Everyone Has a Question

The Squad Returns

Stirling’s squad returned to the garden not long after lunch. The Jacks watched from the Oak while several squirrels crossed the lawn in quick succession, then vanished before the committee could agree which direction any of them had taken.

“That was deliberate,” said the cousin.

“Walking?” asked Mr Jack Daw.

“Not being here when I was ready with questions.”

Gary Trusts Jack

Rain began soon afterwards. Gary appeared while the Jacks were trying to fit themselves beneath the thickest leaves. He found Mr Jack Daw at the edge of the crowd.

“Stirling came to you yesterday,” Gary said.

“He did.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That you had spoken to me. Nothing more.”

Gary looked towards the lawn where the squirrels had been. “For Stirling, that may be plenty.”

“I would not give him your story.”

“I know.” Gary stepped back. “That is why I told it to you.”

It was as close to thanks as Mr Jack Daw was likely to get. The cousin tried to reach them before they separated, but a gust pushed rain through the Oak and sent him scrambling to protect the committee’s imaginary paperwork.

Visitors in the Fruit Tree

The afternoon worsened. Batman Smith insisted on inspecting the fence despite repeated suggestions from Mrs Steve that he could see it perfectly well from the hedge. Several Robins disagreed about which part of that hedge was driest. Mildred declined to adjudicate.

As the light began to fail, the Fruit Tree filled with tiny, restless visitors. Percy was among them, or so Batman claimed before losing sight of him again. Clive passed through with a long-tailed tit just ahead of him. Batman attempted to count the arrivals and lost his place every time one of them moved.

Then Stirling’s squad appeared again below the tree. Percy disappeared into the leaves; the squirrels continued across the wet garden. Gary had gone hours earlier.

“Are they following you?” Batman asked Percy when he reappeared.

“I should like to see them try.”

Clive glanced down at the squad, then up at Percy. “They are considerably bigger than you.”

“That is why they should choose another hobby.”

Stirling offered no explanation. He led the squirrels away while the Goldcrests resumed their urgent journeys through the Fruit Tree. Batman attempted to note which of them had been there before the interruption and abandoned the effort after the third correction.

Questions After Dark

By evening Steve and Mrs Steve had settled under cover. The rain had become the sort that seemed to fall from the trees as well as the sky.

“The garden is quiet,” Steve said.

“It is wet,” said Mrs Steve. “Even gossip has found somewhere to sit down.”

Marjorie came into the Square after dark. The rain had driven the last daytime voices away, but it had not improved her opinion of Jolene’s unexplained visit.

“If you have business with my daughter,” she told the empty branches, “you may bring it to me.”

No elegant answer emerged from the trees. Marjorie stayed for a while, then went farther along the boundary. She told herself she was attending to her own territory. She was not looking for Jolene. She certainly was not following a mystery simply because it had worn red Beakstick.

The storm went on without offering a witness to contradict her.

Later she was farther away still, and the Square heard no further demand for an explanation. By the time the rain had spent itself, Marjorie had begun to suspect she was arguing with a question Jolene had never quite asked.

Words for Dawn

Before dawn she returned towards her own trees. There was no Jolene waiting there, no Harold to offer advice, and no Marlboro to insist she did not need it. Marjorie considered the words she had practised on an empty Oak two nights before.

“I am proud of her,” she said. “I can tell her when she is here.”

The first light showed a garden washed clean. A Redwing crossed through, the Smiths took up their usual positions, and Brenda made a determined passage along the hedge. Steve and Mrs Steve were soon awake as well. No one agreed on whether the morning felt peaceful or merely rested.

Gary returned while the Jacks were filling the Oak. Percy was busy again among the smaller branches; Jay spent the brighter hours on autumn errands that he refused to describe. Batman watched everyone with a renewed belief that somebody would eventually need his help.

A Private Conversation

Near noon, Gary came back to Mr Jack Daw. An unnamed Rook passed above them without stopping.

“Stirling will ask again,” Mr Jack Daw said.

“I know.”

“I cannot keep answering for you.”

“I have not asked you to.” Gary looked beyond the Square. “I have been deciding whether I can answer for myself.”

The cousin edged along a nearby branch. “Is this a private conversation?”

“Yes,” said Gary and Mr Jack Daw together.

Batman turned towards them at once. The Rook, possessing rather more sense, kept going.

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