"She needn't have been," said Ellen, indignantly.
"No, I s'pose you wouldn't take 'em if you saw 'em; you wouldn't eat 'em if they were cracked for you, would you?"
She flung some on Ellen's bed as she spoke. Nancy had seated herself on the floor, and using for a hammer a piece of old iron she had brought down with her from the garret, she was cracking the nuts on the clean white hearth.
"Indeed I wouldn't!" said Ellen, throwing them back; "and you oughtn't to crack them there, Nancy you'll make a dreadful mess."
"What, do you think I care?" said the other, scornfully. She leisurely cracked and ate as many as she pleased of the nuts, bestowing the rest in the bosom of her frock. Ellen watched fearfully for her next move. If she should open the little door and get among her books and boxes!
Nancy's first care, however, was the cup of gruel. It was found too hot for any mortal lips to bear, so it was set on one side to cool. Then taking up her rambling examination of the room, she went from window to window.
"What fine big windows! one might get in here easy enough. I declare, Ellen, some night I'll set the ladder up against here, and the first thing you'll see will be me coming in. You'll have me to sleep with you before you think."
"No, you won't. You'll do it a night or two, maybe, but then you'll forget it. I shall find them open when I come. Oh, I'll come!"
"But I could call Aunt Fortune," said Ellen.
"No, you couldn't, 'cause if you spoke a word I'd tickle you to death; that's what I'd do. I know how to fix you off. And if you did call her, I'd just whap out of the window and run off with my ladder, and then you'd get a fine combing for disturbing the house. What's in this trunk?"
"Only my clothes and things," said Ellen.
"Oh, goody! that's fine; now I'll have a look at 'em. That's just what I wanted, only I didn't know it. Where's the key? Oh, here it is, sticking in that's good!"
"Oh, please don't!" said Ellen, raising herself on her elbow, "they're all in nice order, and you'll get them all in confusion. Oh, do let them alone!"
"You'd best be quiet, or I'll come and see you," said Nancy; "I'm just going to look at everything in it, and if I find anything out of sorts, you'll get it. What's this? ruffles, I declare! ain't you fine! I'll see how they look on me. What a plague! you haven't a glass in the room. Never mind I am used to dressing without a glass."