the closer is his contact to a quick judgment the more laconic and
even-poised he becomes. And the knowledge that he is himself a judge
tends to create caution and judgment. He has no court to uphold his
honor and to offer him protection, so he must be quick to protect
himself and to maintain his own standing. His nature saved him, or it
executed; and the range absolved him of all unpaid penalties of a
careless past.

He became a man born again and he took up his burden,
the exactions of a new environment, and he lived as long as those
exactions gave him the right to live. He must tolerate no restrictions
of his natural rights, and he must not restrict; for the one would
proclaim him a coward, the other a bully; and both received short
shrifts in that land of the self-protected. The basic law of nature is
the survival of the fittest.

So, when the wanderers found their level in Buckskin they were not
even asked by what name men knew them. Not caring to hear a name which
might not harmonize with their idea of the fitness of things, the
cowboys of the Bar-20 had, with a freedom born of excellent livers and
fearless temperaments, bestowed names befitting their sense of humor
and adaptability. The official title of the Sioux was By-and-by; the
dog was known as Fleas. Never had names more clearly described the
objects to be represented, for they were excellent examples of cowboy
discernment and aptitude.

In their eyes By-and-by was a man. He could feel and he could resent
insults. They did not class him as one of themselves, because he did
not have energy enough to demand and justify such classification. With
them he had a right to enjoy his life as he saw fit so long as he did