He took an extremely pessimistic view of Johnson's prospects. Of course, the girl would believe Mrs. MacFarlane. That was only natural. A woman might stick to a man through every crime in the calendar against his fellow men, and still hold faith in him; but when another woman entered into the plot, it was time for a new deal; he was as good as done for, then. Thus spake Buffalo Jim. He advised Lafe, however, to write Hetty without delay. By so doing, he might forestall the widow and prepare the young lady. "It'll sort of give the widow woman your dust," he explained, "and then she's liable to make a bad throw." Accordingly, Johnson went to the Hotel Carmen and sat himself down at a desk in a corner. He chose some neatly ruled paper and dipped the pen; everything in due order. After that he coughed and consumed some minutes in staring fixedly at the blank sheets. He had no heart for this task. Resolute in all the crises of his man's life, this was beyond him. Then he began to write, the pen scratching and sputtering over the page. The sentences opened with firmness and precision, but gradually slanted towards the lower corner. First his spurs bothered him, and he took them off. Next, his neckerchief became sticky and he untied it and left his shirt collar open. "If you keep a-writing much more, Lafe, you'll be naked," said the landlord critically. Some cowboys passed through and invited Johnson to join them, but he shook them off. At last it was finished. _Dear Friend:_ How are you? I am sitting in a room it is a big room and a lot of loafers keep coming and going but genrally coming. This is to say I am well and doing fine I hope you are well and doing fine. Say a lady met up with me here a few days ago who said she knew you ain't that a hot one to spring on me sudden. She is a right nice lady though she don't care a heap what I think I reckon she as good as toald me I was a bad egg. Perhaps I am a bad egg how about it. She said she was going to write to you. I done the best that I could and it don't seem fair it ain't right that you should hear what she said she was going to write to you and besides it was all a stall and wasn't true but you musn't tell that to Mrs. MacFarlane because it would make her feel bad. Hughie he was a friend of mine but Hughie wasn't of no account in some ways for he spoke Mex too good now when a man gets that twist on his r's and begins to hang around with the natives its time to take a new hand all round because he ain't satisfied with his color no more. No sirree it don't do to talk the lingo to good and I make them speak my language which will improve their morals if they only had some to improve that was what ailed Hughie but she must not know and so you be careful. I hope I have made it all clear.