Ol’ man Dort ran the general store and kept a pet squirrel in a whirlabout cage, which was the biggest squirrel I ever see, an’ had its tail gnawed off by a rat, or something, before Eugene came. Ol’ man Dort had a reputation for arguin’, which spread all over our part of the earth. We had made a habit o’ goin’ to him to get our discussions settled an’ when we began to pass him up for Eugene, he foamed about it free an’ frank. He wore a prodigious tangle o’ hair and a bunch o’ grizzled whiskers, about as fine an’ smooth as a clump o’ grease-wood. He used to brag that razor nor scissors hadn’t touched his hide for twenty years, an’ one of us boys would allus add, “Nor soap nor water, neither,” an’ ol’ man Dort would grin proud, ’cause it was a point of honor with him. Eugene used to send out for his wearin’ an’ sech, so ol’ man Dort didn’t get a whack at him in his store; ol’ man Dort batched, an’ Eugene boarded, so they didn’t clash up at their meals; an’ finally ol’ man Dort swore a big oath that he was goin’ to be barbered. The news got out an’ the boys came in for forty miles to see the fun—an’ it was worth it. We went early to the shop an’ planted ourselves, lookin’ solemn an’ not sayin’ anything to put Eugene on his guard. When at last ol’ man Dort hove in sight with his brows scowled down an’ his jaws set under his shrubbery, we all bit our lips; an’ Eugene stopped tellin’ us about the hair-roots o’ the Prince of Wales, an’ stood lookin’ at ol’ man Dort with his mouth gapped wide open. The ol’ man came in, shut the door careful behind him, glared at Eugene, as though darin’ him to do his worst, an’ said: “I want my hair shamped, an’ my whiskers shaved off.” “If you expected to get it all done in one day, you should ought to have come earlier,” sez Eugene soberly, but tossin’ us a side wink. “Well, you do as much as you can to-day, an’ we’ll finish up to-morrow,” sez ol’ man Dort, not seein’ the joke. Ol’ man Dort peeled off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, an’ climbed into the chair as if he thought it was liable to buck him off. Then he settled back with a grunt, an’ Eugene tucked the bib in around his neck, combed his fingers through ol’ man Dort’s hair a minute, an’ sez; “Your hair’s startin’ to come out. You should ought to use a tonic.” “Tonic, hell!” snaps the ol’ man. “My hair sheds out twice a year, same as the rest o’ the animals.” “Then you should ought to comb it,” sez Eugene. “I’ve got some hair here in my hand which was shed out two years ago. Leavin’ dead hair an’ such rubbish as that layin’ around on your scalp is what kills the hair globules.” “It don’t either; it acts like fertilizer, the same as dead grass does,” sez ol’ man Dort. He had made up his mind to take the contrary side of everything ’at Eugene said, an’ it was more fun than a dog fight.