{"product_id":"2940012312556","title":"THE VIRGINIAN","description":"THE VIRGINIAN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI. ENTER THE MAN\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSome notable sight was drawing the passengers, both men and women, to\u003cbr\u003ethe window; and therefore I rose and crossed the car to see what it was.\u003cbr\u003eI saw near the track an enclosure, and round it some laughing men, and\u003cbr\u003einside it some whirling dust, and amid the dust some horses, plunging,\u003cbr\u003ehuddling, and dodging. They were cow ponies in a corral, and one of them\u003cbr\u003ewould not be caught, no matter who threw the rope. We had plenty of time\u003cbr\u003eto watch this sport, for our train had stopped that the engine might\u003cbr\u003etake water at the tank before it pulled us up beside the station\u003cbr\u003eplatform of Medicine Bow. We were also six hours late, and starving for\u003cbr\u003eentertainment. The pony in the corral was wise, and rapid of limb. Have\u003cbr\u003eyou seen a skilful boxer watch his antagonist with a quiet, incessant\u003cbr\u003eeye? Such an eye as this did the pony keep upon whatever man took the\u003cbr\u003erope. The man might pretend to look at the weather, which was fine; or\u003cbr\u003ehe might affect earnest conversation with a bystander: it was bootless.\u003cbr\u003eThe pony saw through it. No feint hoodwinked him. This animal was\u003cbr\u003ethoroughly a man of the world. His undistracted eye stayed fixed upon\u003cbr\u003ethe dissembling foe, and the gravity of his horse-expression made the\u003cbr\u003ematter one of high comedy. Then the rope would sail out at him, but he\u003cbr\u003ewas already elsewhere; and if horses laugh, gayety must have abounded in\u003cbr\u003ethat corral. Sometimes the pony took a turn alone; next he had slid in a\u003cbr\u003eflash among his brothers, and the whole of them like a school of playful\u003cbr\u003efish whipped round the corral, kicking up the fine dust, and (I take it)\u003cbr\u003eroaring with laughter. Through the window-glass of our Pullman the thud\u003cbr\u003eof their mischievous hoofs reached us, and the strong, humorous curses\u003cbr\u003eof the cow-boys. Then for the first time I noticed a man who sat on the\u003cbr\u003ehigh gate of the corral, looking on. For he now climbed down with\u003cbr\u003ethe undulations of a tiger, smooth and easy, as if his muscles flowed\u003cbr\u003ebeneath his skin. The others had all visibly whirled the rope, some of\u003cbr\u003ethem even shoulder high. I did not see his arm lift or move. He appeared\u003cbr\u003eto hold the rope down low, by his leg. But like a sudden snake I saw the\u003cbr\u003enoose go out its length and fall true; and the thing was done. As the\u003cbr\u003ecaptured pony walked in with a sweet, church-door expression, our train\u003cbr\u003emoved slowly on to the station, and a passenger remarked, \"That man\u003cbr\u003eknows his business.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut the passenger's dissertation upon roping I was obliged to lose, for\u003cbr\u003eMedicine Bow was my station. I bade my fellow-travellers good-by, and\u003cbr\u003edescended, a stranger, into the great cattle land. And here in less than\u003cbr\u003eten minutes I learned news which made me feel a stranger indeed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMy baggage was lost; it had not come on my train; it was adrift\u003cbr\u003esomewhere back in the two thousand miles that lay behind me. And by way\u003cbr\u003eof comfort, the baggage-man remarked that passengers often got astray\u003cbr\u003efrom their trunks, but the trunks mostly found them after a while.\u003cbr\u003eHaving offered me this encouragement, he turned whistling to his\u003cbr\u003eaffairs and left me planted in the baggage-room at Medicine Bow. I stood\u003cbr\u003edeserted among crates and boxes, blankly holding my check, hungry and\u003cbr\u003eforlorn. I stared out through the door at the sky and the plains; but\u003cbr\u003eI did not see the antelope shining among the sage-brush, nor the great\u003cbr\u003esunset light of Wyoming. Annoyance blinded my eyes to all things save\u003cbr\u003emy grievance: I saw only a lost trunk. And I was muttering half-aloud,\u003cbr\u003e\"What a forsaken hole this is!\" when suddenly from outside on the\u003cbr\u003eplatform came a slow voice: \"Off to get married AGAIN? Oh, don't!\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe voice was Southern and gentle and drawling; and a second voice came\u003cbr\u003ein immediate answer, cracked and querulous. \"It ain't again. Who says\u003cbr\u003eit's again? Who told you, anyway?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd the first voice responded caressingly: \"Why, your Sunday clothes\u003cbr\u003etold me, Uncle Hughey. They are speakin' mighty loud o' nuptials.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You don't worry me!\" snapped Uncle Hughey, with shrill heat.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd the other gently continued, \"Ain't them gloves the same yu' wore to\u003cbr\u003eyour last weddin'?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You don't worry me! You don't worry me!\" now screamed Uncle Hughey.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAlready I had forgotten my trunk; care had left me; I was aware of the\u003cbr\u003esunset, and had no desire but for more of this conversation. For it\u003cbr\u003eresembled none that I had heard in my life so far. I stepped to the door\u003cbr\u003eand looked out upon the station platform.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLounging there at ease against the wall was a slim young giant,\u003cbr\u003emore beautiful than pictures. His broad, soft hat was pushed back; a\u003cbr\u003eloose-knotted, dull-scarlet handkerchief sagged from his throat; and one\u003cbr\u003ecasual thumb was hooked in the cartridge-belt that slanted across his\u003cbr\u003ehips.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47152370483440,"sku":"2940012312556","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940012312556_p0.jpg?v=1763567286","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940012312556","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}