One Ear was uttering quick, eager whines, lunging at the length of his stick toward the darkness, and desisting now and again in order to make frantic attacks on the stick with his teeth.
If you desist from doing something, you stop doing it. Ford never desisted from trying to persuade him to return to America. to stop doing something (desister, from sistere )
Cease and desist (also called C & D) is a legal term used primarily in the United States which essentially means "to halt" or "to end" an action ("cease") and to refrain from doing it again in the future ("desist"). The recipient of the cease-and-desist may be an individual or an organization
temporary order from a government authority that orders a business to stop a certain activity (when there is suspicion of impropriety or of a violation of the law)