He had a great affection for me, and used to follow me about. When I sat down, he was not content till he had climbed upon me and hid his head in my breast. He was extremely fond of being petted and fondled, and would sit by the hour while anyone stroked his head and back.
He soon began to be a very great thief. When the people left their huts he would steal in and make off with their plantains or fish (for he could then eat anything). He watched very carefully till all had left a house, and it was difficult to catch him in the act. I flogged him several times, and indeed brought him to the conviction that it was wrong to steal; but he could never resist the temptation.
From me he stole constantly. He soon found out that my hut was the best supplied with ripe bananas and other fruit. He also discovered that the best time to steal from me was when I was asleep in the morning. At that time he used to crawl slowly and carefully on tip-toe towards my bed and look at my closed eyes. If he saw no movement, with an air of great relief he would go and pick up several ripe plantains. If I stirred in the least, he was off like a flash, and would presently re-enter for another inspection.
If my eyes were open when he came in on such a predatory trip, he would come directly to me, with an honest face, and would climb upon me and caress me; but I could easily detect an occasional wishful glance towards the bunch of plantains.
My hut had no door, but was closed with a mat. It was very funny to see Tommy gently raising one corner of this mat and popping his head in to see if I was asleep. Sometimes I feigned sleep, and then stirred, just as he was in the act of taking off his prize. Then he would drop everything and make off in the utmost consternation.
He kept the run of meal times, and was present at as many meals as possible; that is, he would go from my breakfast to half a dozen others, and beg sometimes at each. But he never missed my own breakfast and dinner, knowing by experience that he fared best there.
I had a kind of rude table made, on which my meals were served, in the open part of my house. This was too high for Tommy to see the dishes; so he used to come in before I sat down, when all was ready, and climb up on the pole that supported the roof. From here he would attentively survey every dish on the table, and having determined what to have, he would descend and sit down at my side. If I did not immediately pay attention to him he would begin to howl, "Hew! hew! hew!" louder and louder, till, for peace sake, his wants were satisfied. Of course I could not tell what he had chosen for dinner of my different dishes, and would offer him first one, then another, till the right one came. If he received what he did not want he would throw it down on the ground with a little shriek of anger and a stamp of his foot, and begin to howl, and this was repeated till he was served to his liking. In short, he behaved very much like a spoiled child.
If I pleased him quickly, he thanked me by a kind of gentle murmur, like "hoohoo," and would hold out his hand to shake mine. He knew perfectly how to shake hands. He was very fond of boiled messes, particularly boiled fish, and was constantly picking the bones he found lying about the village. He wanted always to taste of my coffee, and when Macondai brought it would beg some of me in the most serious manner.
I made him a little pillow to sleep on, and he became very fond of it. After he was accustomed to it, he would never part with it, but dragged it after him wherever he went. If by any chance it was lost the whole camp knew it by his howls. Now and then, on some forest excursion, he would mislay it, and then I had to send people for it in order to stop his noise. At other times the people would hide it, just to tease him. He slept on it, coiled up in a little heap, and only relinquished it when I gave him permission to accompany me into the woods.
As he became more and more used to our ways, he grew more impatient of contradiction, and more fond of being caressed; and whenever he was thwarted, he would howl in his disagreeable way. Now and then I gave him a flogging to teach him better manners.