Sixteen IT’S GOOD TO BE ALIVE
The language in this story gives the author away as a man who attended a Latin school: Tex uses words like “Ol’ Sol,” “sextenarians,” “celerious,” “matutinal,” and “vespers” that have Latin origins; yet he also mixes in outright malapropisms like “perpendiculous” and “phenominum,” and deliberate misspellings (“beautious”), so as not to look overly educated and too much like the elitist clients he heartily disliked.
Here as elsewhere, Tex articulates his philosophy of hunting: it’s fine to kill an animal, but only if you are going to use as much of it as you can, not just the head and skin for trophies.
Although the client makes a bit of a fool of himself, at least he admits it. A terrifying episode puts things into perspective: Tex’s mild annoyance at the client’s comfortable philosophizing about the wonderful day turns into agreement by nightfall, after they both have a close shave.
—AG and JR