eleven o'clock
The look of the thickening sky , the wintry sting of the rushing air , the businesslike way in which the snow swirled and fell created a condition upon which he had not counted and for which he had no relish . This was more like a mid-winter blizzard than any storm had any business being so early in the season . For many hours already the snow had been falling , piling up in the mountain passes ; if it kept on at this rate through another day and night -- well , he and Gloria had best be getting out without any loitering . He looked at his watch ; not yet eleven o'clock . Need for haste ; the day would be short . Before darkness shut down he had half a dozen hours , hours for methodical search . Here was one of Gus Ingle 's caves ; another , he knew , was directly below and at the base of the cliffs ; the third should be near .