Snow Cat

Chapter 3-1

Chapter 3

The cat leapt onto a low hanging branch then climbed to a higher one, his long, sharp claws digging into the thick bark to give him purchase. Now high above the house and yard, he scanned the area, looking for any signs of the missing boy.

Below, he could see the sheriff and deputies fanning out to start the search. The coming darkness and a light snowfall would impede their progress. Not so for the cat. Swiveling his ears, he listened for any sound that might reveal the boy’s whereabouts even as he searched the ground around him for any signs of his passage.

His sharp eyes saw the rapidly disappearing evidence someone had left the yard, going into the surrounding trees not more than a few hundred feet from where the cat was perched. Leaping to a limb on the next tree and then onward in the same fashion, the cat followed the dim trail. It ended suddenly at the edge of a small stream.

Jumping to the ground, the cat listened as he peered along both edges the stream, searching for anything that would tell him where the boy had gone. He saw faint impressions in the muddy bank along the far side and with one swift leap, he was across the water.

Now tracking the boy became easier. What the searchers might miss, the cat had no problem seeing. The trail went on for several yards before turning into the trees again. The cat wondered if the boy had a destination in mind or if he was just traveling without thinking.

He found out several minutes later when his sharp hearing picked up the faint sounds of sniffling. Moving quickly but silently toward it, he came to a small clearing. The boy sat huddled against a fallen tree trunk, his face buried in his hands.

Inch by inch, the cat moved closer, mewing to let the boy know he was there, as he dropped down on his stomach to appear less threatening.

The boy looked up, his eyes widening in surprise, a trace of fear mixed with interest on his face. “Wow, you’re big,” he whispered, his voice trembling.

The cat mewed again.

Tentatively, the boy reached out one hand to touch the cat’s forehead. “What are you? A snow cat?” He sniffled again, wiping his nose on the sleeve of his jacket. “I’m Ralphie, and I’m lost,” he whimpered.

The cat stood slowly, gently taking hold of the jacket’s other sleeve with his teeth and tugging.

For a moment Ralphie resisted, pulling back fearfully. The cat mewed softly again and the boy stood. “Can you…? I want to go home.”

Still holding the boy’s sleeve, the cat began to walk at a snail’s pace out of the clearing into the trees and the boy followed without resistance. Soon the cat released the sleeve, sensing Ralphie would come with him on his own. The boy hesitated again when they came to the stream, but when the cat took hold of his sleeve again, Ralphie carefully walked across it with him.

Finally they were close to Ralphie’s home. The cat and the boy heard the searchers as they called Ralphie’s name. The boy hesitated then wrapped his arms around the cat’s thick neck, hugging tightly as he whispered “Thank you.” Seconds later he was racing through the trees to the nearest voice, shouting “Here I am.”

The cat started to leave, paused, then climbed up the nearest tree to a high limb so he could watch the happy reunion as Ralphie’s mother dashed through the yard to pick him up in a tight embrace. Then, leaping down, the cat sped into the trees, his white fur melding in with the snow-covered ground as he vanished from sight, heading back toward the stream.