It was trying to trace the direction of an odor
Og was close to the truth of the matter, though, of course, he could not know all of the details of how the great, sabre-toothed one, at times, made life miserable for the people of the tribe of Scar Face, appearing suddenly and collecting toll from their numbers, only to disappear just as suddenly and leave the pleasant valley quiet and unmolested for weeks. To the tree people the great tiger was a terrible monster and a mysterious one. They knew that it came from the cave and returned to it. They thought that it slumbered there and came out only occasionally, when extremely hungry. They did not know that this cave ran clear through the base of the mountain, and was really a backdoor to the great beast’s real den, which opened into another valley beyond the mountains, a far more desirable valley from the tiger’s point of view than that of the tree people, for hunting was better there with beavers, and sloths, oxen, deer, and wild horses in abundance, any one of which made a better meal for him than did the thin and wiry tree people. That was why the great sabre-toothed one left the den only occasionally by the back door to hunt in the valley of the tree people. Her periodical visits, however, were terrifying to the ape men, for always the great cat caught one of their number out in the open, or, failing this, climbed one of the tall palms, in which the tree people made their rude homes, and tore down the rough and flimsy platforms they had learned to build, and wiped out a whole family in its ferocious effort to get at least one victim to take back to the den. That was why Scar Face and his people had carried Og all the way back to the valley, and that was why the whole tribe rejoiced when he was brought in a prisoner. For weeks they had been dreading another visit from Sabre Tooth, and they felt that if they could furnish a victim she would leave them unmolested for a time at least.
Og sensed a great deal of this as he and the wolf cubs crouched trembling behind the big bowlder part way up the canyon wall and he watched the great beast pick its way slowly and deliberately among the rocks while fear gripped his heart.
Suddenly the tiger stopped and lifted its nose toward the sky, at the same time moving its head and thick muscular neck slowly from side to side. It was trying to trace the direction of an odor that came down on the night wind, and Og instinctively knew that the odor was his odor and that the sinister beast had detected his presence in the canyon.
CHAPTER X
IN THE DARK OF THE NIGHT
Slowly the giant tiger began to flatten itself among the rocks while the heavy head with its glowing eyes moved about trying to locate Og, either by smell or by sight. That the great cat knew he was in the canyon and close at hand was evident from its actions. For a long time it crouched motionless among the rocks, save the slow and subtle movement of its head and the silent waving of its tail. Presently it began to creep forward ever so slowly, moving across the canyon in the direction the soft wind was blowing and heading directly toward the bowlder behind which the hairy boy and his wolf companions crouched.
Og’s heart almost stopped beating. Yet, with all his fear, he never moved a muscle, for he realized that the tiger knew he was close at hand, but had not yet been able to locate him, and until it did it would not spring upon him. It must see him first and know for a certainty just where he was before it would risk a charge or any quick movement.