"After he's gone the vitooperative party wheels so's to face Texas, an' says––mighty pleasant an' agree'ble, like the object of the meetin's been most happ'ly accomplished:
"'Thar, that shows you.'
"'Whatever does it show?' Texas asks, some grim.
"'Which it shows the difference between a No'thern gent an' a Southern gent. To be shore, that old cimmaron ain't half my size an' is twict my age, but all the same, Texas, if he's from the South, you bet, like you an' me, he'd tore into me, win or lose, if he'd got killed!'
"'You think so?' says Texas, his eyes becomin' as hard an' glitterin' as a snake's. 'Now let me tell you something, my lionhearted friend. Thar's brave men South, an' brave men No'th. Also, thar's quitters; quitters at both ends of that No'thern-Southern trail who'll go into the water like a mink. Accordin' to my experiences, an' I've been dallyin' with hoomanity in the herd for quite some time, thar's nothin' in that geographical bluff of yours at all. Moreover, I reckons that before I'm through, seein' now you've got me 258 goin', I'll prove it. For a starter, then, takin' your say-so for it, you're a Southern man?'
"'Which that's shore c'rrect,' the other responds, but feeble; 'you an' me, as I says former, is both Southern men.'
"'Bueno! Now as calk'lated to demonstrate how plumb onfounded is them theeries of yours'––yere Texas gets up, an' kicks his cha'r back so he's got room––'I has pleasure in informin' you that you're a onmitigated hoss-thief;––an' you don't dare stand up. Yes, sir; you're onfit to drink with a nigger or eat with a dog;––an' you'll set thar an' take it.'
"Which that aboosive party, pale as paper, certainly does 'set thar an' take it' preecisely as Texas prophecies; an' after glowerin' at him, red-eyed an' f'rocious for a moment, Texas sticks his paws in his jeans, an' sa'nters off.
"It's jest as well. Why, if that humbug so much as curls a lip or crooks a finger, after Texas takes to enunciatin' them prop'sitions in philosophy, Texas'd have tacked him to the table with his bowie an' left him kickin', same as them goggled-eyed professors who calls 259 themselves nacheralists does some buzzin' fly with a pin.