't know," said the traveller. "We've paid pretty well, you
see."

"You're late for Tulare, Trampas," said the Virginian.

"I was not thinking of Tulare," Trampas retorted. Scipio's nose was in
the frying-pan.

"Mos' comical spot you ever struck!" said the Virginian, looking round
upon the whole company. He allowed himself a broad smile of retrospect.
"To hear 'em talk frawgs at Tulare! Same as other folks talks hawsses or
steers or whatever they're raising to sell. Yu'd fall into it yourselves
if yu' started the business. Anything a man's bread and butter depends
on, he's going to be earnest about. Don't care if it is a frawg."

"That's so," said the native. "And it paid good?"

"The only money in the county was right there," answered the Virginian.
"It was a dead county, and only frawgs was movin'. But that business was
a-fannin' to beat four of a kind. It made yu' feel strange at first, as
I said. For all the men had been cattle-men at one time or another.
Till yu' got accustomed, it would give 'most anybody a shock to hear 'em
speak about herdin' the bulls in a pasture by themselves." The Virginian
allowed himself another smile, but became serious again. "That was their
policy," he explained. "Except at certain times o' year they kept the
bulls separate. The Fish Commission told 'em they'd better, and it
cert'nly worked mighty well. It or something did--for, gentlemen, hush!
but there was millions. You'd have said all the frawgs in the world had
taken charge at Tulare. And the money rolled in! Gentlemen, hush! 'twas
a gold mine for the owners. Forty per cent they netted some years.
And they paid generous wages. For they could sell to all them French
restaurants in San Francisco, yu' see. And there was the Cliff House.
And the Palace Hotel made it a specialty. And the officers took frawgs
at the Presidio, an' Angel Island, an' Alcatraz, an' Benicia. Los
Angeles was beginnin' its boom. The corner-lot sharps wanted something
by way of varnish. An' so they dazzled Eastern investors with
advertisin' Tulare frawgs clear to New Orleans an' New York. 'Twas only
in Sacramento frawgs was dull. I expaict the California legislature
was too or'n'ry for them fine-raised luxuries. They tell of one of them
senators that he raked a million out of Los Angeles real estate, and
started in for a bang-up meal with champagne. Wanted to scatter his new
gold thick an' quick. But he got astray among all the fancy dishes,
an' just yelled