“Howbeautiful！howIloveit！“whisperedthegirl“But，oh，howbigitis！“Andsheleanedagainstherloverforaninstant。Itwasherspiritseekingshelter。To-day，thisvastbeauty，thisprimalcalm，hadinitforhersomethingalmostofdread。Thesmall，comfortable，greenhillsofhomerosebeforeher。SheclosedhereyesandsawVermont。avillagestreet，andthepost-office，andIvycoveringanoldfrontdoor，andhermotherpickingsomeyellowrosesfromabush。
　　Atasound，hereyesquicklyopened；andherewasherloverturnedinhissaddle，watchinganotherhorsemanapproach。ShesawtheVirginian’shandinacertainposition，andknewthathispistolwasready。Buttheothermerelyovertookandpassedthem，astheystoodatthebrowofthehill。
　　ThemanhadgivenonenodtotheVirginian，andtheVirginianonetohim；andnowhewasalreadybelowthemonthedescendingroad。
　　ToMollyWoodhewasastranger；butshehadseenhiseyeswhenhenoddedtoherlover，andsheknew，evenwithoutthepistol，thatthiswasnotenmityatfirstsight。Itwasnotindeed。Fiveyearsofgatheredhatehadlookedoutoftheman’seyes。Andsheaskedherloverwhothiswas。
　　“Oh，“saidhe，easily，“justamanIseenowandthen。“
　　“IshisnameTrampas？“saidMollyWood。
　　TheVirginianlookedatherinsurprise。“Why，wherehaveyouseenhim？“heasked。
　　“Nevertillnow。ButIknew。“
　　“Mygracious！Yu’nevertoldmeyu’hadmind-readingpowers。“Andhesmiledserenelyather。
　　“IknewitwasTrampasassoonasIsawhiseyes。“
　　“Mygracious！“herloverrepeatedwithindulgentirony。“Imustbemightycarefulofmyeyeswhenyou’relookin’at’em。“
　　“Ibelievehedidthatmurder，“saidthegirl。
　　“Whosemindareyu’readin’now？“hedrawledaffectionately。
　　Buthecouldnotjokeheroffthesubject。Shelookhisstronghandinhers，tremulously，somuchofitasherlittlehandcouldhold。“Iknowsomethingaboutthat——that——lastautumn，“shesaid，shrinkingfromwordsmoredefinite。“AndIknowthatyouonlydid——“
　　“WhatIhadto，“hefinished，verysadly，butsternly，too。
　　“Yes，“sheasserted，keepingholdofhishand。“Isupposethat——lynching——“shealmostwhisperedtheword“istheonlyway。Butwhentheyhadtodiejustforstealinghorses，itseemssowickedthatthismurderer——“
　　“Whocanproveit？“askedtheVirginian。
　　“Butdon’tyouknowit？“
　　“Iknowaheapo’thingsinsidemyheart。Butthat’snotproving。
　　Therewasonlythebody，andthehoofprints——andwhatfolksguessed。“
　　“Hewasneverevenarrested！“thegirlsaid。
　　“No。Hehelpedelectthesheriffinthatcounty。“
　　ThenMollyventuredastepinsidetheborderofherlover’sreticence。“Isaw——“shehesitated，“justnow，Isawwhatyoudid。“
　　Hereturnedtohiscaressingirony。“You’llhavemeplumbscaredifyoukeeponseein’things。“
　　“Youhadyourpistolreadyforhim。“
　　“Why，IbelieveIdid。Itwasmightyunnecessary。“AndtheVirginiantookoutthepistolagain，andshookhisheadoverit，likeonewhohasbeencaughtinablunder。
　　Shelookedathim，andknewthatshemuststepoutsidehisreticenceagain。Byloveandhersurrendertohimtheirpositionshadbeenexchanged。
　　Hewasnotnow，asthroughhislongcourtinghehadbeen，herhalf-obeying，half-refractoryworshipper。Shewasnolongerhishalf-indulgent，half-scornfulsuperior。Herbetterbirthandschoolingthathadoncebeenweaponstokeephimathisdistance，orbringheroffvictoriousintheirencounters，hadgivenwaybeforetheonsetofthenaturalmanhimself。Sheknewhercow-boylover，withallthathelacked，tobemorethanevershecouldbe，withallthatshehad。Hewasherworshipperstill，buthermaster，too。Thereforenow，againstthebafflingsmilehegaveher，shefeltpowerless。Andonceagainapangofyearningforhermothertobenearherto-dayshotthroughthegirl。ShelookedfromheruntamedmantotheuntameddesertofWyoming，andthetownwhereshewastotakehimasherweddedhusband。Butforhissakeshewouldnotlethimguessherloneliness。
　　HesatonhishorseMonte，consideringthepistol。Thenheshowedherarattlesnakecoiledbytherootsofsomesage-brush。“CanI
　　hitit？“heinquired。
　　“Youdon’toftenmissthem，“saidshe，strivingtobecheerful。
　　“Well，I’mtoldgettingmarriedunstringssomemen。“Heaimed，andthesnakewasshattered。“Maybeit’stooearlyyetfortheunstringingtobegin！“Andwithsomedeliberationhesentthreemorebulletsintothesnake。“Ireckonthat’senough，“saidhe。
　　“Wasnotthefirstone？“
　　“Oh，yes，forthesnake。“Andthen，withonelegcrookedcow-boyfashionacrossinfrontofhissaddle-horn，hecleanedhispistol，andreplacedtheemptycartridges。
　　Oncemoresheventurednearthelineofhisreticence。“Has——hasTrampasseenyoumuchlately？“
　　“Why，no；notforarightsmartwhile。ButIreckonhehasnotmissedme。“
　　TheVirginianspokethisinhisgentlestvoice。Buthisrebuffedsweetheartturnedherfaceaway，andfromhereyesshebrushedatear。
　　HereinedhishorseMontebesideher，anduponhercheekshefelthiskiss。“Youarenottheonlymind-reader，“saidhe，verytenderly。Andatthissheclungtohim，andlaidherheaduponhisbreast。“Ihadbeenthinking，“hewenton，“thatthewayourmarriageistobewasthemostbeautifulway。“
　　“Itisthemostbeautiful，“shemurmured。
　　Heslowlyspokeouthisthought，asifshehadnotsaidthis。“Nofolkstostare，nofuss，nojokesandribbonsandbestbonnets，nopubliceyenortalkin’oftongueswhenmostyu’wanttohearnothingandsaynothing。“
　　Sheansweredbyholdinghimcloser。
　　“JustthebishopofWyomingtojoinus，andnotevenhimafterwe’reoncejoined。IdidthinkthatwouldbeaheadofallwaystogetmarriedIhaveseen。“
　　Hepausedagain，andshemadenorejoinder。
　　“Butwehaveleftoutyourmother。“
　　Shelookedinhisfacewithquickastonishment。Itwasasifhisspirithadheardthecryofherspirit。
　　“Thatisnowherenearright，“hesaid。“Whatiswrong。“
　　“Shecouldneverhavecomehere，“saidthegirl。
　　“Weshouldhavegonethere。Idon’tknowhowIcanaskhertoforgiveme。“
　　“Butitwasnotyou！“criedMolly。
　　“Yes。BecauseIdidnotobject。Ididnottellyouwemustgotoher。Imissedthepoint，thinkingsomuchaboutmyownfeelings。
　　Foryousee——andI’veneversaidthistoyouuntilnow——yourmotherdidhurtme。Whenyousaidyouwouldhavemeaftermyyearsofwaiting，andIwroteherthatlettertellingherallaboutmyself，andhowmyfamilywasnotlikeyours，and——and——alltherestItoldher，whyyouseeithurtmenevertogetawordbackfromherexceptjustmessagesthroughyou。ForIhadtalkedtoheraboutmyhopesandmyfailings。IhadsaidmorethaneverI’vesaidtoyou，becauseshewasyourmother。Iwantedhertoforgiveme，ifshecould，andfeelthatmaybeIcouldtakegoodcareofyouafterall。ForitwasbadenoughtohaveherdaughterquitherhometoteachschoolouthyehonBearCreek。Badenoughwithouthavin’metocomealongandmakeitworse。Ihavemissedthepointinthinkingofmyownfeelings。“
　　“Butit’snotyourdoing！“repeatedMolly。
　　Withhisdeepdelicacyhehadputthewholematterasahardshiptohermotheralone。Hehadsavedheranypainofconfessionordenial。“Yes，itismydoing，“henowsaid。“Shallwegiveitup？“
　　“Givewhat——？“Shedidnotunderstand。
　　“Why，theorderwe’vegotitfixedin。Plansare——well，they’renomorethanplans。Ihatethenotionofchanging，butIhatehurtingyourmothermore。Or，anyway，IOUGHTtohateitmore。Sowecanshift，ifyu’sayso。It’snottoolate。“
　　“Shift？“shefaltered。
　　“Imean，wecangotoyourhomenow。Wecanstartbythestageto-night。Yourmothercanseeusmarried。Wecancomebackandfinishinthemountainsinsteadofbeginninginthem。It’llbejustmerelyshifting，yu’sec。“
　　Hecouldscarcelybringhimselftosaythisatall；yethesaiditalmostasifhewereurgingit。Itimpliedarenunciationthathecouldhardlybeartothinkof。Toputoffhisweddingday，theblissuponwhosethresholdhestoodafterhisthreeyearsoffaithfulbattleforit，andthatweddingjourneyhehadarranged:
　　fortherewerethemountainsinsight，thewoodsandcanyonswherehehadplannedtogowithherafterthebishophadjoinedthem；thesolitudeswhereonlythewildanimalswouldbe，besidesthemselves。Hishorses，histent，hisrifle，hisrod，allwerewaitingreadyinthetownfortheirstartto-morrow。Hehadprovidedmanydaintythingstomakehercomfortable。Well，hecouldwaitalittlemore，havingwaitedthreeyears。Itwouldnotbewhathisheartmostdesired:therewouldbethe“publiceyeandthetalkingoftongues“——buthecouldwait。Thehourwouldcomewhenhecouldbealonewithhisbrideatlast。Andsohespokeasifheurgedit。
　　“Never！“shecried。“Never，never！“
　　Shepusheditfromher。Shewouldnotbrooksuchsacrificeonhispart。Weretheynotgoingtohermotherinfourweeks？Ifherfamilyhadwarmlyacceptedhim——buttheyhadnot；andinanycase，ithadgonetoofar，itwastoolate。Shetoldherloverthatshewouldnothearhim，thatifhesaidanymoreshewouldgallopintotownseparatelyfromhim。Andforhissakeshewouldhidedeepfromhimthislonelinessofhers，andthehurtthathehadgivenherinrefusingtosharewithherhistroublewithTrampas，whenothersmustknowofit。
　　Accordingly，theydescendedthehillslowlytogether，lingeringtospinouttheselastmileslong。Manyrideshadtaughttheirhorsestogosidebyside，andsotheywentnow:thegirlsweetandthoughtfulinhersedategrayhabit；andthemaninhisleathernchapsandcartridgebeltandflannelshirt，lookinggravelyintothedistancewiththelevelgazeofthefrontier。
　　Havingreadhissweetheart’smindveryplainly，thelovernowbrokehisdearestcustom。Itwashiscodenevertospeakillofanymantoanywoman。Men’squarrelswerenotforwomen’sears。
　　Inhisscheme，goodwomenweretoknowonlyafragmentofmen’slives。Hehadlivedmanyoutlawyears，andhiswideknowledgeofevilmadeinnocencedoublyprecioustohim。Butto-dayhemustdepartfromhiscode，havingreadhermindwell。Hewouldspeakevilofonemantoonewoman，becausehisreticencehadhurther——andwasshenotfarfromhermother，andverylonely，dowhathecould？Sheshouldknowthestoryofhisquarrelinlanguageaslightandcasualashecouldveilitwith。
　　Hemadeanobliquestart。Hedidnotsaytoher:“I’lltellyouaboutthis。YousawmegetreadyforTrampasbecauseIhavebeenreadyforhimanytimethesefiveyears。“Hebeganfarofffromthepointwiththatrootedcautionofhis——thatcautionwhichissharedbytheprimalsavageandtheperfecteddiplomat。
　　“There’scert’nlyarightsmarto’differencebetweenmenandwomen，“heobserved。
　　“You’requitesure？“sheretorted。
　　“Ain’titfortunate？——thatthere’sboth，Imean。“
　　“Idon’tknowaboutfortunate。Machinerycouldprobablydoalltheheavyworkforuswithoutyourhelp。
　　“Andwho’dinventthemachinery？“
　　Shelaughed。“Weshouldn’tneedthehuge，noisythingsyoudo。
　　Ourworldwouldbeagentleone。“
　　“Oh，mygracious！“
　　“Whatdoyoumeanbythat？“
　　“Oh，mygracious！Getalong，Monte！Agentleworldallfullofladies！“
　　“Doyoucallmengentle？“inquiredMolly。
　　“Nowit’safunnythingaboutthat。Haveyu’evernoticedajokeaboutfathers-in-law？There’sjustasmanyfathers-asmothers-in-law；butwhichsideareyourjokes？“
　　Mollywasnotvanquished。“That’sbecausethemenwritethecomicpapers，“saidshe。
　　“Hearthat，Monte？Themenwrite’em。Well，iftheladieswroteacomicpaper，Iexpectthatmightbegentle。“
　　Shegaveupthisbattleinmirth；andheresumed:-“Butdon’tyoureallyreckonit’suncommontomeetafather-in-lawflouncin’
　　aroundthehouse？Asforgentle——OnceIhadtosleepinaroomnextaladies’temperancemeetin’。Oh，heavens！Well，Icouldn’tchangemyroom，andthehotelman，heapologizedtomenextmawnin’。Saiditdidn’tsurprisehimthehusbandsdranksome。“