I have to admit that I was good and scared. I just held onto the tree and
didn't make a move; I guess I hardly breathed. Then, all of a sudden, the
branch I was standing on cracked.
CHAPTER VIII
UP A TREE
Good night!
First I thought I was going to fall, but I reached up and got hold of the
branch above and scrambled up to it. The animal was crouching on the
ground, looking up, and its eyes were just like fire. Its tail was
wriggling just like a snake. _Oh boy,_ I was scared.
But anyway, I wasn't rattled. There's a difference between being scared and
rattled. That's one thing scouts don't get-rattled. I looked down and saw
him there and I knew I was in a mighty dangerous fix, but that only made me
think harder. It seemed to me that that animal must be a leopard because he
had spots, but of course, I knew there weren't any leopards in America.
Africa is where _they_ hang out. But you can bet I didn't think much about
how he happened to be there. He was there, and that was enough for
me. Gee, I like natural history all right, but not when there's a wild
animal just below me.
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