Mr. Opp Part 26

Miss Kippy's lips trembled. "I want sleeves, D.--two of them, and a lady's hat, with roses on it. We can let _her_ be grown up, can't we, D.?"

Mr. Gallop beat a hasty and shame-faced retreat. Though his idol had fallen from its pedestal, he determined to stand guard over the fragments, and from that night on, he const.i.tuted himself Mr. Opp's loyal defender.

And Mr. Gallop was not the only one who came forth boldly in expressions of sympathy and respect for the ex-editor. It was especially easy for those who had prospered by the oil boom to express unbounded admiration for the conscientious stand he had taken in the late transaction. They had done him a grave injustice, they acknowledged. The wells had been reinvestigated and proved of small value. The fact that the truth was discovered too late to affect their luck deepened their appreciation of Mr. Opp.

Willard Hinton, seeing what balm these evidences of approval brought to Mr. Opp's wounded spirit, determined to arrange for a banquet to the retiring editor, at which he planned to bring forth as many testimonials of friends.h.i.+p and good-will as was possible.

The affair was to take place New Year's night, in the dining-room of Fallows's new Your Hotel. The entire masculine contingent of the Cove was invited, and the feminine element prepared the supper. There had never been a social event of such an ambitious nature attempted in the Cove before, and each citizen took a personal pride in its success.

For a week in advance the town was in violent throes of speech-writing, cake-baking, salad-mixing, and decorating. Even Mrs. Fallows warmed to the occasion, and crocheted a candlestick, candle, flame, and all, to grace the table.

When the night arrived, Jimmy Fallows did the honors. He was resplendent in his dress-suit, which consisted of a black sateen s.h.i.+rt and a brown suit of clothes.

When the guests were all seated, Willard Hinton rose, and in a few brief, pointed remarks, called the attention of the town to the changes that had been wrought by the indefatigable efforts of one citizen in particular. He spoke of the debt of grat.i.tude they owed, collectively and individually, to the late editor of "The Opp Eagle," and added that after Mr. Opp's response, the guests desired, each in turn, to voice his sentiments upon the subject.

Mr. Opp then rose amid a thunder of applause, and stood for a moment in pleased but overwhelming embarra.s.sment. Then he put forward one foot inflated his chest, and began:

"Valued brother fellow-beings, I come before you to-night to express that which there is no words in the English vocabulary to express.

Whatever you may have to say concerning me, or my part in the awakening of this our native city, I shall listen at with a grateful heart. I believe in a great future for Cove City. We may not live to see it, but I believe that the day will arrive when our city shall be the gateway to the South, when the river front will be not dissimilar to Main Street, New York. I predict that it reaches a pivot of prominence of which we wot not of. As for Mr. Hinton, one and all we welcome him amid our mongst. 'The Opp Eagle' strikes palms with 'The Weekly News,' and wishes it a lasting and eternal success."

A burst of applause interrupted the flow of his eloquence, and as he glanced around the room, he saw there was some commotion at the door. A turbaned head caught his eye, then Aunt Tish's beckoning hand.

Hastily excusing himself, he made his way through the crowd, and bent to hear her message.

"Hit's Miss Kippy," she whispered. "I hate to 'sturb you, but she done crack her doll's head, an' she's takin' on so, I can't do nuffin 't all wif her."

"Couldn't you contrive to get her quiet no way at all?" asked Mr. Opp, anxiously.

"Naw, sir. She mek like dat doll her sh.o.r.e 'nough baby, and she 'low she gwine die, too, furst chanct she gits. I got Val's mother to stay wif her till I git back."

"All right," said Mr. Opp, hastily. "You go right on and tell her I'm coming."

When he reentered the dining-room, he held his hat in his hand.

"I find a urgent matter of business calls me back home; for only a few moments, I trust," he said apologetically, with bows and smiles. "If the banquet will kindly proceed, I will endeavor to return in ample time for the final speeches."

With the air of a monarch taking temporary leave of his subjects, he turned his back upon the gay, protesting crowd, upon the feast prepared in his honor, upon the speech-making, so dear to his heart. Tramping through the snow of the deserted street, through the lonely graveyard, and along the river road, he went to bind up the head of a china doll, and to wipe away the tears of a little half-crazed sister.

He wears the same checked suit as when we saw him first, worn and frayed, to be sure, but carefully pressed for the occasion, the same brave scarf and pin, and watch fob, though the watch is missing.

Pa.s.sing out of sight with the sleet in his face, and the wind cutting through his finery, he whistles as he goes, such a plucky, st.u.r.dy, hopeful whistle as calls to arms the courage that lies slumbering in the hearts of men.

THE END