It was not the slightest good. Mother declared that the notion of living inside burrows—for that was her idea of a house and its rooms—was altogether detestable, and only fit for rabbits and humans, and would most certainly kill her in a very short time. All I could do, after much urging, was to persuade my family to come down to the lower branch and watch me go and talk to Jack. Rusty was quite ready—he always had a bold, determined streak about him; but mother and Hazel hung back. When we got down, there was my dear master sitting where I had left him, all alone. Harry had left. His face lighted up when he saw me hopping along the branch above him, and he gave the little whistle I knew so well, and stood up. Running to the pendent tip of the branch, I made a flying leap, and landed clean on the top of his cap. ‘Why, Nipper, Nipper,’ he said, taking me on his hand and stroking me fondly, ‘I almost thought you had forgotten me!’ I nibbled his finger lovingly by way of apology, and signified that I was quite ready for a nut. It was promptly forthcoming, and then as I ate it he put me down on the log, and walking softly towards the tree, turned out two pockets stuffed with the finest hazel-nuts, and piled them by handfuls into a hollow as high as he could reach. Then he sat down again beside me, took me up and talked to me, and petted me for a long time. At last, very slowly and reluctantly, he put me back on the branch from which I had leaped down. ‘Good-bye, old chap,’ he said in a queer, unsteady voice, and suddenly turned and walked quickly away. To say that I was astonished would be putting it mildly. I was absolutely thunderstruck, but after a minute made up my mind it was some new kind of game, and prepared to follow. ‘Scud! Scud!’ I heard mother call, but I paid no attention. Running along the branch as far as it would bear, I made a flying leap into the next tree. It had been my dear father’s boast that he could travel from one end of our coppice to the other without once touching ground, and indeed I found no difficulty in doing the same. I was so excited that I thought nothing of jumps of six times my own length, for Jack was walking very fast, and I was in a dreadful fright that I might be left behind. At the gate he turned and saw me. He stood a moment irresolute, then quickly vaulted the gate and started off across the field. At this I grew quite desperate, and dropping into the hedge scuttled along it, reached the gate-post, and sitting straight up gave one sharp bark. At that my master turned again and hurried back. ‘Oh, Nipper, why can’t you go home?’ he muttered, and picking me up, walked very fast back to the big beech-tree. ‘Good-bye, once more, old fellow,’ he said stooping over me, and suddenly I was startled by a drop like rain falling on my head.