Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1886-12-17
NO. 81.


can follow them quick enough
"You see, continued Arnold, "the least
vibration Of the earth-an echo. slip of
the foot but more often the noise Of a
bursting glacier-loosens a handful of snow,
which begins to roll, licking up more snow,
and, finally, larger obstacles ON its way, as
clean as a COW ticks salt The bigger IT
gets, if not engulfed in some chasm, the
surer and swifter does it tear its way down
to the valley with great damage
Margretta listened with serious face,
backing away from the treacherous snow,
and assuring him that she didn't care about
staying any longer, things were too touchy
up there.
Before she went, she told him her some
thing with great glee. 1t was that she
had been gathering and drying, in lovely
rock house of her own, which she and her
goat had discovered, large quantity of
herbs, roots and grasses, TO sell to the
apothecaries when they got down to the
valley and that was what brought her up
to him in search of more herbs.
Arnold good naturally joined in the
search and in less than an hour, Mar
gretta made her way down, with an armful
Of all sorts of plants and growths.
Later in the day, but far too early for
the usual return, Arnold heard his masters
signal to bring home the goats.
Believing himself mistaken, he waited
before replying. But the horn was blown
again, this time so Enthusiastically loud and
long that he hastily collected his herd and
drove home, with IA vague fear that some
thing was wrong.
"Margretta is missing !" was all he could
get from the assembled household. All was
CONSERVATION.
Arnold at once related the events of the
Ja,- II, ba bpt,o tbat tbax fuitrbf furnish
some clew to her whereabouts The cattle
were put under shelter, and search began
in every direction
But the gathering darkness brought no
trace of her, and it was impossible to search
for her longer Lights were kept burning
around the hut, and the alp-horn was
| blown at short intervals throughout the
| night.
This signal of distr ess was heard through
out all the neighboring Alps and, in the
| breaking dawn, every senner roundabout
| joined in the search
Every rock was scaled, every chasm en-
tered, often at great risk of life and the
region reechoed with their incessant calls.
The second day passed fruitless as the
| first. And, on the third, the senners,
obliged to attend to their cattle, were leav-
ing for their homes promising to keep open
| eyes for the missing in their own neighbOr
| hood. but with the silent conviction that
Senner Martins daughter was lying dead in
some mountain stream
As chief senner, occupying the highest
Alp it was Martins duty to salute the
mountaineers at set of sun.
This impressive ceremony is called 1.-The
Senners Good night" When darkness has
already settled in the valley, and the sun
shines only on the highest peaks, the chief
hut
through his Alp-horn, Praise God the
Lord ~ Immediately every senner for miles
around appears on the threshold of his hut,
and repeats the words. So during the lapse
| of ten minutes, the name of God rever-
berates from every rock and ravine for
miles around. Then there is a solemn still
ness. Every senner, with barred head, now
kneels in prayer until the last rays of the
sun have gone down. Then Good night ~
sounds from the trumpet of the first senner,
and Good night ~ is repeated from the
alp-horns of all the rest.
Somehow, for the last two nights, Senner
Martins alp-horn had not given forth its
wonted strong, inspiring blast in praise of
the Lord of hosts and everybody who heard
it knew his heart was prone to murmur
against this blow of loss and grief
Arnold, too, who alone had not yet given
up the search, and was still engaged in it
some distance from the hut heard the weak
sunset salute and joined the chorus of alp
horns in vigorous reply, as the faiths an
swer that was still in his young, hopeful
heart.
The echoes of alp-horns grew fainter and
fewer Arnold barred his head in silent
evening prayer, as every other senner was
doing over all the Alps, still, in spite of all
hopeless appearances, putting in a petition
for the finding of Martins daughter.
With a strange hope, he kept his eyes
speck appeared, which soon proved to be q
lammer-geyer circling down with slow, ma
jestic sweeps, and finally alighting on q
snow covered rock
Arnold's heart beat wildly as he crept VI
to the bird of prey, and grasped his knotty
Alp-stick tighter. Its beak was dug sever
al times deep into the snow. Its talons
| grasped a black object with which it wa,
about to spread its wings, when Arnold
bounded forward, and, after a short battle
5 he pulled the little kid of Margretta's goa
S from the birds stiffening claws.
a To find Margretta dead or alive now wa
+ not hard. After signaling his master t.
S come, he dug, like young giant, into tn,
= snow. A wide, projecting ledge of the rocl
. was found to have formed an admirabl,
r roomy cave This, instead of being fillet
V up, as it at first appeared, had only its en-
S trance closed with snow and ice and Their
. were small apertures, accidental cracks
S through which air and a little daylight
;, could penetrate.
/ Arnold noticed all this, and dug away a
the entrance with growing hope. Tha
n Margretta might have died of starvation
never occurred to him.
b, "Alive alive Thank God !" came stimuli
| tapan,,slxr inc A..
n nold's lips, as a happy lift of the shovels re
z, vealed Margretta and the goat huddled il
l. the farthest corner, the former with atitti
It milk still in her canteen, the latter feebl
chewing the remains of dried herbs
d 1T was a 'valancher," cried Margretta
feebly. 1T came all of sudden. w
st couldn't run away, only the kid. And
I guess it's dead. The goat left me milk her
i and left her eat my herbs, else we woul
< have died of hunger. I'm dreadfully hun
y cry, anyway"
# Margretta could say no more, for she wa
pressed close in her fathers arms and hun
Is ried home; while Arnold, like good sheT
d herd, swung the half-starved goat acros
ii his shoulders, and followed his master.
Meanwhile, the senners everywhere wer
ID waiting for their chiefs Good night ~ er
le they closed their huts and retired. Non
in came, however; and for one long half hou
their hearts were filed with hope and feal
j, Had he found his daughter, and forgotte
sr his customary duty in his joy, or what
W At last there came stirring blast. Bu
N it was not Good night - 1t was tha
lie ringing, rolling sound which meant an extr
thanksgiving for life saved, Praise Goo
id the Lord Jehovah evermore !" The sci
ners knew what that meant, and a hundre
" return blasts were given with a will an
it long, long, the region reechoed with -,
hovah evermore !n-Christian Register
y A cold wave should never strike a the
s. mometer that is down.
of It's quite natural that boy should blul