I stood patting the cat, hoping that Ike would stretch out his great rough hand to me to say "Good-bye;" but he went on digging, as if he were very cross.
"I didn't know it till to-day, Ike," I said.
"Ho!" said Ike with a snap, and he bent down to chop an enormous earthworm in two, but instead of doing so he gave it a flip with the corner of his spade, and sent it flying up into a pear-tree, where I saw it hanging across a twig till it writhed itself over, when, one end of its long body being heavier than the other, it dropped back on to the soft earth with a slight pat.
Still Ike did not speak, and all at once I heard Old Brownsmith's voice calling.
"I must go now, Ike," I said, "I'll come back and say `Good-bye.'" "And after the way as I've tried to make a man of yer," he said as if talking to his mother earth, which he was chopping so remorselessly.
"It isn't my fault, Ike," I said.

"I'll come over and see you again as soon as I can." "Who said it war your fault ?" "No one, Ike," I said humbly.

"Don't be cross with me." "Who is cross with yer ?" cried Ike, cleaning his spade.
"You seemed to be." "Hah!" "I will come and see you again as soon as I can," I repeated.
"Nobody don't want you," he growled.
"Grant!" "Coming, sir," I shouted back, and then I turned to Ike, who dug away as hard as ever he could, without looking at me, and with a sigh I hurried off, feeling that I must have been behaving very ungratefully to him.
Then there was a sense as of resentment as I thought of how calmly everybody seemed to take my departure, making me think that I had done nothing to win people's liking, and that I must be a very unpleasant, disagreeable kind of lad, since, with the exception of Mrs Dodley and the cat, nobody seemed to care whether I went away or stayed..