the squirrel leapt back to the tree , and ran down it , toward the roots , and then , in seconds , or minutes , or hours , shadow could not tell which ( all the clocks in his mind were broken , he thought , and their gears and cogs and springs were simply a jumble down there in the writhing grass ) , the squirrel returned with its walnut-shell cup , climbing carefully , and shadow drank the water it brought to him .