The whole upper part of the tree was honeycombed with rooms. Each level was connected by a winding passage as in the caverns of New Plymouth Rock. Each was lit in the same way. It was not Keetack's tree alone; several marva families lived there together. As they entered each level a marva would come forward and welcome Johnny. He was fascinated by the little ones, who grinned at him just as Baba did.
The marva cubs always came in twos: peeking around from the back of the mothers were always two pairs of bright blue eyes. But one family was different. Johnny and Keetack entered that level to the sound of growling and tumbling and scratching. In the middle of the room a small bear bounced hard on the floor and up to the ceiling where it clung like a fly. Below it a coal black leopard cub growled in a way Johnny understood. It was a pleading growl saying "Come."
As soon as the baby bear hanging on the ceiling saw Johnny and Keetack he dropped to the floor and stood with his arm around the black leopard cub. A mother marva came rushing from another room.
"I'm sorry my cubs were so rude," she clicked, "but you know how much mischief one of ours and a friend-pet-brother can get into."
"Of course," Keetack clicked. "This is the friend-pet-brother of one of ours, so he will understand."
"Oh, yes!" Johnny said. Then he looked over at the two cubs. The little marva was still very small and had black claws. "He shows off just like Baba used to," Johnny exclaimed. Johnny remembered the trouble his mother had had with Baba's game of walking on the ceiling.
With that they went on, but Johnny touched Keetack on the shoulder. Though the bear was old, he came no more than to Johnny's shoulder.
"The leopard cub was that marva cub's friend-pet-brother—just as Baba is mine?" Johnny asked.
For the first time the marva seemed to smile, opening his mouth wide as Baba did when he grinned.
"We would say you were his friend-pet-brother," the black muzzled one clicked. "Perhaps it is better to say you are friend-brothers. It is not strange. Many of us have had companions of another race."