The narrator greets Judge Henry, his wife, and their guests. The Ogden couple is from New York; another is Molly Wood. The Reverend Dr. Alexander MacBride—the parson who had been out walking—urges the judge to consider building a church or two in the territory. Henry’s wife invites them inside. They enjoy a sumptuous meal and good conversation, though the narrator and Molly agree that Dr. MacBride seems a bit severe.

The narrator relates his experience aboard the caboose with the mutinous cowboys, and how the Virginian deftly turned them around. Judge Henry is pleased with this news, but Dr. MacBride objects that the Virginian had won the day merely by lying better than his opponent. The other guests come to the Virginian’s defense, but the parson will have none of it. 

After dinner, the parson retires to his room while the other men move to the judge’s office and chat over whiskey. The Virginian arrives to make his report, and he discovers that his recent exploits have preceded him. The judge offers him a chance to toot his own horn, but the Southerner doesn’t take the bait.

Pleased, the judge announces that his foreman has taken a job in Los Angeles, and that

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