Probably the animal had tried to
clutch the branch before now. The lower end might be frayed by his
claws.
"Will the branch bear my weight?" questioned Timokles.
He dared not rush across the room, and leap toward the hanging palm
branch. He felt certain that if he should turn his back, the leopard
would spring immediately. How quickly the beast was coming!
Timokles' head whirled. He was dizzy.
Suddenly the leopard growled. He crouched as if to spring, and
Timokles, with a wild cry, fled across the room toward the palm
branch. After him rushed the leopard.
Timokles jumped. He grasped the palm branch with one hand. The other
brought a handful of frayed bark down. He caught hold of the branch
with both hands just as the leopard sprang into the air.
Timokles swung aside as far as possible. A great mass of mud,
dislodged from the roof, fell, smiting alike boy and beast,
enveloping them in a cloud of blinding dust. The lad clung to the
branch with desperate strength, though his support was swaying to
and fro. The claws of one of the leopard's paws raked Timokles' arm,
and then the beast dropped to the floor.
The leopard's angry cries stunned Timokles' ears. He clutched the
palm branch tightly. From the swaying motion and the sound of a
slight, though ominous, cracking, Timokles doubted if his support
were reliable.
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