It was the great size of the thing alone that saved me. Its
enormous bulk rendered it too slow upon its feet to cope with the
agility of my young muscles, and so I was enabled to dodge out of
its way and run completely behind it before its slow wits could
direct it in pursuit.
The few seconds of grace that this gave me found me safely lodged
in the branches of a tree a few paces from that in which Perry had
at last found a haven.
Did I say safely lodged? At the time I thought we were quite safe,
and so did Perry. He was praying--raising his voice in thanksgiving
at our deliverance--and had just completed a sort of paeon of
gratitude that the thing couldn't climb a tree when without warning
it reared up beneath him on its enormous tail and hind feet, and
reached those fearfully armed paws quite to the branch upon which
he crouched.
The accompanying roar was all but drowned in Perry's scream of
fright, and he came near tumbling headlong into the gaping jaws
beneath him, so precipitate was his impetuous haste to vacate the
dangerous limb. It was with a deep sigh of relief that I saw him
gain a higher branch in safety.
And then the brute did that which froze us both anew with horror.
Grasping the tree's stem with his powerful paws he dragged down
with all the great weight of his huge bulk and all the irresistible
force of those mighty muscles. Slowly, but surely, the stem began
to bend toward him. Inch by inch he worked his paws upward as
the tree leaned more and more from the perpendicular.
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