“Now what’s the matter?” asked Mrs. Meadows, looking at her son’s face as he entered.
“I jumped over the garden fence and landed on the watermelons Dad was picking.”
Jim’s mother was still irked about her tree; so she was not too sympathetic.
“You are entirely too wild with that horse of yours,” she said sternly. “It’s time you stopped being so heedless.”
Jim considered this additional rebuke for a while in silence. Everybody was angry with him and no one cared for Ticktock, he decided. They just weren’t wanted any more. The only solution was to go away. He had no idea of running away permanently, but he felt he had to get away from his troubles.
“Can I have some sandwiches?” he asked. “I want to make a trip and get away from it all.”
“I guess so,” said Mrs. Meadows, trying not to smile at her son’s doleful countenance. “When do you expect to come back from this trip?”
“What do you have for supper?”
“Steak for one thing and apple pie for another.”
“I guess my nerves will be steady enough by suppertime,” said Jim judiciously.