"Dear Friend [thus in the spring the Virginian wrote me], Yours received. It must be a
poor thing to be sick. That time I was shot at Canada de Oro would have made me sick if
it had been a littel lower or if I was much of a drinking man. You will be well if you give
over city life and take a hunt with me about August or say September for then the elk will
be out of the velvett.
"Things do not please me here just now and I am going to settel it by vamosing. But I
would be glad to see you. It would be pleasure not business for me to show you plenty
elk and get you strong. I am not crybabying to the Judge or making any kick about things.
He will want me back after he has swallowed a litter tincture of time. It is the best dose I
know.
"Now to answer your questions. Yes the Emmily hen might have ate loco weed if hens
do. I never saw anything but stock and horses get poisoned with loco weed. No the school
is not built yet. They are always big talkers on Bear Creek. No I have not seen Steve. He
is around but I am sorry for him. Yes I have been to Medicine Bow. I had the welcom I
wanted. Do you remember a man I played poker and he did not like it? He is working on
the upper ranch near Ten Sleep. He does not amount to a thing except with weaklings.
Uncle Hewie has twins. The boys got him vexed some about it, but I think they are his.
Now that is all I know to-day and I would like to see you poco presently as they say at
Los Cruces. There's no sense in you being sick."
The rest of this letter discussed the best meeting point for us should I decide to join him
for a hunt.
That hunt was made, and during the weeks of its duration something was said to explain a
little more fully the Virginian's difficulty at the Sunk Creek Ranch, and his reason for
leaving his excellent employer the Judge. Not much was said, to be sure; the Virginian
seldom spent many words upon his own troubles. But it appeared that owing to some
jealousy of him on the part of the foreman, or the assistant foreman, he found himself
continually doing another man's work, but under circumstances so skilfully arranged that
he got neither credit nor pay for it. He would not stoop to telling tales out of school.
Therefore his ready and prophetic mind devised the simple expedient of going away
altogether. He calculated that Judge Henry would gradually perceive there was a
connection between his departure and the cessation of the satisfactory work. After a
judicious interval it was his plan to appear again in the neighborhood of Sunk Creek and
await results.
Concerning Steve he would say no more than he had written. But it was plain that for
some cause this friendship had ceased.
