Well, sir, I looked at wife, an' wife, she looked at me, an' then we
both thess looked out at the butter-bean arbor.

I knowed then thet Sonny wasn't never comin' down while the rector was
there, an' rector, he seemed sort o' fretted for a minute when he see
how things was, an' he did try to do a little settin' fo'th of opinions.
He 'lowed, speakin' in a mighty pompious manner, thet holy things wasn't
to be trifled with, an' thet he had come to baptize the child accordin'
to the rites o' the church.


[Illustration: "Name this child."]


Well, that sort o' talk, it thess rubbed me the wrong way, an' I up an'
told him thet that might be so, but thet the rites o' the church didn't
count for nothin', on our farm, to the rights o' the boy!

I reckon it was mighty disrespec'ful o' me to face him that-a-way, an'
him adorned in all his robes, too, but I'm thess a plain up-an'-down man
an' I hadn't went for him to come an' baptize Sonny to uphold the
granjer of no church. I was ready to do that when the time come, but
right now we was workin' in Sonny's interests, an' I intended to have it
understood that way. An' it was.

Rector, he's a mighty good, kind-hearted man, git down to the man inside
the preacher, an' when he see thess how things stood, why, he come
'round friendly, an' he went out on the po'ch an' united with us in
tryin' to help coax Sonny down. First started by promisin' him speritual
benefits, but he soon see that wasn't no go, and he tried worldly