Cannedstuffitwas，——cornedbeef。Andoneofmytablecompanionssaidthetruthaboutit。“WhenIslungmyteethoverthat，“heremarked，“IthoughtIwaschewingahammock。“Wehadstrangecoffee，andcondensedmilk；andIhaveneverseenmoreflies。I
madenoattempttotalk，fornooneinthiscountryseemedfavorabletome。Byreasonofsomething，——myclothes，myhat，mypronunciation，whateveritmightbe，Ipossessedthesecretofestrangingpeopleatsight。YetIwasdoingbetterthanIknew；
mystrictsilenceandattentiontothecornedbeefmademeintheeyesofthecow-boysattablecomparewellwiththeover-talkativecommercialtravellers。
TheVirginian’sentranceproducedaslightsilence。Hehaddonewonderswiththewash-trough，andhehadsomehowbrushedhisclothes。Withalltheroughnessofhisdress，hewasnowtheneatestofus。Henoddedtosomeoftheothercow-boys，andbeganhismealinquiet。
Butsilenceisnotthenativeelementofthedrummer。Anaveragefishcangoalongertimeoutofwaterthanthisbreedcanlivewithouttalking。Oneofthemnowlookedacrossthetableatthegrave，flannel-shirtedVirginian；heinspected，andcametotheimprudentconclusionthatheunderstoodhisman。