To-morrownightIshouldprobablybecampingwiththeVirginianinthefoot-hills。Athisletter’sbiddingIhadcomeeastwardacrossIdaho，abandoningmyhuntingintheSawToothRangetomakethisjourneywithhimbackthroughtheTetons。Itwasatrailknowntohim，andnottomanyotherhonestmen。HorseThiefPasswasthenamehislettergaveit。Business(hewasalwaysbrief)wouldcallhimoverthereatthistime。Returning，hemustattendtocertainmattersintheWindRivercountry。ThereI
couldleavebystagefortherailroad，orgoonwithhimthewholewaybacktoSunkCreek。Hedesignatedforourmeetingtheforksofacertainlittlestreaminthefoot-hillswhichto-day’sridehadbroughtinsight。Therewouldbenochanceforhimtoreceiveananswerfrommeintheinterveningtime。Ifbyacertainday——whichwasfourdaysoffstill——Ihadnotreachedtheforks，hewouldunderstandIhadotherplans。Tomeitwaslikelivingbackinagesgone，thiswayofmeetingmyfriend，thischoiceofastreamsofarandlonelythatitsverycourseuponthemapswaswronglytraced。Andtoleavebehindallnoiseandmechanisms，andsetoutatease，slowly，withonepackhorse，intothewilderness，mademefeelthattheancientearthwasindeedmymotherandthatIhadfoundheragainafterbeinglostamonghouses，customs，andrestraints。Ishouldarrivethreedaysearlyattheforks——threedaysofmarginseemingtomeawiseprecautionagainstdelaysunforeseen。IftheVirginianwerenotthere，good；Icouldfishandbehappy。Ifheweretherebutnotreadytostart，good；Icouldstillfishandbehappy。AndrememberingmyEasternhelplessnessintheyearwhenwehadmetfirst，IenjoyedthinkinghowIhadcometobetrusted。InthosedaysIhadnotbeenallowedtogofromtheranchforsomuchasanafternoon’srideunlesstiedtohimbyastring，sotospeak；
nowIwascrossingunmappedspaceswithnoguidance。Themanwhocoulddothiswasscarceanylongera“tenderfoot。“
Myvision，asIrode，tookinserenelythedimfoot-hills，——to-morrow’sgoal，——andnearerinthevastwetplaintheclumpofcottonwoods，andstillnearermylodgingforto-nightwiththedottedcattleroundit。Andnowmyhorseneighed。Ifelthisgaitfreshenforthejourney’send，andleaningtopathisneckInoticedhisearsnolongerslackandinattentive，butpointingforwardtowherefoodandrestawaitedbothofus。Twiceheneighed，impatientlyandlong；andashequickenedhisgaitstillmore，thepackhorsedidthesame，andI
realizedthattherewasaboutmestillaspiceofthetenderfoot:
thosedotswerenotcattle；theywerehorses。
Myhorsehadputmeinthewrong。Hehadknownhiskindfromafar，andwashasteningtothem。Theplainsman’seyewasnotyetmine；andIsmiledalittleasIrode。WhenwasIgoingtoknow，asbyinstinct，thedifferentlookofhorsesandcattleacrosssometwoorthreemilesofplain？
Thesemileswefinishedsoon。Thebuildingschangedintheiraspectastheygrewtomyapproach，showingtheirdesolationmoreclearly，andinsomewaybringingapprehensionintomymood。Andaroundthemthehorses，too，allstandingwithearserect，watchingmeasIcame——therewassomethingaboutthem；orwasitthesilence？ForthesilencewhichIhadlikeduntilnowseemedsuddenlytobemadetoogreatbythepresenceofthedesertedbuildings。Andthenthedoorofthestableopened，andmencameoutandstood，alsowatchingmearrive。BythetimeIwasdismountingmorewerethere。ItwassenselesstofeelasunpleasantasIdid，andIstrovetogivetothemagreetingthatshouldsoundeasy。ItoldthemthatIhopedtherewasroomforonemorehereto-night。Someofthemhadansweredmygreeting，butnoneofthemansweredthis；andasIbegantobesurethatI
recognizedseveraloftheirstrangelyimperturbablefaces，theVirginiancamefromthestable；andatthatwelcomesightmyreliefspokeoutinstantly。
“Iamhere，yousee！“
“Yes，Idosee。“Ilookedhardathim，forinhisvoicewasthesamestrangenessthatIfeltineverythingaroundme。Buthewaslookingathiscompanions。“Thisgentlemanisallright，“hetoldthem。
“Thatmaybe，“saidonewhomInowknewthatIhadseenbeforeatSunkCreek；“buthewasnotdueto-night。“
“Norto-morrow，“saidanother。
“Noryetthedayafter，“athirdadded。
TheVirginianfellintohisdrawl。“Noneofyouwaseverearlyforanything，Ipresume。“
Oneretorted，laughing，“Oh，we’renotsuspicioningyouorcomplicity。“
Andanother，“NotevenwhenwerememberhowthickyouandSteveusedtobe。“
Whateverjokestheymeantbythishedidnotreceiveasjokes。I
sawsomethinglikeawincepassoverhisface，andaflushfollowit。Buthenowspoketome。“Weexpectedtobethroughbeforethis，“hebegan。“I’mrightsorryyouhavecometo-night。Iknowyou’dhavepreferredtokeepaway。“
“Wewanthimtoexplainhimself，“putinoneoftheothers。“Ifhesatisfiesus，he’sfreetogoaway。“
“Freetogoaway！“Inowexclaimed。ButattheindulgenceintheirfrontiersmileIcooleddown。“Gentlemen，“Isaid，“Idon’tknowwhymymovementsinterestyousomuch。It’squiteacompliment！MayIgetundershelterwhileIexplain？“
Norequestcouldhavebeenmorenatural，fortherainhadnowbeguntofallinstraightfloods。Yettherewasapausebeforeoneofthemsaid，“Hemightaswell。“
TheVirginianchosetosaynothingmore；buthewalkedbesidemeintothestable。Twomensattheretogether，andathirdguardedthem。AtthatsightIknewsuddenlywhatIhadstumbledupon；andontheimpulseImurmuredtotheVirginian，“You’rehangingthemto-morrow。“
Hekepthissilence。
“Youmayhavethreeguesses，“saidamanbehindme。
ButIdidnotneedthem。Andintherecoilofmyinsighttheclumpofcottonwoodscameintomymind，blackandgrim。Noothertreeshighenoughgrewwithintenmiles。This，then，wasthebusinessthattheVirginian’sletterhadsocurtlymentioned。Myeyeswentintoallcornersofthestable，butnootherprisonerswerehereIhalfexpectedtoseeTrampas，andIhalffearedtoseeShorty；forpoorstupidShorty’shonestyhadnotbeenproofagainstfrontiertemptations，andhehadfallenawayfromthecompanyofhisoldfriends。OftenoflateIhadheardtalkatSunkCreekofbreakingupacertaingangofhorseandcattlethievesthatstoleinoneTerritoryandsoldinthenext，andknewwheretohideinthemountainsbetween。Andnowithadcometothepoint；forceshadbeengathered，alongexpeditionmade，andheretheywere，successfulundertheVirginian’slead，butalittlelaterthantheircalculations。AndherewasI，alittletooearly，andawitnessinconsequence。Mypresenceseemedasimplethingtoaccountfor；butwhenIhadthusaccountedforit，oneofthemsaidwithgoodnature:-“Soyoufindushere，andwefindyouhere。Whichisthemostsurprised，Iwonder？“
“There’snotelling，“saidI，keepingasamiableasIcould；“noranytellingwhichobjectsthemost。“
“Oh，there’snoobjectionhere。You’rewelcometostay。Butnotwelcometogo，Iexpect。Heain’twelcometogo，ishe？“
BytheanswersthattheirfacesgavehimitwasplainthatIwasnot。“Nottillwearethrough，“saidone。
“Heneedn’ttoseeanything，“’anotheradded。“Bettersleeplateto-morrowmorning，“athirdsuggestedtome。
Ididnotwishtostayhere。Icouldhavemadesomesortofcampapartfromthembeforedark；butinthefaceoftheirneedlesscautionIwashelpless。ImadenoattempttoinquirewhatkindofspytheyimaginedIcouldbe，whatsortofrescueIcouldbringinthislonelycountry；mytooearlyappearanceseemedtobeallthattheylookedat。Andagainmyeyessoughttheprisoners。
Certainlytherewereonlytwo。Onewaschewingtobacco，andtalkingnowandthentohisguardasifnothingwerethematter。
Theothersatdullinsilence，notmovinghiseyes；buthisfaceworked，andInoticedhowhecontinuallymoistenedhisdrylips。
AsIlookedatthesedoomedprisoners，whosefateIwasinvitedtosleepthroughto-morrowmorning，theonewhowaschewingquietlynoddedtome。
“Youdon’trememberme？“hesaid。
ItwasSteve！SteveofMedicineBow！ThepleasantSteveofmyfirsteveningintheWest。Somechangeofbeardhaddelayedmyinstantrecognitionofhisface。Herehesatsentencedtodie。A
shock，chillandpainful，deprivedmeofspeech。
Hehadnosuchweakfeelings。“Haveyu’beentoMedicineBowlately？“heinquired。“That’sgettingtobequiteawhileago。“
Iassented。Ishouldhavelikedtosaysomethingnaturalandkind，butwordsstuckagainstmywill，andIstoodawkwardandillatease，noticingidlythatthesilentoneworeagrayflannelshirtlikemine。Stevelookedmeover，andsawinmypocketthenewspaperwhichIhadbroughtfromtherailroadandonwhichIhadpencilledafewexpenses。Heaskedme，WouldImindlettinghimhaveitforawhile？AndIgaveittohimeagerly，begginghimtokeepitaslongashewanted。Iwasovereagerinmyembarrassment。“Youneednotreturnitatall，“Isaid；“thosenotesarenothing。Dokeepit。“Hegavemeashortglanceandasmile。“Thankyou，“hesaid；“I’llnotneeditbeyondto-morrowmorning。“Andhebegantosearchthroughit。“Jake’selectionisconsideredsure，“hesaidtohiscompanion，whomadenoresponse。
“Well，FremontCountyowesittoJake。“AndIlefthiminterestedinthelocalnews。
DeadmenIhaveseennotafewtimes，evensomelyingpaleandterribleafterviolentends，andtheedgeofthiswearsoff；butIhopeIshallneveragainhavetobeinthecompanywithmenwaitingtobekilled。Bythistimeto-morrowthegrayflannelshirtwouldbebuttonedroundacorpse。UntilwhatmomentwouldStevechew？AgainstsuchfanciesastheseImanagedpresentlytobarricademymind，butImadeapleatobeallowedtopassthenightelsewhere，andIsuggestedtheadjacentcabin。BytheirfacesIsawthatmywordsmerelyhelpedtheirdistrustofme。Thecabinleakedtoomuch，theysaid；Iwouldsleepdrierhere。Onemangaveittomemoredirectly:“Ifyoufiguredoncampinginthisstable，whathaschangedyourmind？“HowcouldItellthemthatIshrunkfromanycontactwithwhattheyweredoing，althoughIknewthatonlysocouldjusticebedealtinthiscountry？TheirwholesomefronttiernervesknewnothingofsuchrefinementsButtheVirginianunderstoodpartofit。“Iamrightsorryforyourannoyance，“hesaid。AndnowInoticedhewasunderaconstraintverydifferentfromtheeaseoftheothers。
Afterthetwelvehours’ridemyboneswerehungryforrest。I
spreadmyblanketsonsomestrawinastallbymyselfandrolledupinthem；yetIlaygrowingbroaderawake，everyinchofwearinessstrickenfrommyexcitedsenses。Forawhiletheysatovertheircouncils，whisperingcautiously，sothatIwasmadecurioustohearthembynotbeingable；wasitthenamesofTrampasandShortythatwereonceortwicespoken~Icouldnotbesure。Iheardthewhisperersceaseandseparate。Iheardtheirbootsastheycastthemoffupontheground。AndIheardthebreathingofslumberbeginandgrowintheinteriorsilence。Tooneafteronesleepcame，butnottome。Outside，thedullfalloftherainbeatevenly，andinsomeangledrippedthespoutingpulsesofaleak。Sometimesacoldairblewin，bearingwithitthekeenwetodorofthesage-brush。Onhundredsofothernightsthisperfumehadbeenmylastwakingremembrance；ithadseemedtohelpdrowsiness；andnowIlaystaring，thinkingofthis。
Twicethroughthehoursthethievesshiftedtheirpositionswithclumsysounds，exchangingmutedwordswiththeirguard。So，often，hadIheardothercompanionsmoveandmutterinthedarknessandliedownagain。Itwastheverynaturalnessandusualnessofeveryfactofthenight，——thestablestraw，therainoutside，myfamiliarblankets，thecoolvisitsofthewind，——andwithallthisthethoughtofStevechewingandthemaninthegrayflannelshirt，thatmadethehoursunearthlyandstrungmetightwithsuspense。AndatlastIheardsomeonegetupandbegintodress。InalittlewhileIsawlightsuddenlythroughmyclosedeyelids，andthendarknessshutagainabruptlyuponthem。
Theyhadswunginalanternandfoundmebymistake。Iwastheonlyonetheydidnotwishtorouse。Movingandquiettalkingsetuparoundme，andtheybegantogooutofthestable。Atthegleamsofnewdaylightwhichtheyletinmythoughtswenttotheclumpofcottonwoods，andIlaystillwithhandsandfeetgrowingsteadilycold。Nowitwasgoingtohappen。Iwonderedhowtheywoulddoit；oneinstancehadbeendescribedtomebyawitness，butthatwasdonefromabridge，andtherehadbeenbutasinglevictim。Thismorning，wouldonehavetowaitandseetheothergothroughwithitfirst？
Thesmellofsmokereachedme，andnexttherattleoftindishes。
BreakfastwassomethingIhadforgotten，andoneofthemwascookingitnowinthedryshelterofthestable。Hewasalone，becausethetalkingandthestepswereoutsidethestable，andI
