They will come to loss. I shall get the men
together to aid them."
He blew a blast on his horn, and added, "The knaves will be alert
enough if they hope to meddle with honest men's luggage."
"See," and Friedel pointed to the thicket to the westward of the
meadow around the stream, where the beech trees were budding, but not
yet forming a full mass of verdure, "is not the Snake in the wood?
Methinks I spy the glitter of his scales."
"By heavens, the villains are lying in wait for the travellers at our
landing-place," cried Ebbo, and again raising the bugle to his lips,
he sent forth three notes well known as a call to arms. Their echoes
came back from the rocks, followed instantly by lusty jodels, and the
brothers rushed into the hall to take down their light head-pieces
and corslets, answering in haste their mother's startled questions,
by telling of the endangered travellers, and the Schlangenwald
ambush. She looked white and trembled, but said no word to hinder
them; only as she clasped Friedel's corslet, she entreated them to
take fuller armour.
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