“Ahundredamonth！“saidtheenthusiast。Andbusycalculationsbegantoariseamongthem。
“Itwenttofiftypercent，“pursuedtheVirginian，“whenNewYorkandPhiladelphiagottobiddin’agaynsteachother。Bothcitieshadsignsallover’emclaimingtofurnishtheTularefrawg。Andbothhad’emallright。Andsameascattletrains，yu’dseefrawgtrainstearingacrosstArizona——bigglasstankswithwireover’em——throughtoNewYork，an’thefrawgsstarin’
out。“
“Why，George，“whisperedawoman’svoicebehindme，“he’smerelydeceivingthem！He’smerelymakingthatstuffupoutofhishead。“
“Yes，mydear，that’smerelywhathe’sdoing。“
“Well，Idon’tseewhyyouimaginedIshouldcareforthis。I
thinkI’llgoback。“
“Betterseeitout，Daisy。Thisbeatsthegeysersoranythingwe’relikelytofindintheYellowstone。“
“ThenIwishwehadgonetoBarHarborasusual，“saidthelady，andshereturnedtoherPullman。
Butherhusbandstayed。Indeed，themalecrowdnowwasagoodlysighttosee，howthemenedgedclose，drawnbyacommontie。
Theirdifferentkindsoffeettoldthestrengthofthebond——yellowsleeping-carslippersplantedmiscellaneousandmotionlessnearapairofMexicanspurs。AlleyeswatchedtheVirginianandgavehimtheirentiresympathy。Thoughtheycouldnotknowhismotiveforit，whathewasdoinghadfallenaslightuponthem——allexcepttheexcitedcalculators。ThesewereloudlymakingtheirfortunesatbothRawhideandTulare，druggedbytheirsatanicallyarousedhopesofgold，heedlessoftheslippersandthespurs。Hadamangivenanysigntowarnthem，Ithinkhewouldhavebeenlynched。EventheIndianchiefshadcometoseeintheirshowwarbonnetsandblankets。Theynaturallyunderstoodnothingofit，yetmagneticallyknewthattheVirginianwasthegreatman。Andtheywatchedhimwithapproval。Hesatbythefirewiththefrying-pan，lookinghisdailyself——engagingandsaturnine。AndnowasTrampasdeclaredticketstoCaliforniawouldbedearandRawhidehadbettercomefirst，theSouthernerletloosehisheaven-bornimagination。
“There’sabetterreasonforRawhidethantickets，Trampas，“saidhe。“IsaiditwastoolateforTulare。“
“Iheardyou，“saidTrampas。“Opinionsmaydiffer。YouandI
don’tthinkalikeonseveralpoints。
“Gawd，Trampas！“saidtheVirginian，“d’yu’reckonI’dberottinghyehonfortydollarsifTularewaslikeitusedtobe？
Tulareisbroke。“
“Whatbrokeit？Yourleaving？“
“Revengebrokeit，anddisease，“saidtheVirginian，strikingthefrying-panonhisknee，forthefrogswereallgone。Atthoseluridwordstheiruntamedchildmindstookfire，andtheydrewroundhimagaintohearataleofblood。Thecrowdseemedtoleannearer。
Butforashortmomentitthreatenedtobespoiled。Apassengercamealong，demandinginanimportantvoice，“Wherearethesefrogs？“HewasaprominentNewYorkafter-dinnerspeaker，theywhisperedme，andoutforaholidayinhisprivatecar。ReachingusandwalkingtotheVirginian，hesaidcheerily，“Howmuchdoyouwantforyourfrogs，myfriend？“
“Yougotafriendhyeh？“saidtheVirginian。“That’sgood，foryu’needcaretakenofyu’。“Andtheprominentafter-dinnerspeakerdidnotfurtherdiscommodeus。
“That’sworthmytrip，“whisperedaNewYorkpassengertome。
“Yes，itwasacaseofrevenge，“resumedtheVirginian，“anddisease。TherewasamannamedSayntAugustinegotrunoutofDomingo，whichisaDagoisland。HecometoPhiladelphia，an’hewasdeadbroke。ButSayntAugustinewasaliveman，an’hesawPhiladelphiawasfullo’Quakersthatdressedplainan’eathumdrum。Sohestartedcookin’Domingowayfor’em，an’theycaughtrightahold。Terrapin，hegave’em，an’croakeets，an’
he’dusefortychickenstomakeabrothhecalledconsommay。An’
hegotrich，andPhiladelphiagotwellknown，an’DelmonicoinNewYorkhegotjealous。Hewasthecookthathadthesay-soinNewYork。“
“WasDelmonicooneofthemI-talians？“inquiredafascinatedmutineer。
“Idon’tknow。Butheactedlikeone。Lorenzowashisfrontname。
Heaimedtocut——“
“Domingo’sthroat？“breathedtheenthusiast。“AimedtocutawaythetradefromSayntAugustinean’putPhiladelphiabackwherehethoughtshebelonged。Frawgswasthefashionableragethen。Theseforeigncookssetthefashionineatin’，sameasforeigndressmakersdowomen’sclothes。Bothcitieswascatchin’andswallowin’allthefrawgsTularecouldthrowat’em。Sohe——“
“Lorenzo？“saidtheenthusiast。
“Yes，LorenzoDelmonico。Hebidadollaratankhigher。An’SayntAugustineraisedhimfiftycents。An’LorenzoraisedhimadollarAn’SayntAugustineshovedherupthreeLorenzohedidn’texpectPhiladelphiawouldgothathigh，andhegothotinthecollar，an’flewroundhiskitcheninNewYork，an’claimedhe’dtwistSayntAugustine’sDomingotailforhimandcrackhisossifiedsystem。Lorenzoraisedhislanguagetoahightemperature，theysay。An’thenquitesuddenoffhestartsforTulare。HebuysticketsovertheSantaFe，andhegoesa-fannin’anda-foggin’。
But，gentlemen，hush！TheverysamedaySayntAugustinehetearsoutofPhiladelphia。Hetravelledbythewayo’Washington，an’
outhecomesa-fannin’an’a-foggin’overtheSouthernPacific。
OfcourseTularedidn’tknownothin’ofthis。Allitknowedwashowthefrawgmarketwasonsoarin’wings，anditvitasfeelin’
likeaflighto’rawckets。Ifonlythere’dbeensomepreparation，——atelegramorsomething，——thedisasterwouldneverhaveoccurred。ButLorenzoandSayntAugustinewasthatabsorbedwatchin’eachother——for，yu’see，theSantaFeandtheSouthernPacificcometogetheratMojave，an’thetwocookstravelledamatteroftwohundredan’tenmilesinthesamecyar——theyneverthoughtaboutatelegram。Andwhentheyarruv，breathless，an’
startedintoscreechin’whatthey’dgiveforthemonopoly，why，themunsuspectin’Tulareboysgotamusedat’em。Ineverheardjustalltheydone，buttheyhadLorenzosingin’anddancin’，whileSayntAugustineplayedthefiddleforhim。AndoneofLorenzo’sheelsdidgetatriflegrazed。Well，themtwocooksquitthatranchwithoutdisclosin’theiridentity，andsoonastheygottoasafedistancetheysworeeternalfriendship，intheirexcitableforeignway。AndtheywenthomeovertheUnionPacific，sharingthesamestateroom。Theirrevengekilledfrawgs。
Thedisease——“
“Howkilledfrogs？“demandedTrampas。
“Justkilled’em。DelmonicoandSayntAugustinewipedfrawgsofftheslateoffashion。NotabankerinFifthAvenue’lltouchonenowifanotherbanker’saroundwatchin’him。Andifeveryu’seeamanthathideshisfeetan’won’ttakeoffhissocksincompany，hehasworkedinthenTulareswampsan’gotthedisease。
Catchhimwadin’，andyu’llfindhe’sweb-footed。Frawgsaredead，Trampas，andsoareyou。“
“Riseup，liars，andsaluteyourking！“yelledScipio。“Oh，I’minlovewithyou！“AndhethrewhisarmsroundtheVirginian。
“Letmeshakehandswithyou，“saidthetraveller，whohadfailedtointeresthiswifeinthesethings。“IwishIwasgoingtohavemoreofyourcompany。“
“Thankye’，seh，“saidtheVirginian。
Otherpassengersgreetedhim，andtheIndianchiefscame，saying，“How！“becausetheyfollowedtheirfeelingswithoutunderstanding。
“Don’tshowsohumbled，boys，“saidthedeputyforemantohismostsheepishcrew。“ThesegentlemenfromtheEasthavebeenenjoyingyu’some，Iknow。Butthinkwhatawearywaittheyhavehadhyeh。Andyouinsistedonplayingthegamewithmethisway，yu’see。Whatoutletdidyu’giveme？Didn’tIhaveittodo？AndI’lltellyu’onethingforyourconsolation:whenIgottothemiddleofthefrawgsI’mostbelieveditmyself。“AndhelaughedoutthefirstlaughIhadheardhimgive。
Theenthusiastcameupandshookhands。Thatledoff，andtherestfollowed，withTrampasattheend。Thetidewastoostrongforhim。Hewasnotagracefulloser；buthegotthroughthis，andtheVirginianeasedhimdownbytreatinghimpreciselyliketheothers——apparently。Possiblythesupreme——themostAmerican——momentofallwaswhenwordcamethatthebridgewasopen，andthePullmantrains，withnoiseandtriumph，begantomovewestwardatlast。Everyonewavedfarewelltoeveryone，craningfromstepsandwindows，sothatthecarstwinkledwithhilarity；andintwentyminutesthewholeprocessioninfronthadmoved，andourturncame。
“LastchanceforRawhide，“saidtheVirginian。
“LastchanceforSunkCreek，“saidareconstructedmutineer，andallsprangaboard。Therewasnoquestionwhohadwonhisspursnow。
OurcaboosetrundledontoBillingsalongtheshinglycotton-woodedYellowstone；andastheplainsandbluffsandthedistantsnowbegantogrowwellknown，eventome，weturnedtoourbaggagethatwastocomeoff，sincecampwouldbegininthemorning。ThusIsawtheVirginiancarefullyrewrappingKenilworth，thathemightbringittoitsownerunharmed；andI
said，“Don’tyouthinkyoucouldhaveplayedpokerwithQueenElizabeth？“
“No；Iexpaictshe’dhavebeatme，“hereplied。“Shewasalady。“
ItwasatBillings，onthisday，thatImadethosereflectionsaboutequality。FortheVirginianhadbeenequaltotheoccasion:
thatistheonlykindofequalitywhichIrecognize。
IntowhatmoodwasitthattheVirginiannowfell？Beinglessbusy，didhebeginto“grieve“aboutthegirlonBearCreek？I
onlyknowthataftertalkingsolengthilyhefellintoaninedays’silence。Thetalkingpartofhimdeeplyandunbrokenlyslept。
Officialwordsofcoursecamefromhimaswerodesouthwardfromtherailroad，gatheringtheJudge’sstraycattle。Duringthemanyweekssincethespringround-up，someoftheseanimalshadasusualgotveryfarofftheirrange，andgettingthemonagainbecamethepresentbusinessofourparty。
Directionsandcommands——whatevercommunicationstohissubordinateswereneedfultotheforwardingofthis——hedulygave。Butroutinehasneveratanytimeoftheworldpassedforconversation。Hisutterances，suchas，“We’llworkWillo’Creekto-morro’mawnin’，“or，“Iwantthewagontobeatthefawkso’
Stinkin’WaterbyThursday，“thoughonsomeoccasionsnumerousenoughtosoundlikediscourse，neveroncebroketheman’struesilence。Seemingtokeepeasycompanywiththecamp，heyetkeptaltogethertohimself。Thattalkingpartofhim——themoodwhichbringsoutforyouyourfriend’sspiritandmindasafreegiftorasanexchange——wasdowninsomedarkcaveofhisnature，hiddenaway。Perhapsithadbeendreaming；perhapscompletelyreposing。TheVirginianwasoneofthoserareoneswhoareabletorefreshthemselvesinsections。Tohaveathingonhisminddidnotkeephisbodyfromresting。Duringourrecentjourney——itfeltyearsagonow！——whileourcabooseonthefreighttrainhadtrundledendlesslywestward，andthemenwereontheraggededge，theveryjumping-offplace，ofmutinyandpossiblemurder，Ihadseenhimsleeplikeachild。HesnatchedthemomentsnotnecessaryforvigilIhadalsoseenhimsitallnightwatchinghisresponsibility，readytospringonitandfastenhisteethinit。Andnowthathehadconfoundedthemwiththeirownattemptedweaponofridicule，hispowersseemedtobeprofoundlydormant。
Thatfinalpitchedbattleofwitshadmadethemenhiscaptivesandadmirers——allsaveTrampas。AndofhimtheVirginiandidnotseemtobeaware。
ButScipioleMoynewouldsaytomenowandthen，“IfIwasTrampas，I’dpullmyfreight。“Andonceheadded，“Pullitkindofcasual，yu’know，likeIwasn’tnoticingmyselfdoit。“
