Page:Sheila and Others (1920).djvu/147

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CONSIDERING KEDDO
135

sympathy always so readily forthcoming. But his greatest heights of awe and deference were reserved for the giants of his own species. A supercilious Great Dane that occasionally promenaded our street, and that could look through and beyond trembling Keddo in the most arrogant manner, filled him with agitated tremors and a decided feeling for the inside of the fence. On the other hand, and in marked contrast, was the cool indifference with which he received the calls of a would-be friend, much better pedigreed than himself, an aristocratic accessory of a St. George Street brown stone front. Unaware of social distinctions, and of his own sad deficiencies in this regard, Keddo showed but scant respect for his affectionate little visitor, whose devotion, like that witnessed in some higher ranges of society, seemed but to increase with indifference.

Indeed, it eventually reached such a climax that the timid devotee ventured to attach himself, at a respectful distance to be sure, to the family constitutionals when these included Keddo. Disaster overtook the venture, however, and as so often happens in a weary world, was out of all proportion to the offense. It so happened that on one most unfortunate occa-