emmanuel spoke not a word , but did his damnedest , despite alarming inconsistencies in his portrayal , to stay in characterrunning up to trees on the tops of the rolling green hillsides , scouring the ground around them for acorns , and scuffing his paws up against the rough bark of cedars ; marquis , meanwhile walking and leading his mountain louse by the reins , seemed distant , yet content in a way that emmanuel had never seen him .