human
My business is with you, he said,
gpt
That's rather shabby of you, he declared.
human
I was just going to ask for your support myself.
gpt
I think you can manage without it. Dot will not refuse her forgiveness if you ask for it properly.
human
Won't she? said Nap, still keenly watching the girl's half-averted face.
gpt
I should if I were Dot. You see our feud is of very long standing. We always cut each other when we meet in the street--very pointedly so that no one could possibly imagine for a moment that we were strangers. We don't like doing it in the least, but we are both so infernally proud that there is no alternative. And so we have got to keep it up all our days, long after the primary reason for it all has sunk into oblivion. By the way, I have forgotten already what the primary reason was.
human
I--haven't,
gpt
No?
human
No! Dot turned her flushed face suddenly upon him.
gpt
You never meant me to forget,
human
It must have been something very venomous,
gpt
It was! she answered, fighting with, herself.
human
You--you know it was!
gpt
It's not worth crying about anyway, said Nap.
human
My sting may be poisonous, but it has never yet proved fatal. Tell me where the mischief is, and p'r'aps I can remove it.