Now iron must
never be allowed to come in contact with olive juice. The tannic
acid in the olive juice acts very rapidly on the iron, producing a
kind of ink, that turns the oil black and almost ruins it. The
American's crushing troughs and weights were of granite. Delpha was
sure Sara had scattered the pieces of iron in the crushing trough on
purpose to bring Delpha into trouble.
"I do something to her!" resolved Delpha fiercely. "I pay her for
this!"
Then she remembered, "Fazei bem aos que vos tem odio." (Do good to
them that hate you.) To Sara's amazement, Delpha did not retaliate.
Sara could not understand why.
Toward the end of the olive season, the American went away for a
day. During the noon rest, Delpha, sitting in a side door, thought
she caught the odor of smoke. No wood fire was allowed around the
oil-mill! Delpha went out to investigate.
She saw a film of smoke rising from a gulch. Delpha discovered that
some of the young mill-workers' friends had caught some fish in the
bay sparkling in the distance, and had brought them this way going
home. The American being absent, the young mill-workers and their
friends had made a fire in the gulch, and were merrily broiling
fish. Sara was there, disobeying rules with the others.
Delpha ran back to the oil-mill. She hoped the fire's smoke would
not injure the oil.
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