“Yes,” answered Andrew in the tone of a martyr. “He knocked me down with a hoe, and if mother had not come out just as she did I think he would have killed me.”
“What made him attack you?” asked Mr. Badger, exceedingly surprised.
“I asked him if he would dig some fish-worms for me.”
“Couldn’t you dig some yourself?”
“I s’pose I could, but he knew better than I where to find them.”
“What next?”
“He said he wouldn’t. I told him that I would tell you about his impertinence. Then he hit me with the hoe as hard as he could.”
“Was that all that passed?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t quite understand it. You are surely stronger than Bill. How did it happen that you allowed him to strike you?”