HowcouldItellherthatNate’sdeathwasthebestendthatcouldhavecometohim？ButIsaid：“Youknowyoudon’tthinkitwasyourfault。Youknowyouwoulddothesameagain。“Shelistenedtome，buthereyeshadnointerestinthem。“Heneverknewpain，“Ipursued，“andhedieddoingthethinghelikedbestintheworld。Hewashappyandenjoyinghimself，andyougavehimthat。It’sbadonlyforyou。Somewouldtalkreligion，butIcan’t。“
“Yes，“sheanswered，“Icanthinkofhimsogladtobefree。Thankyouforsayingthataboutreligion。Doyouthinkit’swickednottowantit——
tohateitsometimes？Ihopeit’snot。Thankyou，truly。“
Duringourjourneyshesummonedhercheerfulness，andallthatshesaidwaswholesome。Intherobust，coarsesoundnessofherfibre，thewoundsofgriefwouldhealandleavenosickness——perhapsnohighersensitivenesstohumansufferingsthanherbroadnativekindnessalreadyheld。Wetoucheduponreligionagain，andmyviewsshockedherKentuckynotions，forItoldherKentuckylockeditsreligioninanironcagecalledSunday，whichmadeitverysavageandfondofbitingstrangers。
NowandagainIwouldrunuponthatveinofdeep-seatedprejudicethatwasinhercharacterlikesomefinewire。Inshort，ourdisagreementsbroughtustotermsmorefamiliarthanwehadreachedhitherto。ButwhenatlastSeparcame，wherewasI？TherestoodMr。McLeanwaiting，andatthesuddennessofhimshehadnotimetorememberherself，butsteppedoutofthestagewithsuchasmilethattheardentcow-puncherflushedandbeamed。
“SoIwentawaywithouttellingyougoodbye!“hebegan，notwisely。“Mrs。
Piercehasbeencirculatingwartalkaboutme，youbet!“
ThemaideninJessaminespokeinstantly。“Indeed？Therewasnospecialobligationforyoutocallonme，orhertonoticeifyoudidn’t。“
“Oh!“saidLin，crestfallen。“Yu’suredon’tmeanthat？“
Shelookedathim，andwascompelledtomelt。“No，neighbor，Idon’tmeanit。“
“Neighbor!“heexclaimed；andagain，“Neighbor，“muchpleased。“Nowitwouldsoundkindo’pleasantifyou’dcallmethatforasteadything。“
“Itwouldsoundkindofodd，Mr。McLean，thankyou。“
“BlamedifIunderstandher，“criedLin。“BlamedifIdo。Butyou’regoingtounderstandmesurequick!“Herushedinsidethestation，spokesharplytotheagent，andreturnedinthesametremorofelationthathadpushedhimtoforwardnesswithhisgirl，andwithwhichheseemednearbursting。“I’vebeenherethreedaystomeetyou。There’saletter，andI
expectIknowwhat’sinit。Tuberclehasgotithere。“HetookitfromthelesshastyagentandthrustitinJessamine’shand。“Youneedn’ttofear。Pleaseopenit；it’sgoodnewsthistime，youbet!“HewatcheditinherhandastheboyofeightwatchesthestringofaChristmasparcelhewisheshisfatherwouldcutinsteadofsocarefullyuntie。“Openit，“
heurgedagain。“Keepingmewaitingthisway!“
“Whatintheworlddoesallthismean？“criedJessamine，stoppingshortatthefirstsentence。
“Read，“saidLin。
“You’vedonethis!“sheexclaimed。
“Read，read!“
Sosheread，withbigeyes。Itwasanofficialletteroftherailroad，writtenbythedivisionsuperintendentatEdgeford。IthopedMissBucknermightfeelliketakingthepositionofagentatSepar。Ifshewaswillingtoconsiderthis，wouldshestopoveratEdgeford，onherwayeast，andtalkwiththesuperintendent？IncasethedutiesweremorethanshehadbeenaccustomedtoontheLouisvilleandNashville，shecouldcontinueeastwiththelossofonlyaday。Thesuperintendentbelievedthesalarycouldbearrangedsatisfactorily。EnclosedpleasetofindanorderforafreeridetoEdgeford。
JessamineturnedherwonderingeyesonLin。“Youdiddothis，“sherepeated，butthistimewithextraordinaryquietness。
“Yes，“saidhe。“AndIamplumbproudofit。“
Shegavearichlaughofpleasureandamusement；alonglaugh，andstopped。“Didanybodyever!“shesaid。
“Wecancalleachotherneighborsnow，yu’see，“saidthecow-puncher。
“Ohno!ohno!“Jessaminedeclared。“ThoughhowamIevertothankyou？“
“Bynotargufying，“Linanswered。
“Ohno，no!Icandonosuchthing。Don’tyouseeIcan’t？Ibelieveyouarecrazy。“
“I’vebeenwaitingtohearyu’saythat，“saidthecomplacentMcLean。
“I’mnotargufying。We’lleatsuppernow。Theeast-boundisdueinanhour，andIexpectyou’llbewantingtogoonit。“
“AndIexpectI’llgo，too，“saidthegirl。
“I’llbeplumbproudtohaveyu’，“thecow-puncherassented。
“I’mgoingtogetmytickettoChicagorightnow，“saidJessamine，againlaughing，sunnyanddefiant。
“Youbetyouare!“saidtheincorrigibleMcLean。Helethergointothestationserenely。“Youcan’tgetusedtonewideasinaminute，“heremarkedtome。“I’vefiguredonallthat，ofcourse。Butthat’swhy，“hebrokeout，impetuously，“IquityouonBearCreeksosudden。’Whenshegoesbackawayhome，’I’dbeensayingtomyselfeveryday，’what’llyoudothen，LinMcLean？’Well，IknewI’dgotoKentuckytoo。JustknewI’dhaveto，yu’see，anditwasinconvenient，turrubleinconvenient——Billyhereandmyranch，andthebeefround-upcomin’——buthowcouldIlethergoandforgetme？Takeup，maybe，withsomeBlue-grassson-of-a-gunbackthere？AndIhatedthefixIwasintillthatmorning，gettingup，Iwasjoshin’theVirginiamanthat’safterMissWood。I’dbeensayin’noeducatedladywouldthinkofamanwhotalkedwithanAfricanaccent。
’It’srepottedyouhaveaSouthernrivalyourself，’sayshe，joshin’
back。SoIsaidIguessedtherivalwouldfindlifeuneasy。’Hedoes，’
sayshe。’Anymanwithhisvoicebrokeintwohalves，andonedowninhisstomachandoneupamongtheangels，isgoin’tofeeluneasy。ButTexastalksaheapabouthisladyvigilanteinthefreight-car。’’Vigilante!’I
said；andImusthavejumped，fortheyallaskedwherethelightninghadstruck。AndinfifteenminutesafterwritingyouI’dhitthetrailforSepar。Oh，Ifiguredthingsoutonthatride!“Mr。McLeanhereclappedmeontheback。“GottoSepar。Gotthesheriff’saddress——thesheriffthatsawherthatnighttheyheldupthelocomotive。GothimtomeetmeatEdgefordandmakeabigtalktothesuperintendent。Madeabigtalkmyself。Isaid，’PutthatgirlinchargeofSepar，andtheboys’llquitshootingyourwater-tank。ButTuberclecan’tinfluence’em。’’Tubercle？’
saysthesuperintendent。’What’sthat？’AndwhenItoldhimitwastheagent，heflappedhistwohandsdownonthechairarmseachsideofhimandwenttorockin’upanddown。Isaidtheagentwasjustatemptationtotheboystobegayrightalong，andthey’dkeepa-shooting。’YoucanchoosebetweenTubercleandyourtank，’Isaid；’butyou’vegottomoveoneof’emfromSeparifyu’wentpeace。’Thesheriffbackedmeupgood，too。Hesaidamancouldn’tdomuchwithSeparthewayitwasnow；butadecentwomanwouldberespectedthere，andtheonlyquestionwasifshecouldconductthebusiness。SoIspokeupaboutShawhan，andwhenthewholeideabegantosoakintothatsuperintendenthiseyeballsjingledandhelookedaswiseasawork-ox。’I’llseeher，’sayshe。Andhe’sgoingtoseeher。“
“Well，“saidI，“youdeservesuccessafterthinkingofathinglikethat!
You’rewhollywastedpunchingcattle。Butshe’sgoingtoChicago。Byeleveno’clockshewillhavepassedbyyoursuperintendent。“
“Why，soshewill!“saidLin，affectingsurprise。
Hebaffledme，andhebaffledJessamine。Indeed，hiseagernesswithherparcels，hisassistanceincheckinghertrunk，hischeerfulexaminationofcheckandtickettobesuretheyreadoverthesameroute，plainlyfailedtogratifyher。
Herfirmnessaboutgoingwassincere，butshehadlookedformoredissuasion；andthissprightlyabettalofherdepartureseemedtoleavesomethingvacantintheceremoniesShefellsingularlytaciturnduringsupperattheHotelBrunswick，andpresentlyobserved，“IhopeIshallseeMr。Donohoe。“
“Texas？“saidLin。“Iexpectthey’llhavetuckedhiminbedbynowupattheranch。Thelittlefellowisgrowingyet。“
“Hecanwalkroundafreight-carallnight，“saidMissBuckner，stoutly。
“I’vealwayswantedtothankhimforlookingafterme。“
Mr。McLeansmiledelaboratelyathisplate“Well，ifhe’snotactuallythinkinghe’llteaseme!“criedoutJessamine“ThoughheclaimsnottobefoolishlikeMr。Donohoe。Why，Mr。McLean，yousurelymusthavebeenyoungonce!Seeifyoucan’tremember!“
“Shucks!“beganLin。
Butherlaughterroutedhim。“Maybeyoudidn’tnoticeyouwereyoung，“
shesaid。“Butdon’tyoureckonperhapsthemenarounddid？Why，maybeeventhegirlskindo’did!“
“She’shardtobeat，ain’tshe？“inquiredLin，admiringly，ofme。
Inmyopinionshewas。Shehadherwish，tooaboutTexas；forwefoundhimwaitingontherailroadplatform，dressedinhisbest，tosaygood-bye。Thefriendlythingsshetoldhimlefthimshufflingandrepeatingthatitwasamistaketogo，abigmistake；butwhenshesaidthebutterwasnotgoodenough，hislaughcrackedjoyouslyupintothetreble。Thetrain’sarrivalbroughtquicksadnesstoherface，butshemadeherselfbrightagainwithaspecialfarewellforeachacquaintance。
“Don’tyourideanymorecow-catchers，“shewarnedBillyLusk，“orI’llhavetocomebackandlookafteryou。“
“Yousaidyouandmeweregoingforaride，andweain’t，“shoutedthelong-memoriednine-year-old。“Youwill，“murmuredMr。McLean，oracularly。
Asthetrain’spacequickenedhedidnotstepoff，andMissBucknercried“Jump!“
“Toolate，“saidhe，placidly。Thenhecalledtome，“I’mhardtobeat，too!“Sothetraintookthembothaway，asImighthaveguessedwashisintentionallalong。
“Isthatmarriageagain？“saidBilly，anxiously。“Hewouldn’ttellmenothing。“
“He’sjustseeingMissBucknerasfarasEdgeford，“saidtheagent。“Bebackto-morrow。“
“ThenIdon’tseewhyhewouldn’ttakemealong，“Billycomplained。AndSeparlaughed。
Buttheloverwasnotbackto-morrow。Hewascapableofanything，gossipremarked，andtookupnewthemes。Thesunroseandset，thetwotrainsmadetheirdailyslighteventandgathering；thewater-tank，glaringbulkilyinthesunbeaconedunmolested；andtheagent’snaturalsleepwasunbrokenbypistols，forthecow-boysdidnothappentobeintown。SeparlayaclotoftorporthatIwasgladtoleavebehindmeforawhile。Butnewsisastrange，permeatingsubstance，anditbegantobesiftedthroughtheairthatTuberclewasgoingtoGod’scountry。
Thatishowtheyphraseditincow-camp，meaningnotthenextworld，buttheEasternStates。
“It’scertainlyashamehimleavingafterwe’vegothimsogoodandusedtous，“saidtheVirginian。
“Wecan’ttellhimgood-bye，“saidHoneyWiggin。“Separ’llbeslow。“
“Wecangivehissuccessorarightheartywelcome，“theVirginiansuggested。
“That’syou!“saidHoney。“Schemin’mischiefawayahead。You’retheleadin’devilinthiscountry，andjustbecauseyu’wearafaithful-lookingfaceyou’retryin’tofoolapoorschool-marm。“
“Yes，“drawledtheSoutherner，“that’swhatI’maimingtodo。“
Sonowtheywerecuriousaboutthesuccessor，planningtheirheartywelcomeforthatofficial，andwereencouragedinthisbyMr。McLean。Hereappearedintheneighborhoodwithamannerandconversationhighlycasual。
“Bringyournewwife？“theyinquired。
“No；shepreferredKentucky，“Linsaid。
“Bringtheoldone？“
“No；shepreferredLaramie。“
“Kentucky’sarightsmartwaytochaseafteragirl，“saidtheVirginian。
“Sure!“saidMr。McLean。“IquitatEdgeford。“
Hemettheirfewremarkssosmoothlythattheygotnojoyfromhim；andbeingaskedhadheseenthenewagent，heansweredyes，thatTuberclehadgoneWednesday，andhissuccessordidnotseemtobemuchofaman。
ButtomeLinhadnothingtosayuntilnooncampwasscatteringfromitslunchtowork，whenhepassedclose，andwhispered，“You’llseeherto-morrowifyougoinwiththeoutfit。“Then，lookingroundtomakesurewewerealoneinthesage-brush，hedrewfromhispocket，cherishingly，alittleshiningpistol。“Hers，“saidhe，simply。
Ilookedathim。
“We’veexchanged，“hesaid。