o later the answer came by special messenger. Roosevelt
brought it over to Sewall. "You were right, Bill, about the Marquis,"
he said.

Sewall read the Marquis's letter. The Marquis declared that Roosevelt
had completely misunderstood the meaning of his message. The idea that
he had meant to convey was that there was always a way of settling
affairs of that sort between gentlemen--without trouble. And would not
Mr. Roosevelt do him the honor of dining with him, and so forth and so
on?

"The Marquis," as Roosevelt remarked long afterward, "had a streak of
intelligent acceptance of facts, and as long as he did not _publicly_
lose caste or incur ridicule by backing down, he did not intend to run
risk without adequate object. He did not expect his bluff to be
called; and when it was, he had to make up his mind to withdraw it."

There was no more trouble after that between Theodore Roosevelt and
the Marquis de Mores.

XXI

I'd rather hear a rattler rattle,
I'd rather buck stampeding cattle,
I'd rather go to a greaser battle,
Than--
Than to--
Than to fight--
Than to fight the bloody In-ji-ans.

I'd rather eat a pan of dope,
I'd rather ride without a rope,
I'd rather from this country lope,
Than--
Than to--
Than to fight--
Than to fight the bloody In-ji-ans.

_Cowboy song_

All through that autumn of 1885, Roosevelt remained in the Bad Lands.
With his whole being he reveled in the wild and care-free life; but
the newspapers did not seem to be able to rise above the notion that
he was in Dakota for political purposes:

Mr. Theodore Roosevelt, it is rumored [remarked the Chicago
_Tribune_] has an eye on politics in Dakota, and is making
himself popular with the natives. He is bright, certainly,
but Mr. Roosevelt will find the methods in Dakota quite
different from those which gave him sudden prominence in New
York. There is a great deal of breeziness in a Dakota
convention, but it is not the breeziness of innocence. It is
high art. The number of gentlemen who are in training for
United States senatorships, when Dakota shall have acquired
admission, is not limited, and each and every aspirant can
pull a wire with a silent grace which is fascinating. If Mr.
Roosevelt really likes politics, he will enjoy himself in
Dakota.

If Roosevelt had any notion of entering the race