Emaline's backyard was infested with gopher holes due to one problematic gopher and because of this, Angus is having trouble finding space for the crops. They'll need a plan for the infestation of the gopher. Jamie, daughter of Harry Record, had confidently agreed that they should blow up the holes with firecrackers, leaving the gopher dead. Angus was disgusted towards that idea because as mentioned in the novel, Angus has a strong bond between animals. For example, he had shared his meal with little rodents in the shed. Angus only had one piece of bread left, but he had no problem sharing it to the hungry rodents. Angus couldn't let the gopher die so with his inventive skills, he had thought of a more amiable and agreeable way to trap the
