Madeline liked the old fellow for his loyalty to the cowboy he
evidently cared for; but as there did not seem anything for her
to say, she remained silent.

"Miss Majesty, the day of the cattleman is about over. An' the
day of the cowboy, such as Gene Stewart, is over. There's no
place for Gene. If these weren't modern days he'd come near
bein' a gun-man, same as we had in Texas, when I ranched there in
the 'seventies. But he can't fit nowhere now; he can't hold a
job, an' he's goin' down."

"I am sorry to hear it," murmured Madeline. "But, Mr. Stillwell,
aren't these modern days out here just a little wild--yet? The
conductor on my train told me of rebels, bandits, raiders. Then
I have had other impressions of--well, that were wild enough for
me."

"Wal, it's some more pleasant an' excitin' these days than for
many years," replied Stillwell. "The boys hev took to packin'
guns again. But thet's owin' to the revolution in Mexico.
There's goin' to be trouble along the border. I reckon people in
the East don't know there is a revolution. Wal, Madero will oust
Diaz, an' then some other rebel will oust Madero. It means
trouble on the border an' across the border, too. I wouldn't
wonder if Uncle Sam hed to get a hand in the game. There's
already been holdups on the railroads an' raids along the Rio
Grande Valley. An' these little towns are full of Greasers, all
disturbed by the fightin' down in Mexico. We've been hevin'
shootin'-scrapes an' knifin'-scrapes, an' some cattle-raidin'. I