“It's on both, yu' know. We had it put on the day she settled to accept the superintendent's proposition.” Here Lin fired his small exchanged weapon at a cotton-wood, striking low. “She can beat that with mine!” he exclaimed, proud and tender. “She took four days deciding at Edgeford, and I learned her to hit the ace of clubs.” He showed me the cards they had practiced upon during those four days of indecision; he had them in a book as if they were pressed flowers. “They won't get crumpled that way,” said he; and he further showed me a tintype. “She's got the other at Separ,” he finished. I shook his hand with all my might. Yes, he was worthy of her! Yes, he deserved this smooth course his love was running! And I shook his hand again. To tonic her grief Jessamine had longed for some activity, some work, and he had shown her Wyoming might hold this for her as well as Kentucky. “But how in the world,” I asked him, “did you persuade her to stop over at Edgeford at all?” “Yu' mustn't forget,” said the lover (and he blushed), “that I had her four hours alone on the train.” But his face that evening round the fire, when they talked of their next day's welcome to the new agent, became comedy of the highest, and he was so desperately canny in the moments he chose for silence or for comment! He had not been sure of their ignorance until he arrived, and it was a joke with him too deep for laughter. He had a special eye upon the Virginian, his mate in such a tale of mischiefs, and now he led him on. He suggested to the Southerner that caution might be wise; this change at Separ was perhaps some new trick of the company's. “We mostly take their tricks,” observed the Virginian. “Yes,” said Lin, nodding sagely at the fire, “that's so, too.” Yet not he, not any one, could have foreseen the mortifying harmlessness of the outcome. They swept down upon Separ like all the hordes of legend--more egregiously, perhaps, because they were play-acting and no serious horde would go on so. Our final hundred yards of speed and copious howling brought all dwellers in Separ out to gaze and disappear like rabbits--all save the new agent in the station. Nobody ran out or in there, and the horde whirled up to the tiny, defenceless building and leaped to earth--except Lin and me; we sat watching. The innocent door stood open wide to any cool breeze or invasion, and Honey Wiggin tramped in foremost, hat lowering over eyes and pistol prominent. He stopped rooted, staring, and his mouth came open slowly; his hand went feeling up for his hat, and came down with it by degrees as by degrees his grin spread. Then in a milky voice, he said: “Why, excuse me, ma'am! Good-morning.”