Paying no attention to the covert glances of her companions, Patty set to work. She cut carefully, she fitted neatly; she pinned and she basted; she smoothed and she patted; and finally she sewed, with tiny, close stitches, placed evenly and with great precision.
So absorbed did she become in her task that she failed to notice the departure of the others at noon. Alone she sat there at the table, snipping, sewing, pinning, and patting the somewhat refractory satin.
It was almost one o'clock when she finished, and looked up suddenly to see Miss O'Flynn standing watching her.
"Why are you doing this?" she said to Patty, as she took the hat from the girl's hands.
Patty sat up, all at once, conscious of great pain in the back of her neck, from her continued cramped position at work.
"Because I want to earn money," replied Patty, not pertly, but in a tone of obstinate intent. "Is it done right?"
Miss O'Flynn looked at Patty, with an air of kindliness and willingness to help her.
But Patty was in no mood for confidences, and with a shade of hauteur in her manner, she said again: "Is it done right? Does it suit you?"
At Patty's rejection of her advances, Miss O'Flynn also became reserved again, and said, simply: "I cannot use it."
"Why not?" demanded Patty. "It is covered smoothly and neatly. It shows no crease nor fold."
"It is not right," said Miss O'Flynn. "It is not done right, because you do not know how to do it. You have never been taught how to cover hats or how to line them; consequently you cannot do them right."
The other girls had gone to luncheon, so the two were alone in the room. Patty knew that Miss O'Flynn was telling her the truth, and yet she resented it. A red spot burned in each cheek as she answered:
"But the hat is covered perfectly. What matter, then, whether I have been taught or not?"
"Excuse me, it is _not_ covered perfectly. The stitches are too small----"
"Too small!" exclaimed Patty. "Why, I didn't know stitches could be too _small_!"
The other smiled. "That is my argument," she said. "You _don't know_. Of course stitches should be small for ordinary sewing, and for many sorts of work. But not for millinery. Here long stitches are wanted, but they must be rightly set,--not careless long stitches."