The Trouble Maker

"Lyman, why hash the thing over so often? I don't care for you. Go find
some nice girl who will care for you."

"Um," he said dejectedly, "I want you. I thought you just wanted to be
coaxed, but I'm beginning to think you mean it. So you don't care for
me--I suppose you'd snatch Martin Landis in a hurry if you could get
him! But he's poor as a church mouse! You better tie him to your apron
strings--that pretty Souders girl from Lancaster is playing her cards
there--"

Amanda sprang to her feet. "Lyman," she sputtered--"you--you better go
before I make you sorry you said that."

The luckless lover laughed, a reckless, demoniac peal. "Two can play at
that game!" he told her. "You're so high and mighty that a Mertzheimer
isn't good enough for you. But you better look out--we've got claws!"

The girl turned and went out of the room. A moment later she heard the
front door slammed and knew that Lyman had gone. His covert threat--
what did he mean? What vengeance could he wreak on her? Oh, what a
complicated riddle life had grown to be! She remembered Aunt Rebecca's
warning that tears would have to balance all the laughter. How she
yearned for the old, happy childhood days to come back to her! She
clutched frantically at the quickly departing joy and cheerfulness of
that far-off past.

"I'm going to keep my sense of humor and my faith in things in spite of
anything that comes to me," she promised herself, "even if they do have
to give me boneset tea to jerk me up a bit!" She laughed at Millie's
faith in the boneset tea. "I hope it also takes the meanness and hate
out of my heart. Why, just now I hate Lyman! If he really cared for me
I'd feel sorry for him, but he doesn't love me, he just wants to marry
me because long ago he decided he would do so some day."