MyDearMissWood:Iamsorryaboutthis。Myplanwasdifferent。
Itwastogetoverforaridewithyouaboutnoworsooner。ThisyearSpringisearly。Thesnowisofftheflatsthissidetherangeandwherethesungetsachancetohittheearthstrongalldayitisgreenandhasflowerstoo，agoodmany。Youcanseethembobandmixtogetherinthewind。Thequaking-aspsdownlowontheSouthsideareinsmallleafandwillsoonbetwinklingliketheflowersdonow。IhadplannedtotakealookatthiswithyouandthatwasabetterplanthanwhatIhavegottodo。
ThewaterishighbutIcouldhavegotoverandasforthesnowontopofthemountainamantoldmenobodycouldcrossitforaweekyet，becausehehadjustdoneithimself。Wasnotheafunnyman？YououghttoseehowthebirdshavestreamedacrosstheskywhileSpringwascoming。Butyouhaveseenthemonyoursideofthemountain。ButIcan’tcomenowMissWood。ThereisalotformetodothathastobedoneandJudgeHenryneedsmorethantwoeyesjustnow。IcouldnotthinkmuchofmyselfifIlefthimformyownwishes。
ButthedayswillbewarmerwhenIcome。Wewillnothavetoquitbyfive，andwecangetoffandsittoo。Wecouldnotsitnowunlessforaveryshortwhile。IfIknowwhenIcancomeIwilltrytoletyouknow，butIthinkitwillbethisway。IthinkyouwilljustseemecomingforIhavethingstodoofanunsurenatureandagoodnumberofsuch。DonotbelievereportsaboutIndians。Theyarestartedbyeditorstokeepthesoldiersinthecountry。Thefriendsoftheeditorsgetthehayandbeefcontracts。IndiansdonotcometosettledpartslikeBearCreekis。Itisalleditorsandpoliticianists。
Nothinghashappenedworthtellingyou。IhavereadthatplayOthello。Nomanshouldwritedownsuchathing。Doyouknowifitistrue？IhaveseenoneworseaffairdowninArizona。Hekilledhislittlechildaswellashiswifebutsuchthingsshouldnotbeputdowninfinelanguageforthepublic。IhavereadRomeoandJuliet。ThatisbeautifullanguagebutRomeoisnoman。I
likehisfriendMercutiothatgetskilled。Heisaman。IfhehadgotJuliettherewouldhavebeennofoolishnessandtrouble。
WellMissWoodIwouldliketoseeyouto-day。DoyouknowwhatI
thinkMontewoulddoifIrodehimoutandletthereinslack？Hewouldcomestraighttoyourgateforheisahorseofgreatjudgement。(“That’sthefirstwordhehasmisspelled，“saidMolly。)IsupposeyouaresittingwithGeorgeTaylorandthosechildrenrightnow。ThenGeorgewillgetoldenoughtohelphisfatherbutUncleHewie’stwinswillbereadyforyouaboutthenandthesupplywillkeepcomingfromallquartersallsizesforyoutosaybigAlittleatothem。Thereisnonewshere。Onlycalvesandcowsandthehensarelayingnowwhichdoesalwaysseemnewstoaheneverytimeshedoesit。DidIevertellyouaboutahenEmilywehadhere？ShewasventuresometoanextentI
havenotseeninotherhensonlyshehadpoorjudgementandwouldmakenofamilyties。Shewouldkeeptryingtogetinterestinthetiesofotherstakingchargeoflittlechicksandbantamsandturkeysandpuppiesonetime，andshethoughtmostanythingwasanegg。Iwilltellyouabouthersometime。ShediedwithoutfamilytiesonedaywhileIwasbuildingahouseforhertoteachschoolin。(“Theoutrageouswretch！“criedMolly！“Andhercheeksturneddeeppinkasshesatalonewithherlover’sletter。)
IamcomingthefirstdayIamfree。IwillbeahundredmilesfromyoumostofthetimewhenIamnotmorebutIwillrideahundredmilesforonehourandMonteisuptothat。AfterneverseeingyouforsolongIwillmakeonehourdoifIhaveto。HereisaflowerIhavejustbeenoutandpicked。Ihavekisseditnow。ThatisthebestIcandoyet。
Mollylaidtheletterinherlapandlookedattheflower。Thensuddenlyshejumpedupandpressedittoherlips，andafteralongmomenthelditawayfromher。
“No，“shesaid。“No，no，no。“Shesatdown。
Itwassometimebeforeshefinishedtheletter。Thenoncemoreshegotupandputonherhat。
Mrs。Taylorwonderedwherethegirlcouldbewalkingsofast。Butshewasnotwalkinganywhere，andinhalfanhourshereturned，rosywithherswiftexercise，butwithaspiritasperturbedaswhenshehadsetout。
Nextmorningatsix，whenshelookedoutofherwindow，therewasMontetiedtotheTaylor’sgate。Ah，couldhehavecomethedaybefore，couldshehavefoundhimwhenshereturnedfromthatswiftwalkofhers！
Itwasnotevenanhour’svisitthattheVirginianwasabletopayhisladylove。Butneitherhadhecomeahundredmilestoseeher。Thenecessitiesofhiswanderingworkhadchancedtobringhimcloseenoughforaglimpseofher，andthisglimpsehetook，almostonthewing。Forhehadtorejoinacompanyofmenatonce。
“Yu’gotmyletter？“hesaid。
“Yesterday。“
“Yesterday！Iwroteitthreeweeksago。Well，yu’gotit。ThiscannotbethehourwithyouthatImentioned。Thatiscoming，andmaybeverysoon。
Shecouldsaynothing。Reliefshefelt，andyetwithitsomethinglikeapang。
“To-daydoesnotcount，“hetoldher，“exceptthateverytimeI
seeyoucountswithme。ButthisisnotthehourthatI
mentioned。“
Whatlittleelsewassaidbetweenthemuponthisearlymorningshallbetoldduly。Forthisvisitinitsowngoodtimedidcountmomentously，thoughbothofthemtookitlightlywhileitsfleetingminutespassed。HereturnedtohertwovolumesthatshehadlenthimlongagoandwithTaylorheleftahorsewhichhehadbroughtforhertoride。Asagood-by，heputabunchofflowersinherhand。Thenhewasgone，andshewatchedhimgoingbythethickbushesalongthestream。Theywerepinkwithwildroses；andthemeadow-larks，invisibleinthegrass，likehidingchoristers，sentupacrosstheemptymilesofairtheirunexpectedsong。Earthandskyhadbeenpropitious，couldhehavestayed；andperhapsoneportionofherhearthadbeenpropitioustoo。So，asherodeawayonMonte，shewatchedhim，halfchilledbyreason，halfmeltedbypassion，self-thwarted，self-accusing，unresolved。Thereforethedaysthatcameforhernowwereallofthemunhappyones，whileforhimtheywerefilledwithworkwelldoneandwithchangelesslonging。
Onedayitseemedasifalullwascoming，apauseinwhichhecouldatlastattainthathourwithher。HeleftthecampandturnedhisfacetowardBearCreek。ThewayledhimalongButteCreek。AcrossthestreamlayBalaam’slargeranch；andpresentlyontheotherbankhesawBalaamhimself，andreinedinMonteforamomenttowatchwhatBalaamwasdoing。
“That’swhatI’veheard，“hemutteredtohimself。ForBalaamhadledsomehorsestothewater，andwaslashingthemheavilybecausetheywouldnotdrink。HelookedatthisspectaclesointentlythathedidnotseeShortyapproachingalongthetrail。
“Morning，“saidShortytohim，withsomeconstraint。
ButtheVirginiangavehimapleasantgreeting，“IwasafraidI’dnotcatchyousoquick，“saidShorty。“Thisisforyou。“Hehandedhisrecentforemanaletterofmuchbatteredappearance。
ItwasfromtheJudge。Ithadnotcomestraight，butverygradually，inthepocketsofthreesuccessivecow-punchers。AstheVirginianglancedoveritandsawthattheenclosureitcontainedwasforBalaam，hisheartfell。Herewerenewordersforhim，andhecouldnotgotoseehissweetheart。
“Hello，Shorty！“saidBalaam，fromoverthecreek。TotheVirginianhegaveaslightnod。Hedidnotknowhim，althoughheknewwellenoughwhohewas。
“Hyeh’saletterfromJudgeHenryforyu’“saidtheVirginian，andhecrossedthecreek。
Manyweeksbefore，intheearlyspring，BalaamhadborrowedtwohorsesfromtheJudge，promisingtoreturnthematonce。ButtheJudge，ofcourse，wroteverycivilly。Hehopedthat“thisdunningreminder“mightbeexcused。AsBalaamreadthereminder，hewishedthathehadsentthehorsesbefore。TheJudgewasagreatermanthanheintheTerritory。Balaamcouldnotbutexcusethe“dunningreminder，“——buthewasreadytobedisagreeabletosomebodyatonce。
“Well，“hesaid，musingaloudinhisannoyance，“JudgeHenrywantsthembythe30th。Well，thisisthe24th，andtimeenoughyet。“
“Thisisthe27th，“saidtheVirginian，briefly。
Thatmadeadifference！NotsoeasytoreachSunkCreekingoodorderbythe30th！Balaamhaddriftedthreesunrisesbehindtheprogressofthemonth。Dayslookalike，andoftenlosetheirverynamesinthequietdepthsofCattleLand。Thehorseswerenotevenhereattheranch。Balaamwasreadytobeverydisagreeablenow。SuddenlyheperceivedthedateoftheJudge’sletter。HehelditouttotheVirginian，andstruckthepaper。
“What’syourideainbringingthisheretwoweekslate？“hesaid。
Now，whenhehadstruckthatpaper，ShortylookedattheVirginian。ButnothinghappenedbeyondacertainchangeoflightintheSoutherner’seyes。AndwhentheSouthernerspoke，itwaswithhisusualgentlenessandcivility。HeexplainedthattheletterhadbeenputinhishandsjustnowbyShorty。
“Oh，“saidBalaam。HelookedatShorty。Howhadhecometobeamessenger？“YouworkingfortheSunkCreekoutfitagain？“saidhe。
“No，“saidShorty。
BalaamturnedtotheVirginianagain。“HowdoyouexpectmetogetthosehorsestoSunkCreekbythe30th？“
TheVirginianlevelledalazyeyeonBalaam。“Iain’doin’anyexpecting，“saidhe。Hisnativedialectwasontopto-day。“TheJudgehasfriendsgoin’toarrivefromNewYawkforatripacrosstheBasin，“headded。“Thehawssesareforthem。“
Balaamgruntedwithdispleasure，andthoughtofthesixtyorseventydayssincehehadtoldtheJudgehewouldreturnthehorsesatonce。HelookedacrossatShortyseatedintheshade，andthroughhisuneasythoughtshisinstinctirrelevantlynotedwhatagoodponytheyouthrode。Itwasthesameanimalhehadseenonceortwicebefore。Butsomethingmustbedone。TheJudge’shorseswerefaroutonthebigrange，andmustbefoundanddrivenin，whichwouldtakecertainlytherestofthisday，possiblypartofthenext。
Balaamcalledtooneofhismenandgavesomesharporders，emphasizingdetails，andenjoininghaste，whiletheVirginianleanedslightlyagainsthishorse，withonearmoverthesaddle，hearingandunderstanding，butnotsmilingoutwardly。Themandepartedtosaddleupforhissearchonthebigrange，andBalaamresumedtheunhitchingofhisteam。
“Soyou’renotworkingfortheSunkCreekoutfitnow？“heinquiredofShorty。HeignoredtheVirginian。“WorkingfortheGooseEgg？“
“No，“saidShorty。
“SandHilloutfit，then？“
“No，“saidShorty。
Balaamgrinned。HenoticedhowShorty’syellowhairstuckthroughaholeinhishat，andhowoldandbatteredwereShorty’soveralls。ShortyhadbeengladtotakealittleaccidentalpayforbecomingthebeareroftheletterwhichhehaddeliveredtotheVirginian。Buteventhatsumwasnolongerinhispossession。
HehadpassedthroughDryboneonhisway，andatDrybonetherehadbeenagameofpoker。Shorty’smoneywasnowinthepocketofTrampas。Buthehadonevaluablepossessionintheworldlefttohim，andthatwashishorsePedro。
“Goodponyofyours，“saidBalaamtohimnow，fromacrossButteCreek。Thenhestruckhisownhorseinthejawbecauseheheldbackfromcomingtothewaterastheotherhaddone。
“Yourtraceain’tunhitched，“commentedtheVirginian，pointing。
Balaamloosedthestraphehadforgotten，andcutthehorseagainforconsistency’ssake。Theanimal，bewildered，nowcamedowntothewater，withitsheadintheair，andsnuffingasittookshort，nervoussteps。
TheVirginianlookedonatthis，silentandsombre。Hecouldscarcelyinterferebetweenanothermanandhisownbeast。NeitherhenorBalaamwasamongthosewhosaytheirprayers。Yetinthisomissiontheywerenotequal。Ahalf-greatpoetoncehadawhollygreatday，andinthatgreatdayhewasabletowriteapoemthathaslivedandbecome，withmany，ahouseholdword。HecalleditTheRimeoftheAncientMariner。Anditisrichwithmanylinesthatpossessthememory；butthesearethegoldenones:
“HeprayethwellwholovethwellBothmanandbirdandbeast。
HeprayethbestwholovethbestAllthingsbothgreatandsmall；
ForthedearGodwholovethus，Hemadeandlovethall。“
Theselinesarethepuregold。Theyaregoodtoteachchildren；
becauseafterthechildrencometobemen，theymaybelieveatleastsomepartofthemstill。TheVirginiandidnotknowthem，——buthishearthadtaughthimmanythings。IdoubtifBalaamknewthemeither。Butonhimtheywouldhavebeenaspearlstoswine。
“Soyou’vequittheround-up？“heresumedtoShorty。
ShortynoddedandlookedsidewiseattheVirginian。
FortheVirginianknewthathehadbeenturnedoffforgoingtosleepwhilenight-herding。
ThenBalaamthrewanotherglanceonPedrothehorse。
“Hello，Shorty！“hecalledout，fortheboywasdeparting。“Don’tyoulikedinneranymore？It’sreadyaboutnow。“
Shortyfordedthecreekandslunghissaddleoff，andoninvitationturnedPedro，hisbuckskinpony，intoBalaam’spasture。Thiswasgreen，therestofthewideworldbeingyellow，exceptonlywhereButteCreek，withitsborderingcottonwoods，coiledawayintothedesertdistancelikeagreensnakewithoutend。TheVirginianalsoturnedhishorseintothepasture。HemuststayattheranchtilltheJudge’shorsesshouldbefound。
“Mrs。Balaam’sEastyet，“saidherlord，leadingthewaytohisdiningroom。
HewantedShortytodinewithhim，andcouldnotexcludetheVirginian，muchasheshouldhaveenjoyedthis。
“SeeanyIndians？“heenquired。
“Na-a！“saidShorty，indisdainofrecentrumors。
“They’reheadin’theotherway，“observedtheVirginian。“BowLaigRangeiswheretheywasrepawted。“
