by Owen Wister
VII. THROUGH TWO SNOWS
"Dear Friend [thus in the spring the Virginian wrote me], Yoursreceived. It must be a poor thing to be sick. That time I was shot atCanada de Oro would have made me sick if it had been a littel lower orif I was much of a drinking man. You will be well if you give over citylife and take a hunt with me about August or say September for then theelk will be out of the velvett.
"Things do not please me here just now and I am going to settel itby vamosing. But I would be glad to see you. It would be pleasure notbusiness for me to show you plenty elk and get you strong. I am notcrybabying to the Judge or making any kick about things. He will wantme back after he has swallowed a litter tincture of time. It is the bestdose I know.
"Now to answer your questions. Yes the Emmily hen might have ate locoweed if hens do. I never saw anything but stock and horses get poisonedwith loco weed. No the school is not built yet. They are always bigtalkers on Bear Creek. No I have not seen Steve. He is around but Iam sorry for him. Yes I have been to Medicine Bow. I had the welcom Iwanted. Do you remember a man I played poker and he did not like it? Heis working on the upper ranch near Ten Sleep. He does not amount to athing except with weaklings. Uncle Hewie has twins. The boys got himvexed some about it, but I think they are his. Now that is all I knowto-day and I would like to see you poco presently as they say at LosCruces. There's no sense in you being sick."
The rest of this letter discussed the best meeting point for us should Idecide to join him for a hunt.
That hunt was made, and during the weeks of its duration something wassaid to explain a little more fully the Virginian's difficulty at theSunk Creek Ranch, and his reason for leaving his excellent employer theJudge. Not much was said, to be sure; the Virginian seldom spent manywords upon his own troubles. But it appeared that owing to some jealousyof him on the part of the foreman, or the assistant foreman, he foundhimself continually doing another man's work, but under circumstances soskilfully arranged that he got neither credit nor pay for it. He wouldnot stoop to telling tales out of school. Therefore his ready andprophetic mind devised the simple expedient of going away altogether.He calculated that Judge Henry would gradually perceive there was aconnection between his departure and the cessation of the satisfactorywork. After a judicious interval it was his plan to appear again in theneighborhood of Sunk Creek and await results.
Concerning Steve he would say no more than he had written. But it wasplain that for some cause this friendship had ceased.
Money for his services during the hunt he positively declined to accept,asserting that he had not worked enough to earn his board. And theexpedition ended in an untravelled corner of the Yellowstone Park,near Pitchstone Canyon, where he and young Lin McLean and otherswere witnesses of a sad and terrible drama that has been elsewherechronicled.
His prophetic mind had foreseen correctly the shape of events at SunkCreek. The only thing that it had not foreseen was the impression to bemade upon the Judge's mind by his conduct.
Toward the close of that winter, Judge and Mrs. Henry visited the East.Through them a number of things became revealed. The Virginian was backat Sunk Creek.
"And," said Mrs. Henry, "he would never have left you if I had had myway, Judge H.!"
"No, Madam Judge," retorted her husband; "I am aware of that. For youhave always appreciated a fine appearance in a man."
"I certainly have," confessed the lady, mirthfully. "And the way heused to come bringing my horse, with the ridges of his black hair socarefully brushed and that blue spotted handkerchief tied so effectivelyround his throat, was something that I missed a great deal after he wentaway."
"Thank you, my dear, for this warning. I have plans that will keep himabsent quite constantly for the future."
And then they spoke less flightily. "I always knew," said the lady,"that you had found a treasure when that man came."
The Judge laughed. "When it dawned on me," he said, "how cleverly hecaused me to learn the value of his services by depriving me of them, Idoubted whether it was safe to take him back."
"Safe!" cried Mrs. Henry.
"Safe, my dear. Because I'm afraid he is pretty nearly as shrewd as Iam. And that's rather dangerous in a subordinate." The Judge laughedagain. "But his action regarding the man they call Steve has made mefeel easy."
And then it came out that the Virginian was supposed to have discoveredin some way that Steve had fallen from the grace of that particularhonesty which respects another man's cattle. It was not known forcertain. But calves had begun to disappear in Cattle Land, and cows hadbeen found killed. And calves with one brand upon them had been foundwith mothers that bore the brand of another owner. This industry wastaking root in Cattle Land, and of those who practised it, some werebeginning to be suspected. Steve was not quite fully suspected yet. Butthat the Virginian had parted company with him was definitely known. Andneither man would talk about it.
There was the further news that the Bear Creek schoolhouse at lengthstood complete, floor, walls, and roof; and that a lady from Bennington,Vermont, a friend of Mrs. Balaam's, had quite suddenly decided that shewould try her hand at instructing the new generation.
The Judge and Mrs. Henry knew this because Mrs. Balaam had told themof her disappointment that she would be absent from the ranch on ButteCreek when her friend arrived, and therefore unable to entertain her.The friend's decision had been quite suddenly made, and must form thesubject of the next chapter.