ing. Her cry of fright awakened me. Truly,
I was a battered object. As she helped me to
my room, I caught a glimpse of myself in the
mirror. My lip was cut and stood out like a
snout. My nose looked like a big blue plum,
and one eye was swollen shut and hideously
discolored. Grandmother said we must have
the doctor at once, but I implored her, as I
had never begged for anything before, not to
send for him. I could stand anything, I told
her, so long as nobody saw me or knew what
had happened to me. I entreated her not to
let grandfather, even, come into my room.
She seemed to understand, though I was too
faint and miserable to go into explanations.
When she took off my nightshirt, she found
such bruises on my chest and shoulders that
she began to cry. She spent the whole morning
bathing and poulticing me, and rubbing me
with arnica. I heard Antonia sobbing outside
my door, but I asked grandmother to send her
away. I felt that I never wanted to see her
again. I hated her almost as much as I
hated Cutter. She had let me in for all this
disgustingness. Grandmother kept saying
how thankful we ought to be that I had been
there instead of Antonia. But I lay with my

[[284]]

p283 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p284w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p285

v?