Titus could not find Higby at first. After a time he discovered him behind the door in the pantry, crying in a low and dispirited way.
“What’s the matter with you?” he asked.
Higby raised a tearful face.
“Mi-mi-missis Blodgett slapped me.”
“And what did she slap you for? I’ll bet you deserved it.”
“I-I-I’m a bachelor,” whimpered Higby, “a-a-an’ she’s a widder.”
“Well, suppose you are, and suppose she is,” said the boy, impatiently, “what of it? She wouldn’t slap you for that?”
“When I-I-I saw the crowd I thought she m-m-might be scared, an’ I put m-m-my arm round her.”
“Scared! You goose, you’d scare quicker than she would.”
“An’ she sl-sl-slapped me,” continued Higby, dolefully, “an’ she said, You sas-sas-sassy ole dog. An’ I-I-I aint a dog.”