against it. She sat in her own room with her feet over the register
and munched caramels and nursed her grievance all the afternoon. Delia
was miserable. She had tried by every means in her power to win at
least a look from the girl, but all her attempts were repelled and she
was treated with an overbearance that cut her to the quick. At last
she could stand it no longer. She left her work and went upstairs "to
have it out with Nan" and be done with it.
She knocked repeatedly at her bedroom door, but the girl obstinately
refused to utter the word of admittance. Delia was not to be daunted,
however, by this, and at last, turning the knob, she walked boldly in
and confronted Nan squarely.
"See here, Nan," she began without waiting, "I want to know what's the
matter with you that you treat me so? Me that has waited on you hand
and foot and tended you night and day since you was a little baby?"
The girl did not deign to raise her eyes from her book--or else they
were so rapidly filling with tears that she did not dare to do so.
Delia gulped. "Can't you answer a civil question?" she faltered,
trying to be firm and failing utterly.
Nan cast her book to the floor and sprang up to face the woman with
blazing cheeks and eyes that flashed angry fire.
"You'd better ask me what's the matter, Delia Connor!" she burst out in
a trembling voice. "As if you didn't know! Do you s'pose I'll bear
everything? It's bad enough--your being such an awful turn-coat! You
went over to her side the first thing, and every time she bosses me you
just stand there and let her do it and never say a word. You let her
order me about like everything and never stand up for me a bit. Her--a
perfect stranger! Somebody you never saw in all your life before! But
that isn't the worst of it! Do you s'pose I'm going to stand your
coming to my door and listening at the key-hole when I was rehearsing
and then going and telling on me--telling her all I was going to do to
her, I'd like to know? You just wanted to get on the right side of
her, and it was the meanest thing I ever heard of in all my life. You
came and peeked at me when I was rehearsing and then went and told her,
and I s'pose you both laughed and had a fine time over it. You thought
you were very smart, didn't you? But you got there too soon, Delia
Connor, for I had made up my mind I wouldn't do it, so there! But now
you've both been so mean, I don't care who knows what
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