s to catch--"

"You are mixing things," I interrupted. "I never heard you mix things
before. And it was not Shorty's mistake."

He showed momentary interest. "Whose then?"

"The mistake of whoever took a fool into their enterprise."

"That's correct. Well, Trampas took Shorty in, and Steve would not tell
on him either."

I still tried it, saying, "They were all in the same boat." But logic
was useless; he had lost his bearings in a fog of sentiment. He knew,
knew passionately, that he had done right; but the silence of his old
friend to him through those last hours left a sting that no reasoning
could assuage. "He told good-by to the rest of the boys; but not to me."
And nothing that I could point out in common sense turned him from
the thread of his own argument. He worked round the circle again to
self-justification. "Was it him I was deserting? Was not the deserting
done by him the day I spoke my mind about stealing calves? I have kept
my ways the same. He is the one that took to new ones. The man I used to
travel with is not the man back there. Same name, to be sure. And same
body. But different in--and yet he had the memory! You can't never
change your memory!"

He gave a sob. It was the first I had ever heard from him, and before
I knew what I was doing I had reined my horse up to his and put my arm
around his shoulders. I had no sooner touched him than he was utterly
overcome. "I knew Steve awful well," he said.

Thus we had actually come to change places; for early in the morning he
had been firm while I was unnerved, while now it was I who attempted to
steady and comfort him.

I had the sense to keep silent, and presently he shook my hand, not
looking at me as he did so. He was always very shy of demonstration.
And he took to patting the neck of his pony. "You Monte hawss," said he,
"you think you are wise, but there's a lot of things you don't savvy."
Then he made a new beginning of talk between us.

"It is kind of pitiful about Shorty."

"Very pitiful," I said.

"Do you know about him?" the Virginian asked.

"I know there's no real harm in him, and some real good, and that he has
not got the brains necessary to be a horse thief."

"That's so. That's very true. Trampas has led him in deeper than his
stature can stand. Now back East you can be middling and get along. But
if you go to try a thing on in this Western country, you've got to do it
WELL. You've got to deal cyards WELL; you've got to s