So crowed the cockerel of his mind to feel
Life's bonds removed and blood quick in him toe to heel.
But sometimes when her letters came to him,
Full of wise tenderness and maiden mind,
He felt that he had let his clearness dim;
The riot with the cowboys seemed unkind
To that far faithful heart; he could not find
Peace in the thought of her; he found no spur
To instant upright action in his love for her.
She faded to the memory of a kiss,