in three situations I can recall where this happened, I ended up getting some alternative punishment such as lines or even nothing more than a severe scolding. Perhaps the masters were using this delay as part of the punishment and never intended to whack me.
The time I actually got the cane from the headmaster I wasn’t expecting it until I was called to the study so there wasn’t much time to contemplate it. But the couple of minutes outside the study door listening to my partner in crime getting swished were certainly unhappy moments.