How was I to know that death lurked in that bent piece of wood?
But Lop-Ear knew.

He had evidently seen the Fire People before and knew something of their ways.

The Fire-Man peered up at him and circled around the tree.

And around the main trunk above the fork Lop-Ear circled too, keeping always the trunk between himself and the Fire-Man.
The latter abruptly reversed his circling.

Lop-Ear, caught unawares, also hastily reversed, but did not win the protection of the trunk until after the Fire-Man had twanged the bow.
I saw the arrow leap up, miss Lop-Ear, glance against a limb, and fall back to the ground.