l quit shooting your water-tank. But
Tubercle can't influence 'em.' 'Tubercle?' says the superintendent.
'What's that?' And when I told him it was the agent, he flapped his two
hands down on the chair arms each side of him and went to rockin' up and
down. I said the agent was just a temptation to the boys to be gay right
along, and they'd keep a-shooting. 'You can choose between Tubercle and
your tank,' I said; 'but you've got to move one of 'em from Separ if yu'
went peace.' The sheriff backed me up good, too. He said a man couldn't
do much with Separ the way it was now; but a decent woman would be
respected there, and the only question was if she could conduct the
business. So I spoke up about Shawhan, and when the whole idea began to
soak into that superintendent his eyeballs jingled and he looked as wise
as a work-ox. 'I'll see her,' says he. And he's going to see her."

"Well," said I, "you deserve success after thinking of a thing like
that! You're wholly wasted punching cattle. But she's going to Chicago.
By eleven o'clock she will have passed by your superintendent."

"Why, so she will!" said Lin, affecting surprise.

He baffled me, and he baffled Jessamine. Indeed, his eagerness with her
parcels, his assistance in checking her trunk, his cheerful examination
of check and ticket to be sure they read over the same route, plainly
failed to gratify her.

Her firmness about going was sincere, but she had looked for more
dissuasion; and this sprightly abettal of her departure seemed to leave
something vacant in the ceremonies She fell singularly taciturn during
supper at the Hotel Brunswick, and presently observed, "I hope I shall
see Mr. Donohoe."

"Texas?" said Lin. "I expect they'll have tucked him in bed by now up at
the ranch. The little fellow is growing yet."

"He can walk round a freight-car all night," said Miss Buckner, stoutly.
"I've always wanted to thank him for looking after me."

Mr. McLean smiled elaborately at his plate

"Well, if he's not actually thinking he'll tease me!" cried out
Jessamine "Though he claims not to be foolish like Mr. Donohoe. Why,
Mr. McLean, you surely must have been young once! See if you can't
remember!"

"Shucks!" began Lin.

But her laughter routed him. "Maybe you didn't notice you were young,"
she said. "But don't you reckon perhaps the men around did? Why, maybe
even the girls kind o' did!"

"She's hard to beat, ain't she?" inquired Lin, admiringly, of me.