he's thinkin' this he grins that patronizin'
it'd set your teeth on edge.

"Texas in a simple sperit of vain-glory'd take advantage of Tutt bein'
a father that a-way to back him into a corner; an' then, ignorin' the
rest of us as belongin' to the barb'rous herd, he'd insist on
discussin' skunk oil as a remedy for croup. An' the worst of it is he
finally has Tutt, who's bad enough before, gyratin' 'round, his addled
nose to the sky in redoubled scorn of childless men. From the two
sociablest sports in camp it gets so that the uncle in one an' father
in the other so far supplants an' shoves aside the mere man in 'em
that Job himse'f would have had to make a new record for meekness an'
long sufferin' to get along with 'em. Which we-all suffers from both
to that extent that when they does start to bombardin' each other the
eepisode in some of its angles appeals to us as a welcome relief.

"Even Peets goes after Texas. It don't do no good. He's become that
opinionated he ain't got no more reespect for Peets than for Monte.
Texas mentions that Annalinda's got a ache some'ers, an' asks Peets
what's his idee.

"'Thar's nothin' onder the firmament, Texas, the matter with that
baby,' says Peets, 'but you. Which if you'd ever got to him as a
yearlin' you'd a-killed Hercules himse'f! Quit yore fussin', an' give
Annalinda a chance. Take a lesson from the cub coyote. Roll Annalinda
out in the sand, an' let her scuffle. That's the way to bring a
youngone up.'

"'Mother Shrewsbury don't agree with you,' says Texas. 'Also, thar's
nothin' in them cub coyote claims of yours for r'arin' children.'

"'Mother Shrewsbury,' retorts Peets, 'is nothin' but a patent med'cine
outfit, which feeds an' fattens on sech boneheads as you.'

"'Excoose me, but scattered throughout that invalyooable work is the
endorsements of doctors of divinity.'

"'Shore! Half the time a gold brick comes to you wrapped in a tract.
All the same, Texas, the way you're carryin' on about Annalinda is
fast bringin' your sanity into doubt.'

"Texas snorts his scorn at this, an' goes back to 'Mother Shrewsbury.'

"As I've already s'ggested, however, thar's a bitter drop in Texas'
cup, an' Tutt's the drop. As a ondeniable father, Tutt can put it all
over Texas or any other mere uncle whenever he feels like it, an' deep
down in his heart Texas knows it. He struggles to hide the feelin',
but any one can tell that the very sight of Tutt is wormwood to him.

"Likewise,