bird
perched on a bough immediately above him. With his wings outspread, his
head flattened, and his beak wide open, he seemed beside himself with
fury at finding the stranger in his house. Screaming and scolding at
the top of his voice, he took no notice of Ambrose, who ran out before
the doctor and jumped up on the bench under the tree.

"Isn't it splendid?" he cried, looking back at his master. "He's come
back you see, and isn't he cross? Shall I try to get him down?"

In his excitement he spoke just as he would have done to David or Nancy.

"No, no," said the doctor hastily, his face redder than usual, and
putting his hand on Ambrose's shoulder, "he doesn't know you, you'd
scare him away. Let me come."

He mounted on the bench beside Ambrose and stretched his arm up through
the boughs of the tree.

"He knows my voice," he said. "Come, then, Jack."

Jack's only reply was an angry hiss, and a peck delivered at the
doctor's hand with the whole force of his body.

"You see he knows me," said the doctor smiling, "he always does that.
He's a little out of temper just now."

"Hadn't you better throw a duster over his head?" said Ambrose eagerly;
"that's a very good way to catch them."

"If he'd only let me scratch his poll," said the doctor, "he'd be all
right directly, but I can't get at him."

They were now joined by the doctor's housekeeper, who came out with her
arms folded in her apron to see what was going on. She stood looking at
the doctor's vain exertions a moment, and then said:

"Best take away t'other, master, he'll never come to ye else."

"Why, I wonder we never thought of that!" said the doctor at once,
lifting the cage off the bough. "I'm much obliged to you, Mrs Gill.
Perhaps you'd kindly take it indoors out of sight, and then we'll try
again."

Mrs Gill departed with the care, and the doctor once more reached up
his hand to the jackdaw.

"Come, then, Jack," he said in a soothing tone.

The bird hesitated a moment, and then, to Ambrose's great excitement,
stepped on to the offered finger, and allowed himself to be drawn down
from the tree. After this, his cage being brought out with no signs of
the stranger, and some choice morsels of food placed in it, he showed no
more bad temper, but marched in at the door, and began to eat greedily.

The doctor breathed a sigh of relief at this happy ending, and Ambrose,
with his own jackdaw in the basket again, stood by with a proud smile o