[p323]
When the night arrived, Jimmy Fallows did the honors. He was resplendent in his dress-suit, which consisted of a black sateen shirt 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 gratitude 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 embarrassment. 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 [p324] 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 [p325] 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 shore ’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.”