UNDER THE APPLE-TREES 
second apple-tree, and pauses as before, quickly 
glancing round; then in a few leaps he is at home, 
and in his den. Returning, he usually pursues the 
same course. He leaves no trail, and is never off his 
guard. No baseball runner was ever more watchful. 
Apparently while in the open he does not draw one 
breath free from a keen sense of danger. I have 
tempted him to search my coat pockets for the nuts 
or cherry-pits that I have placed there, and, when he 
does so, he seems to appreciate at what a disadvan- 
tage his enemy might find him — his eyes are for 
the moment covered, his rear is exposed, his whole 
situation is very insecure; hence he seizes a nut and 
reverses his position in a twinkling; his body palpi- 
tates; his eyes bulge; then he dives in again and 
seizes another nut as before, acting as if he thought 
each moment might be his last. When he goes into 
the tin cocoa-box for the cherry-pits, he does it with 
the hurry of fear; his eyes are above the rim every 
second or two; he does not stop to clean the pits as 
he does when on my table, but scoops them up with 
the greatest precipitation, as if he feared I might 
clap on the lid at any moment and make him pris- 
oner. In all the hundred and one trips he has made 
from my camp to his den he has not for one moment 
forgotten himself; he runs all the bases with the same 
alertness and precaution. Coming back, he emerges 
from his hole, sits up, washes his face, then looks 
swiftly about, and is off for the base of supplies. 
13 
