He pushed the prairie dog into the aperture and called "Kitty-kitty-kitty" again coaxingly.
He was so absorbed in his anxious quest that he did not hear the chuckle of two wagons coming up through the sand to the corral.

He did not even hear the footsteps of men approaching the house.

He did not hear anything at all except a dismal yowl now and then from the darkness.

He contorted his long person that he might peer into the gloom.

He pushed the prairie dog in as far as he could reach.