n. He walked out and stood among the railroad tracks with
his hands in his pockets, and laughed at himself in the dark. Then his
fingers came on the check for Omaha, and he laughed loudly. The trunk by
this hour must be nearing Rawlins; it was going east anyhow.

"I'm following it, you bet," he declared, kicking the rail. "Not yet
though. Nor I'll not go to Washakie to have 'em josh me. And yonder lays
Boston." He stretched his arm and pointed eastward. Had he seen another
man going on in this fashion alone in the dark, among side-tracked
freight cars, he would have pitied the poor fool. "And I guess Boston'll
have to get along without me for a spell, too," continued Lin. "A man
don't want to show up plumb broke like that younger son did after eatin'
with the hogs the bishop told about. His father was a Jim-dandy, that
hog chap's. Hustled around and set 'em up when he come back home. Frank,
he'd say to me 'How do you do, brother?' and he'd be wearin' a good suit
o' clothes and--no, sir, you bet!"

Lin now watched the great headlight of a freight train bearing slowly
down into Green River from the wilderness. Green River is the end of a
division, an epoch in every train's journey. Lanterns swung signals,
the great dim thing slowed to its standstill by the coal chute, its
locomotive moved away for a turn of repose, the successor backed
steaming to its place to tackle a night's work. Cars were shifted,
heavily bumping and parting.

"Hello, Lin!" A face was looking from the window of the caboose.

"Hello!" responded Mr. McLean, perceiving above his head Honey Wiggin, a
good friend of his. They had not met for three years.

"They claimed you got killed somewheres. I was sorry to hear it." Honey
offered his condolence quite sincerely.

"Bruck my leg," corrected Lin, "if that's what they meant."

"I expect that's it," said Honey. "You've had no other trouble?"

"Been boomin'," said Lin.

From the mere undertone in their voices it was plain they were good
friends, carefully hiding their pleasure at meeting.

"Wher're yu' bound?" inquired Honey.

"East," said Lin.

"Better jump in here, then. We're goin' west."

"That just suits me," said Lin.

The busy lanterns wagged among the switches, the steady lights of the
saloons shone along the town's wooden facade. From the bluffs that
wall Green River the sweet, clean sage-brush wind blew down in currents
freshly through the coal-smoke. A wrench passed through the trai