Slowly, and with the caution he always used, Joe started on his journey across the wire. The cat felt his coming, and turned its head, as it crouched down, and looked at him. But it did not move. The creature was literally "scared stiff."
Foot by foot Joe progressed. Below him the crowd watched breathlessly. Joe knew Helen was there, praying for him, though he could not see her. In the window stood the figure in black, a silent, hopeful but much worried woman. She kept her promise not to scream, but Joe realized that the crucial moment was yet to come.
On and on he went nearer and nearer to the crouching cat. If only the animal would have sense enough to lie still and not make a fuss when he picked it up, Joe felt that all would be well.
But would Peter behave? That was the question.
Joe was now almost over the middle of the street. Far below him was the crowd--a sea of upturned faces, reddened by the reflected rays of the setting sun. The throng was silent. Joe was glad of that.
"Keep still now, Peter, I'm coming for you!" said Joe in a low voice.
"That's right, Peter!" added the woman. "Be a good cat now. You are going to be saved! Keep still and don't scratch!"
Whether the cat heard and understood it is hard to say. But it uttered a pitiful:
Inch by inch, foot by foot Joe advanced. He was quite sure of himself now. He felt that he could easily have walked across the wire from building to building, with the street chasm below him, and even could have made the return trip. But picking up the cat and carrying it back was another thing. It would have been easier for Joe to have carried a man across on his back. He could direct the motions of the man. Could he those of the cat?
On and on he went. The woman in black was leaning from the window, holding out her arms as though to catch Joe should he fall.
In another few seconds he was standing right over the cat. He could see the animal's claws tensely clinging to the rope strands that held the banner. Now came ticklish work.
"Easy, Peter! Go easy now!" said Joe soothingly.
He slowly and carefully stooped down. It was a trick he had often performed in the circus on the high wire. But never under circumstances like this.
Joe's hands came in contact with the fur of the cat's back. He gently stroked the animal, murmuring: