to leave behind. She had been allowed to have her own way more than
ever since her illness, and now when she wanted to take all sorts of
unreasonable things no one liked to oppose her. The black kitten was to
go also, she had settled, but it was nowhere to be found when the party
was starting, David having wisely shut it up in the museum. Andrew
drove off quickly to catch the train, and the last to be seen of Dickie
was a kicking struggling form in Nurse's arms, and a face heated with
anger.

The house seemed strangely dull and empty when they were really gone,
but perhaps Ambrose felt it least, for he had his new lessons to fill
his thoughts, and his mind was firmly fixed on making wonderful progress
before his father came back.

After one or two lessons, however, this did not seem such a very easy
thing to do, for he soon began to find out how very little he knew, and
to have a dim idea that there was an enormous quantity to learn.

What a wonderful lot Dr Budge must know, and he seemed to be always
learning more! When he was not actually occupied with Ambrose's lessons
he was so entirely taken up with his own writing that Nancy's remark was
perhaps true--he had forgotten his pupil altogether!

And yet, when Ambrose said the lesson he had prepared, or ventured to
ask some question about the exercise he was doing, Dr Budge's mind came
back at once from its own pursuits. He gave the most earnest attention
to Ambrose's little difficulties, and did not rest till he was sure that
they were cleared away; then he took up his squeaking quill-pen again,
gave a push to his wig, and scribbled away harder than ever.

During these hours of study the jackdaw's presence was a relief both to
Ambrose and his master, though in a different way. As he sat opposite
the cage, with one elbow on the table and his head resting on his hand,
Ambrose would raise his eyes from his grammar to the wicker cage with a
feeling of sympathy. He and Jack were both shut up in cages, only that
Jack had no Latin to learn.

But the doctor went further than this. Sometimes he came to a
stand-still in his writing, murmured to himself, frowned, walked heavily
up and down the room, but found no way out of the difficulty. Then, as
a last resource, he would open the door of Jack's cage and invite him to
perch on his finger. Jack would step jauntily down, raising all the
grey feathers on his head till it was twice its usual size. Absently,
but wi