But the command was easier than the execution of the order. The piled up snow upon the meadow was not yet frozen firm, and the horses sank knee-deep in the drifts; they were therefore obliged to move slowly. Suddenly they heard the barking of a dog; directly in front of them there was the deformed thick stump of a willow-tree upon which glistened in the light of the moon a crown of leafless twigs.
"They are farther off," said the guide, "they are near the alder clump, but it seems that here also there might be something."
"There is much drift under the willow-tree. Bring a light."
Several attendants dismounted and lit up the place with their torches.
One of them soon exclaimed:
"There is a man under the snow, his head is visible. Here!"
"There is also a horse," said another.
"Dig them out!"
They began to remove the snow with their spades and throw it aside.
In a moment they observed a human being under the tree, his head upon his chest, and his cap pulled down over his face. One hand held the reins of the horse that lay beside him with its nostrils buried in the snow. It was obvious that the man must have left the company, probably with the object of reaching a human habitation as quickly as possible in order to secure help, and when the horse fell he had then taken refuge under the lee of the willow-tree.
"Light!" shouted Zbyszko.