For Jeremy, leaving Hamlet was a dreadful affair.

In three months a dog can change more swiftly than a human being, and Hamlet, although not a supremely greedy dog, had shown of late increasing signs of a love of good food, and a regrettable tendency to fawn upon the giver of the same, even when it was Aunt Amy.

Jeremy had checked this tendency, and had issued punishments when necessary, and Hamlet had accepted the same without a murmur.

So long as Jeremy was there Hamlet's character was secure; but now, during this long absence, anything might happen.

There was no one to whom Jeremy might leave him; no one who had the slightest idea what a dog should do and what he should not.
These melancholy thoughts filled Jeremy's mind when he started upon his walk, but soon he was absorbed by his surroundings.