He gave one big heave and brought his body upright, only to have it pass the vertical and, by the weight of his water and rifle, flop him onto his back. Again when he pushed himself with his hands, his hands broke through the snow and gave him no leverage. Finally, he was able to slowly, by concentrating and gritting his teeth, get his stomach and back muscles to gradually bring him upright and let him put his arms out to either side to steady himself.

He began the tedious process of digging his right leg out of the snow. Every few inches, he would try to pull the leg up, and he was nearly down to his knee when the snow around his foot and ankle gave and the leg came free.

With all four limbs free, he was still trapped by the brittle crust of the snow. He tried, gingerly, to rise, but it gave way under him. Finally, he laid himself out prone, face down on the snow, legs spread behind him, and began to crawl, using his elbows and feet to propel himself across the snow crust.

Because he had to stay prone, he used his nose to guide him, inching forward through the snow. The lion, wherever it was, was likely not hungry, certainly not desperate, but Tom, moving forward slowly on his belly, knew he looked more like an injured animal than a human being. He must look that way to the cat as well. It would be all instinct now, and the cat would do whatever it was that cats do in that situation. He pushed his elbows farther out in front of him and increased the pace of his crawl.

It was colder down here with his whole body, rather than just his feet, in contact with the snow. The softened crust of snow flaked off and pushed its way inside his jacket, his pants, and his boots. It was almost fully dark now, and the temperature had begun to fall noticeably. He didn't know how much longer he had before the chill took him.

Carefully, he rose up on his elbows and yelled for Sisson, waited, and then heard the answering call. He was fairly sure he was moving in the right direction, but the answer from Sisson confused rather than clarified his bearings. They were still forty yards from the peaks of the canyon walls, and the sound bounced. He couldn't tell if it came from ahead or behind him.

Sisson would come looking for him, but without light it would be impossible for him to track Tom in the snow without stepping in Tom's footprints and risk falling through the crust himself. If Sisson foundered, it would be up to Tom to find Sisson and rescue him. And Tom knew neither where he was nor how he was going to rescue himself. He raised his head and sniffed the burning pine and juniper. It seemed stronger now.