Neither must he make any sudden and unnecessary noise or motions.
He knew that a nest of that particular sort was more than a home, it was a comparatively safe refuge, and he knew that its occupant would not emerge and desert it without good cause.

One of those precious twenty badges was evidence of that much knowledge.
His purpose was to cut the branch as near to the nest as he dared, both from the standpoint of the bird's peace of mind and his own safety.

The further from the nest he cut, the thicker would be the branch, and the more cutting there would be to do.

To cut too near to the nest might frighten his little neighbor on the branch, and endanger his own life.
Yet if he cut the branch where it was thick, how could he handle it after it was detached?
How would he get down with it through all that network of lower branches?
In his quandary he hit on a plan involving new peril for himself and doubtless some agitation to his little neighbor.

He would not detach the nest from its branch, for how could he ever attach it to another branch in a way satisfactory to that finicky little householder?
He knew enough about his business to know that no bird would continue to live in a nest which had been tampered with to that extent.
So he advanced cautiously out on the branch again till he could reach the nest.