gested the Virginian. "I am taking
an outfit across the basin."

"You'll find most folks going to Rawhide, if you re looking for
company," pursued Trampas, fishing for a recruit.

"How about Rawhide, anyway?" said Scipio, skillfully deflecting this
missionary work. "Are they taking much mineral out? Have yu' seen any of
the rock?"

"Rock?" broke in the enthusiast who had beaten his knee. "There!" And he
brought some from his pocket.

"You're always showing your rock," said Trampas, sulkily; for Scipio now
held the conversation, and Shorty returned safely to his dozing.

"H'm!" went Scipio at the rock. He turned it back and forth in his hand,
looking it over; he chucked and caught it slightingly in the air, and
handed it back. "Porphyry, I see." That was his only word about it. He
said it cheerily. He left no room for discussion. You could not damn
a thing worse. "Ever been in Santa Rita?" pursued Scipio, while the
enthusiast slowly pushed his rock back into his pocket. "That's down in
New Mexico. Ever been to Globe, Arizona?" And Scipio talked away about
the mines he had known. There was no getting at Shorty any more that
evening. Trampas was foiled of his fish, or of learning how the fish's
heart lay. And by morning Shorty had been carefully instructed to change
his mind about once an hour. This is apt to discourage all but very
superior missionaries. And I too escaped for the rest of this night. At
Glendive we had a dim supper, and I bought some blankets; and after that
it was late, and sleep occupied the attention of us all.

We lay along the shelves of the caboose, a peaceful sight I should
think, in that smoothly trundling cradle. I slept almost immediately, so
tired that not even our stops or anything else waked me, save once, when
the air I was breathing grew suddenly pure, and I roused. Sitting in
the door was the lonely figure of the Virginian. He leaned in silent
contemplation of the occasional moon, and beneath it the Yellowstone's
swift ripples. On the caboose shelves the others slept sound and still,
each stretched or coiled as he had first put himself. They were not
untrustworthy to look at, it seemed to me--except Trampas. You would
have said the rest of that young humanity was average rough male blood,
merely needing to be told the proper things at the right time; and one
big bunchy stocking of the enthusiast stuck out of his blanket, solemn
and innocent, and I laughed at it. There was a light soun