Miss Kippy’s whole attitude changed. She caught his hand and clung to it, and the terror came back to her eyes.
“You mustn’t go,” she whispered, her body quivering with excitement. “It’ll get me if you do. Daddy kept It away, and you can keep It away; but Aunt Tish can’t: she’s afraid of It, too! She goes to sleep, and then It reaches at me through the window. It comes down the chimney, there—where you see the brick’s loose. Don’t leave me, D. Hush, don’t you hear It?”
Her voice had risen to hysteria, and she clung to him, cold and shaken by the fear that possessed her.
Mr. Opp put a quieting arm about her. “Why, see here, Kippy,” he said, “didn’t you know It was afraid of me? Look how strong I am! I could kill It with my little finger.”
“Could you?” asked Miss Kippy, fearfully.
[p44]
“Yes, indeed,” said Mr. Opp. “Don’t you ever be scared of anything whatsoever when Brother D.’s round. I’m going to take care of you from now on.”
“This me is bad,” announced Miss Kippy; “the other me is good. Her name is Oxety; she has one blue eye and one brown.”
“Well, Oxety must go to bed now,” said Mr. Opp; “it must be getting awful late.”
But Miss Kippy shook her head. “You might go ’way,” she said.
Finding that he could not persuade her, Mr. Opp resorted to strategy: “I’ll tell you what let’s me and you do. Let’s put your slippers on your hands.”