Cannedstuffitwas，——cornedbeef。Andoneofmytablecompanionssaidthetruthaboutit。“WhenIslungmyteethoverthat，“heremarked，“IthoughtIwaschewingahammock。“Wehadstrangecoffee，andcondensedmilk；andIhaveneverseenmoreflies。I
madenoattempttotalk，fornooneinthiscountryseemedfavorabletome。Byreasonofsomething，——myclothes，myhat，mypronunciation，whateveritmightbe，Ipossessedthesecretofestrangingpeopleatsight。YetIwasdoingbetterthanIknew；
mystrictsilenceandattentiontothecornedbeefmademeintheeyesofthecow-boysattablecomparewellwiththeover-talkativecommercialtravellers。
TheVirginian’sentranceproducedaslightsilence。Hehaddonewonderswiththewash-trough，andhehadsomehowbrushedhisclothes。Withalltheroughnessofhisdress，hewasnowtheneatestofus。Henoddedtosomeoftheothercow-boys，andbeganhismealinquiet。
Butsilenceisnotthenativeelementofthedrummer。Anaveragefishcangoalongertimeoutofwaterthanthisbreedcanlivewithouttalking。Oneofthemnowlookedacrossthetableatthegrave，flannel-shirtedVirginian；heinspected，andcametotheimprudentconclusionthatheunderstoodhisman。
“Goodevening，“hesaidbriskly。
“Goodevening，“saidtheVirginian。
“Justcometotown？“pursuedthedrummer。
“Justcometotown，“theVirginiansuavelyassented。
“Cattlebusinessjumpingalong？“inquiredthedrummer。
“Oh，fair。“AndtheVirginiantooksomemorecornedbeef。
“Getsamoveonyourappetite，anyway，“suggestedthedrummer。
TheVirginiandranksomecoffee。Presentlytheprettywomanrefilledhiscupwithouthisaskingher。
“GuessI’vemetyoubefore，“thedrummer’statednext。
TheVirginianglancedathimforabriefmoment。
“Haven’tI，now？Ain’tIseenyousomewhere？Lookatme。YoubeeninChicago，ain’tyou？Youlookatmewell。RememberIkey’s，don’tyou？“
“Idon’treckonIdo。“
“See，now！Iknowedyou’dbeeninChicago。Fourorfiveyearsago。Ormaybeit’stwoyears。Time’snothingtome。ButIneverforgetaface。Yes，sir。Himandme’smetatIkey’s，allright。“
Thisimportantpointthedrummerstatedtoallofus。Wewerecalledtowitnesshowwellhehadprovedoldacquaintanceship。
“Ain’ttheworldsmall，though！“heexclaimedcomplacently。“Meetamanonceandyou’resuretorunontohimagain。That’sstraight。That’snobar-roomjosh。“Andthedrummer’seyeincludedusallinhisconfidence。Iwonderedifhehadattainedthathighperfectionwhenamanbelieveshisownlies。
TheVirginiandidnotseeminterested。Heplacidlyattendedtohisfood，whileourlandladymovedbetweendiningroomandkitchen，andthedrummerexpanded。
“Yes，sir！Ikey’soverbythestock-yards，patronizedbyallcattlementhatknowwhat’swhat。That’swhere。Maybeit’sthreeyears。Timeneverwasnothingtome。Butfaces！Why，Ican’tquit’em。Adultsorchildren，maleandfemale；oncedIseen’emI
couldn’tloseoneoffmymemory，notifyouweretopaymebounty，fivedollarsaface。Whitemen，thatis。Can’tdonothingwithriggersorChinese。Butyou’rewhite，allright。“ThedrummersuddenlyreturnedtotheVirginianwiththishighcompliment，Thecow-puncherhadtakenoutapipe，andwasslowlyrubbingit。Thecomplimentseemedtoescapehisattention，andthedrummerwenton。
“Icantellamanwhenhe’swhite，puthimatIkey’soroutloosehereinthesage-brush。“AndherolledacigaracrosstotheVirginian’splate。
“Sellingthem？“inquiredtheVirginian。
“Solidgoods，myfriend。Havanawrappers，thebiggesttobaccopropositionforfivecentsgotoutyet。Takeit，tryit，lightit，watchitburn。Here。“Andheheldoutabunchofmatches。
TheVirginiantossedafive-centpieceovertohim。
“Oh，no，myfriend！Notfromyou！NotafterIkey’s。Idon’tforgetyou。See？Iknowedyourfacerightaway。See？That’sstraight。IseenyouatChicagoallright。“
“Maybeyoudid，“saidtheVirginian。“SometimesI’mmightycarelesswhatIlookat。“
“Well，pydamn！“nowexclaimedtheDutchdrummer，hilariously。“I
amploomdisappointed。Ivashopingtosellhimsomedingsmyself。“
“Notthesamehere，“statedtheAmerican。“He’stoohealthyforme。Igavehimuponsight。“
NowitwastheAmericandrummerwhosebedtheVirginianhadinhiseye。Thiswasasensibleman，andhadtalkedlessthanhisbrothersinthetrade。Ihadlittledoubtwhowouldendbysleepinginhisbed；buthowthethingwouldbedoneinterestedmemoredeeplythanever。
TheVirginianlookedamiablyathisintendedvictim，andmadeoneortworemarksregardingpatentmedicines，Theremustbeagooddealofmoneyinthem，hesupposed，withalivemantomanagethem。Thevictimwasflattered。Nootherpersonatthetablehadbeenfavoredwithsomuchofthetallcow-puncher’snotice。Heresponded，andtheyhadapleasanttalk。IdidnotdivinethattheVirginian’sgeniuswaseventhenatwork，andthatallthiswaspartofhissatanicstrategy。ButStevemusthavedivinedit。
Forwhileafewofusstillsatfinishingoursupper，thatfacetioushorsemanreturnedfromdoctoringhishorse’shoofs，puthisheadintothediningroom，tookinthewayinwhichtheVirginianwasengaginghisvictiminconversation，remarkedaloud，“I’velost！“andclosedthedooragain。
“What’shelost？“inquiredtheAmericandrummer。
“Oh，youmustn’tmindhim，“drawledtheVirginian。“He’soneofthosebox-headjokersgoesaroundopenin’andshuttin’doorsthat-a-way。Wecallhimharmless。Well，“hebrokeoff，“IreckonI’llgosmoke。Notallowedinhyeh？“Thislastheaddressedtothelandlady，withespecialgentleness。Sheshookherhead，andhereyesfollowedhimashewentout。
LefttomyselfImeditatedforsometimeuponmylodgingforthenight，andsmokedacigarforconsolationasIwalkedabout。Itwasnotahotelthatwehadsuppedin。HotelatMedicineBowthereappearedtobenone。Butconnectedwiththeeating-housewasthatplacewhere，accordingtoSteve，thebedswerealltaken，andthereIwenttoseeformyself。Stevehadspokenthetruth。Itwasasingleapartmentcontainingfourorfivebeds，andnothingelsewhatever。AndwhenIlookedatthesebeds，mysorrowthatIcouldsleepinnoneofthemgrewless。Tobealoneinoneofferednotemptation，andasforthiscourtesyofthecountry，thisdoublingup——！
“Well，theyhavegotaheadofus。“ThiswastheVirginianstandingatmyelbow。
Iassented。
“Theyhavestakedouttheirclaims，“headded。
Inthispublicsleepingroomtheyhaddonewhatonedoestosecureaseatinarailroadtrain。Uponeachbed，asnoticeofoccupancy，laysomearticleoftravelorofdress。Aswestoodthere，thetwoJewscameinandopenedandarrangedtheirvalises，andfoldedandrefoldedtheirlinendusters。Thenarailroademployeeenteredandbegantogotobedatthishour，beforeduskhadwhollydarkenedintonight。Forhim，goingtobedmeantremovinghisbootsandplacinghisoverallsandwaistcoatbeneathhispillow。Hehadnocoat。Hisworkbeganatthreeinthemorning；andevenaswestilltalkedhebegantosnore。
“Themanthatkeepsthestoreisafriendofmine，“saidtheVirginian；“andyoucanbeprettynearcomfortableonhiscounter。GotanyBlankets？“
Ihadnoblankets。
“Lookingforabed？“inquiredtheAmericandrummer，nowarriving。
“Yes，he’slookingforabed，“answeredthevoiceofStevebehindhim。
“Seemsawasteoftime，“observedtheVirginian。Helookedthoughtfullyfromonebedtoanother。“Ididn’tknowI’dhavetolayoverhere。Well，Ihavesatupbefore。“
“Thisone’smine，“saidthedrummer，sittingdownonit。“Half’splentyenoughroomforme。“
“You’recert’nlymightykind，“saidthecowpuncher。“ButI’dnotthinko’disconveniencingyu’。“
“That’snothing。Theotherhalfisyours。Turninrightnowifyoufeellikeit。“
“No。Idon’treckonI’llturninrightnow。Betterkeepyourbedtoyourself。“
“Seehere，“urgedthedrummer，“ifItakeyouI’msafefromdrawingsomepartyImightnotcaresomuchabout。Thisheresleepingpropositionisalottery。“
“Well，“saidtheVirginian(andhishesitationwastrulymasterly)，“ifyouputitthatway——“
“Idoputitthatway。Why，you’reclean！You’vehadashaverightnow。Youturninwhenyoufeelinclined，oldman！Iain’tretiringjustyet。“
Thedrummerhadstruckaslightlyfalsenoteintheselastremarks。Heshouldnothavesaid“oldman。“UntilthisIhadthoughthimmerelyanamiablepersonwhowishedtodoafavor。
But“oldman“cameinwrong。Ithadahatefultaintofhisprofession；thebeingtoosoonwitheverybody，thecelluloidgood-fellowshipthatpassesforivorywithnineintenofthecitycrowd。Butnotsowiththesonsofthesagebrush。Theylivenearernature，andtheyknowbetter。
ButtheVirginianblandlyaccepted“oldman“fromhisvictim:hehadagametoplay。“Well，Icert’nlythankyu’，“hesaid。“AfterawhileI’lltakeadvantageofyourkindoffer。“
Iwassurprised。Possessionbeingninepointsofthelaw，itseemedhisverychancetointrenchhimselfinthebed。Butthecow-puncherhadplannedacampaignneedingnointrenchments。
Moreover，goingtobedbeforenineo’clockuponthefirsteveninginmanyweeksthatatown’sresourceswereopentoyou，wouldbeadullproceeding。Ourentirecompany，drummerandall，nowwalkedovertothestore，andheremysleepingarrangementsweremadeeasily。ThisstorewasthecleanestplaceandthebestinMedicineBow，andwouldhavebeenagoodstoreanywhere，offeringamultitudeofthingsforsale，andkeptbyaverycivilproprietor。Hebadememakemyselfathome，andplacedbothofhiscountersatmydisposal。Uponthegrocerysidetherestoodacheesetoolargeandstrongtosleepnearcomfortably，andI
thereforechosethedry-goodsside。Herethickquiltswereunrolledforme，tomakeitsoft；andnoconditionwasplaceduponme，furtherthanthatIshouldremovemyboots，becausethequiltswerenew，andclean，andforsale。Sonowmyrestwasassured。Notananxietyremainedinmythoughts。Thesethereforeturnedthemselveswhollytotheotherman’sbed，andhowhewasgoingtoloseit。
IthinkthatStevewasmorecuriouseventhanmyself。Timewasonthewing。Hisbetmustbedecided，andthedrinksenjoyed。Hestoodagainstthegrocerycounter，contemplatingtheVirginian。
Butitwastomethathespoke。TheVirginian，however，listenedtoeveryword。
“Yourfirstvisittothiscountry？“
Itoldhimyes。
“Howdoyoulikeit？“
Iexpectedtolikeitverymuch。
“Howdoestheclimatestrikeyou？
Ithoughttheclimatewasfine。
“Makesamanthirstythough。“
Thiswasthesub-currentwhichtheVirginianplainlylookedfor。
Buthe，likeSteve，addressedhimselftome。
“Yes，“heputin，“thirstywhileaman’ssoftyet。You’llharden。“
“Iguessyou’llfinditadriercountrythanyouweregiventoexpect，“saidSteve。
“Ifyourhabitshavebeenfrequentthatway，“saidtheVirginian。
“There’spartsofWyoming，“pursuedSteve，“whereyou’llgohoursandhoursbeforeyou’llseeadropofwetness。“
“Andifyu’keepa-thinkin’aboutit，“saidtheVirginian，“it’llseemlikedaysanddays。“
Steve，atthisstroke，gaveup，andclappedhimontheshoulderwithajoyouschuckle。“Youoldson-of-a！“hecriedaffectionately。
“Drinksareduenow，“saidtheVirginian。“Mytreat，Steve。ButI
reckonyoursuspensewillhavetolingerawhileyet。“
Thustheydroppedintodirecttalkfromthatspeechofthefourthdimensionwheretheyhadbeenusingmefortheirtelephone。
“Anycyardsgoingto-night？“inquiredtheVirginian。
“Studanddraw，“Stevetoldhim。“Strangersplaying。“
“IthinkI’dliketogetintoagameforawhile，“saidtheSoutherner。“Strangers，yu’say？“
Andthen，beforequittingthestore，hemadehistoiletforthislittlehandatpoker。Itwasasimplepreparation。Hetookhispistolfromitsholster，examinedit，thenshoveditbetweenhisoverallsandhisshirtinfront，andpulledhiswaistcoatoverit。Hemighthavebeencombinghishairforalltheattentionanyonepaidtothis，exceptmyself。Thenthetwofriendswentout，andIbethoughtmeofthatepithetwhichSteveagainhadusedtotheVirginianasheclappedhimontheshoulder。Clearlythiswildcountryspokealanguageotherthanmine——thewordherewasatermofendearment。Suchwasmyconclusion。
Thedrummershadfinishedtheirdealingswiththeproprietor，andtheyweregossipingtogetherinaknotbythedoorastheVirginianpassedout。
“Seeyoulater，oldman！“ThiswastheAmericandrummeraccostinghisprospectivebed-fellow。
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