The Champion of the Weather (Henry)
A group of hunters were on a hunting trip in the Kiowa Reservation when one of them, a young man from New York, struck up a conversation with their guide, Bud Kingsbury.
Bud, who had been to New York City a couple of years ago, shared his experiences in the city with the group. Bud had saved up for a year to visit New York and was initially overwhelmed by the city's electric lights, noises, and second-story railroads. However, he soon realized that the people there were just like those in Cheyenne and Amarillo.
The main trail in that town which they call Broadway is plenty travelled, but they’re about the same brand of bipeds that tramp around in Cheyenne and Amarillo.
One thing that bothered Bud was the lack of conversation among New Yorkers. He was used to striking up conversations with strangers in the Territories, but found that people in New York were not as open to talking.
One day, a man in a café spoke to Bud about the weather, but when Bud tried to continue the conversation, the man turned his back and walked away. Bud later learned from a friend that this was just the New York style - people would exchange a word or two about the weather, but not engage in deeper conversations with strangers.
Determined to teach the man a lesson in conversation, Bud returned to the café and cornered the man, showing him a gun he carried. He forced the man to continue their conversation about the weather, asking about his family and the café's business. The man complied, and Bud left New York the next day, feeling that he had made his point about the importance of conversation and sociability.
Keep your hands off the weather unless you’re ready to follow it up in a personal manner, It’s a subject that naturally belongs to sociability and the forming of new ties.
The story ended with the pinkish-haired young man from New York commenting on the beauty of the night, and Bud agreeing that it was indeed a nice night.