But after he grew to manhood, I was obliged to banish him to our
yard and chain him up; and there his piteous, sky-piercing calls, which
seemed to come from the roof of a house near him, first showed me what a
ventriloquist the animal can be."
"Why on earth did you banish him?" asked Neal.
"Because his plan of campaign, when loose, was to follow me about like a
devoted cat, climbing over me whenever he got the chance, with slobbery
fondness. But as soon as I was out of the way he'd steal every mortal
thing I possessed, from my most precious instruments to my latest tie
and handkerchiefs. I never saw anything to equal his ingenuity in
ferreting out such articles, and his incorrigible mischief in destroying
them. I chained him in the yard after he had torn my father's silk hat
into shreds, and made off with his favorite spectacles. Whether he wore
them or not I don't know; he chewed up the case; the glasses no man
thereafter saw. I couldn't endure his piteous cries for reconciliation
while he was in banishment, so I gave him away to a friend who was
suffering from an imaginary ailment, and needed rousing.
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