Bannertail 



of seeing him and their mother at work; 

 and because he was of unusual force, it 

 drove him hard, with an urge that acted 

 like a craze. He worked like mad, seiz- 

 ing, stripping, smelling, appraising, mark- 

 ing, weighing every nut he found. 



What, weighing it? Yes, every nut 

 was weighed by the wise harvester. 

 How? By delicate muscular sense. It 

 was held for a moment between the paws, 

 and if it seemed far under weight it was 

 cast aside as worm-eaten, empty, worth- 

 less; if big, but merely light in weight, 

 that meant probably a fat worm was with- 

 in. Then that nut was split open and the 

 worm devoured. A wormy nut was never 

 stored. If the nut was heavy, round, and 

 perfect, the fine balance in the paws and 

 the subtle sense of smell asserted the fact, 

 and then it was owner-marked. How? 

 By turning it round three times in the 

 mouth, in touch with the tongue. This 



[254] 



s" 



