Saying this he was rummaging in the box of trinkets.
Down at the bottom was an opera hat that Trim had put in with the idea that it might come handy for just such an emergency.
It may be explained that an opera hat is an article very commonly worn by swells in civilized life.
It is a hat that has springs in the crown by means of which it can be crushed as flat and very similar in appearance to a platter.
Work the springs in the opposite way, and the hat becomes a regulation stove-pipe.
It has not the shiny appearance of the tall silk hat, but in other respects it is exactly like it.
The hat lay in its flat condition at the bottom of the box.
When Trim took it out and approached the elder the latter looked surprised and disappointed; he had evidently hoped for something bright, and he would have probably been tickled with a baby’s rattle.
Trim stood before the elder and handed his own hat to Dobbin; then he worked the springs of the opera hat, almost bursting with laughter as he saw the elder’s eyes bulge with surprise at the change that occurred in the article.
Very gravely Trim then placed the hat on his own head; after leaving it there a moment he took it off and set it on the head of the savage.