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TIT FOR TAT
167

told Susan so, but she said to stop my jawing and go to sleep before the water got cold, or she'd leave me to see if rhyming would cure toothache, and she hoped it would be a lesson to me."

"Why don't you go to the dentist at Lowbridge and get the tooth out?"

Walter shivered again.

"They want me to—but I can't. It would hurt so."

"Are you afraid of a little pain?" asked Faith contemptuously.

Walter flushed.

"It would be a big pain. I hate being hurt. Father said he wouldn't insist on my going—he'd wait until I'd made up my own mind to go."

"It wouldn't hurt as long as the toothache," argued Faith. "You've had five spells of toothache. If you'd just go and have it out there' d be no more bad nights. I had a tooth out once. I yelled for a moment, but it was all over then—only the bleeding."

"The bleeding is worst of all—it's so ugly," cried Walter. "It just made me sick when Jem cut his foot last summer. Susan said I looked more like fainting than Jem did. But I couldn't bear to see Jem hurt, either. Somebody is always getting hurt, Faith—and it's awful. I just can't bear to see things hurt. It makes me just want to run—and run—and run—till I can't hear or see them."

"There's no use making a fuss over any one getting hurt," said Faith, tossing her curls. "Of course, if