesaidtotheyouth，withappallingcalm。“Thankyu’mosttodeath。“
“Iguess，“flutedpoorTexas，inadovefalsetto，“itwouldgoslickerrubbedoutsidethanswallered。“
AtthisMissBucknerbrokefromthetableandfledoutofthehouse。
“Youdon’tseemtoknowanything，“observedMr。McLean。“Whattoy-shopdidyouescapefrom？“
“Windhimup!Windhimup!“saidtheproprietor，stickinghisheadinfromthekitchen。
“Ah，what’sthematterwiththisoutfit？“screamedtheboy，furiously。
“Can’tyu’leaveamaneat？Can’tyu’leavehimbe？Youmakemesick!“
Andheflouncedoutwithhisyoungboots。
Allthewhilethecompanyfedonunmoved。Presentlyoneremarked，“Who’shiringhim？“
“TheC。Y。outfit，“saidanother。
“Half-circleL。，“athirdcorrected。
“Iseenonelikehimonced，“saidthefirst，takinghishatfrombeneathhischair。“UpintheBlackHillshewas。Eighteenseventy-nine。Gosh!“
Andhewanderedoutuponhisbusiness。Onebyonetheothersalsosilentlydispersed。
Upongoingout，LinandIfoundtheboypacingupanddown，eagerlyintalkwithMissBuckner。Shehadmadefriendswithhim，andhewasnowsmootheddownanddeeplyabsorbed，beingledbyhertotellherabouthimself。ButonLin’sapproachhisfaceclouded，andhemadeoffforthecorrals，displayingasullenback，whileIwaspresentingMr。McLeantothelady。
Overtakenbyhiscow-punchershyness，Linwasgreetingherwithungainlyceremony，whenshebeganatonce，“You’llexcuseme，butIjusthadtohavemylaugh。“
“That’sallright，m’m，“saidhe；“don’tmentionit。“
“Forthatboy，youknow——“
“I’llfixhim，m’m。He’llnotinsultyu’nomore。I’llspeaktohim。“
“Now，pleasedon’t!Why——why——youwereeverybitasbad!“MissBucknerpealedout，joyously。“Itwasthetwoofyou。Ohdear!“
Mr。McLeanlookedcrestfallen。“Ihadno——Ididn’tgoto——“
“Why，therewasnoharm!Toseehimmeansowellandyoumeansowell，and——IknowIoughttobehavebetter!“
“No，yu’oughtn’t!“saidLin，withsuddenardor；andthen，inavoiceofdeprecation，“You’llthinkusplumbignorant。“
“Youknowenoughtobekindtofolks，“saidshe。
“We’dliketo。“
“It’stheonlythingmakestheworldgoround!“shedeclared，withanemotionthatIhadheardinhertoneonceortwicealready。Butshecaughtherselfup，andsaidgaylytome，“Andwhere’sthathouseyouweregoingtobuildforalonegirltosleepin？“
“I’mafraidthefoundationsaren’tlaidyet，“saidI。
“Nowyougentlemenneedn’tbotheraboutme。“
“We’llhaveto，m’m。Youain’tusedtoSepar。“
“Oh，Iamno——tenderfoot，don’tyoucallthem？“Shewhippedoutherpistol，andhelditatthecow-puncher，laughing。
Thiswouldhavegivennopleasuretome；butoverLin’sfeatureswentaglowofdelight，andhestoodgazingatthepointedweaponandthegirlbehindit。“My!“hesaid，atlength，almostinawhisper，“she’sgotthedroponme!“
“IreckonI’dbeafraidtoshootthatoneofyours，“saidMissBuckner。
“Butthishitsatargetrealgoodandstraightatfifteenyards。“Andshehandedittohimforinspection。
Hereceivedit，hugelygrinning，andturneditoverandover。“My!“hemurmuredagain。“Why，shucks!“HelookedatMissBucknerwithstarkrapture，caressingthepolishedrevolveratthesametimewithafond，unconsciousthumb。“YouholditjustassteadyasIcould，“hesaidwithpride，andadded，insinuatingly，“Icouldlearnyu’theprofessionaldropinamorning。Thishereisalittledandygun。“
“You’dnottrade，though，“saidshe，“forallyourflattery。“
“Willyu’trade？“pouncedLin。“Won’tyu’？“
“Now，Mr。McLean，Iamafraidyou’rethoughtless。Howcouldagirllikemeeverholdthatawful。45Coltsteady？“
“Sheknowsthebrands，too!“criedLin，inecstasy。“Seehere，“heremarkedtomewithamannerthatsmackedofcommand，“we’relosingtimerightnow。Yougoandtelltheagenttohustleandfixhisroomupforalady，andI’llbringheralong。“