era out
and adjusted the handstrap so it could be carried like a satchel. But he
didn't turn on the light just yet. The battery had to be conserved at
all costs. Because....

He swallowed hard. Because when the battery for the infrared light ran
down, there would be nothing but darkness. Darkness would mean feeling
his way through the limestone tangle, and he realized fully that he
would not get far before death claimed him in the form of a yawning
canyon in the limestone rock. He had passed many of them.

He set his jaw. That was ten hours away, because the battery would last
that long. Ten hours was a long time if used wisely.

He closed his eyes and leaned back, dead tired. He dozed off.

* * * * *

Rick was never sure what awakened him, because there was no noise. It
may have been the light on eyes made sensitive by ultimate blackness.
But could a single candle have that much effect?

The candle was carried by a man. A Tibetan. The candle was in a tin
container, punched full of holes. That was to keep it from being blown
out in case of a draft, although there was little or no draft in the
caverns.

When Rick opened his eyes the man was walking straight across the floor
of the big cave, noiseless as a cat in feet wrapped in quilted cloth.
The miracle was that Rick didn't cry out on seeing another human.

He sat frozen, watching the man. Then, as the stranger reached the far
side of the cave, Rick came to life. If he lost this man, who obviously
knew his way around, he was finished! Working at top speed he untied his
shoelaces and slipped off his shoes. Then, in stocking feet, he padded
silently across the floor.

The candle was his guide. He didn't need the infrared beam yet. He would
follow the candle, and if it led him right into the hands of the enemy,
that was better than perishing alone of hunger in the blackness of the
inner caves.

As he went, wary of a backward look by his quarry, he put his rifle
under his arm and fumbled to tie a knot in his laces. It took time,
since he was carrying the camera in one hand now. When he finally
managed, he draped the shoes around his neck.

A dozen times he had been on the verge of abandoning the rifle as
useless extra weight. Now he was glad he had held onto it.

Ahead, the candlelight bobbed and turned as the Tibetan, unaware that he
was being followed, made his way through the caverns. Rick followed at a
safe distance, close e