He Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. The general's eyes had left the ground and were traveling inch by inch up the tree.
Rainsford froze there, every muscle tensed for a spring. But the sharp eyes of the hunter stopped before they reached the limb where Rainsford lay; a smile spread over his brown face. Very deliberately he blew a smoke ring into the air; then he turned his back on the tree and walked carelessly away, back along the trail he had come. The swish of the underbrush against his hunting boots grew fainter and fainter.

What can be inferred from the general's behavior in the excerpt?