[p86]
“Well, you see,” he said, with thumbs together and his lips pursed, after the manner of the various employers before whom he had stood in the past, “we are just making a preliminary start, and we haven’t engaged our staff yet. I am a business man and a careful one. I don’t feel justified in going to no extra expense until ‘The Opp Eagle’ is, in a way, on its feet.”
“Oh, that’s all right,” said the boy; “I’ll work a month for nothing. Lots of fellows do that on the big papers.”
Miss Jim plucked warningly at his sleeve, and Mr. Opp, seeing that Nick’s enthusiasm had led him beyond his depth, went gallantly to the rescue.
“Not at all,” he said hastily; “that ain’t my policy. I think I might contrive to pay you a small, reasonable sum down, and increase it in ratio as the paper become more prosperous. Don’t you think you better sit down?”
“No, sir; I’m all right,” said the boy, impatiently. “I can do ’most anything about a paper, setting type, printing, [p87] reporting, collecting, ’most anything you put me at.”
Such timely knowledge, in whatever guise it came, seemed Heaven-sent. Mr. Opp gave a sigh of satisfaction.
“If you feel that you can’t do any better than accepting the small sum that just at present I’ll have to offer you, why, I think we can come to some arrangement.”
“That’s mighty nice in you,” said Miss Jim, jerking her head forward in order to correct an undue backward gravitation of her bonnet. “If ever you want a crayon portrait, made from life or enlarged from a photograph, I’ll make you a special price on it. I’m just taking this here one home to Mrs. Gusty; she had it done for Guin-never’s birthday.”
Miss Jim removed the wrappings and disclosed a portrait of Miss Guinevere Gusty, very large as to eyes and very small as to mouth. She handed it to Mr. Opp, and called attention to its fine qualities.
[p88]
“Just look at the lace on that dress! Mrs. Fallows picked a whole pattern off on her needles from one of my portraits. And did you notice the eyelashes; you can actually count ’em! She had four buttons on her dress, but I didn’t get in but three; but I ain’t going to mention it to Mrs. Gusty. Don’t you think it’s pretty?”