At the same time the shepherd's horn
resounded closer to them and the children made reply.
"Sanna," cried the boy, "there come people from Gschaid. I know the
flag, it is the red flag that the stranger gentleman planted on the
peak, when he had climbed the Gars with the young hunter, so that the
reverend father could see it with his spyglass, and that was to be the
sign that they had reached the top, and the stranger gentleman gave him
the flag afterward as a present. You were a real small child, then."
"Yes, Conrad."
After awhile the children could also see the people near the flag, like
little black dots that seemed to move. The call of the horn came again
and again, and ever nearer. Each time, the children made answer.
Finally they saw on the snow-slope opposite them several men with the
flag in their midst coast down on their Alpen-stocks. When they had
come closer the children recognized them. It was the shepherd Philip
with his horn, his two sons, the young hunter, and several men of
Gschaid.
"God be blessed," cried Philip, "why here you are. The whole mountain is
full of people. Let one of you run down at once to the Sideralp chalet
and ring the bell, that they down below may hear that we have found
them; and one must climb the Krebsstein and plant the flag there so that
they in the valley may see it and fire off the mortars, so that the
people searching in the Millsdorf forest may hear it and that they may
kindle the smudge-fires in Gschaid, and all those on the mountain may
come down to the Sideralp chalet.
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