That ominous growl was meant as a warning to them to beware how they incurred its animosity. From the way in which its haunches had settled upon the limb, it appeared as though the beast might be in readiness to make a leap; and it was because of this that Rob had instantly hissed those words.
At the time it chanced he was just a little in the advance; hence his position was more inclined to be a perilous one than could be said of his companions. None of them had any weapon handy with which to defend themselves in case the animal really attacked them; though Sim and Andy immediately began to use their eyes to advantage in the hope of being able to see a club of some sort, always the first resort of a boy in trouble.
“Tell us what to do, Rob!” urged Sim, who had actually discovered the cudgel he wanted to possess, yet did not dare make a move toward getting it in his grip lest by so doing he tempt the savage beast to spring.
“Stand perfectly still!” ordered the patrol leader. “You can do more good that way than by moving. If we all just stare at him, he’ll soon get uneasy, not knowing what to make of such a mysterious crowd. Animals hate to look into human eyes, they say. I’ve stared a dog out of countenance that way myself.”
“Huh!” grunted Tubby, remembering how he had once tried that same game himself with a barking puppy, getting down on his hands and knees to manage better, only to have the little varmint instantly seize hold of his nose and hang on.
“How would it do for all to give a big yell together?” suggested Ralph.
“That might make him jump, I take it,” replied Andy Bowles, wishing he had his bugle handy, for with it he could sound a shrill blast that would surely cause the impudent cat to retreat in haste.
“Yes, it would startle him, all right,” admitted Rob, “but he might jump the wrong way, and at us. Better try my scheme; it can do no harm, and I don’t think he’ll attack us unless we begin the fight.”
“I see a bully club close by my feet, Rob.”
“Well, don’t bother trying to get hold of it just yet,” urged the other. “But if he should leap at me, see to it you grab that club in a big hurry, and let him have it with a smack. Steady, now, you can see the beast’s beginning to get uneasy right along.”