At times they ran from the path to follow little gullies of heavy snow.  They knew that Brother Antoine had trodden here, though no trace of his steps could be seen on the surface, for the snow slid quickly in the summer months, and masses of it kept covering the slopes as it shifted rapidly.  In this way Jan and Rollo trailed Brother Antoine until they reached a spot where they could find no further scent though they went around in circles.  The other monk, who had followed more slowly, stood watching them as they paused, uncertain what to do.  He made no sign to help them, but suddenly Prince Jan gave a sharp bark and thrust his nose deeply into the snow, where he began digging as fast as he could.  Rollo, too, understood, and his front paws worked as fast as his brother’s until they had uncovered the face and shoulders of Brother Antoine, who had buried himself under the snow to see if they could find him.

Both puppies leaped about in glee, barking and yelping until the sides of the narrow pass sent back echoes like many unseen dogs answering them.  Brother Antoine rose to his feet, smiling.  He patted the soft, fuzzy heads while the other monk told how the dogs had acted without any help at all.

“Jan led the way,” he said to Brother Antoine.  “He shows wonderful intelligence.”

“It is his father’s blood,” replied Brother Antoine, then he pointed toward the Hospice.  “Go back!” he ordered.  Prince Jan started obediently toward his home, while Rollo followed closely, but every once in a while both dogs turned back, or waited a bit, until the monks caught up to them.

They reached the stone steps leading up to the front door of the Hospice.  The door swung open, and the puppies, with Brother Antoine, trudged through the long corridor, down to the basement, under the high archways and once again were in the big, enclosed yard.  The other dogs crowded about them as they stood proud and important, for that day Prince Jan and Rollo had learned the first lesson on the trail.  But they both knew that this was only play and their real work would come when the snow piled so deep about the walls of the Hospice that it almost reached the high, peaked roof.

Chapter II

THE LAND OF SNOW

The lesson of the trail had to be repeated several times, before the two puppies understood just what they were expected to do.  Day after day their mother told them more about the brave deeds of the St. Bernard dogs, for the work of the mother-dogs of the Hospice was to teach the puppies to be kindly, obedient and loyal to the trust placed in them by the good monks.

July and August, the two months that were called the summer-time at the Hospice, passed swiftly, and Jan and Rollo knew that very soon it would be winter.  The first big snow storm blew over the mountains early in September, while Jan and his brother slept, warm and snug, beside their mother.  Next morning no sun could be seen, and when the dogs rushed into the enclosures, dark clouds, shrieking winds, and sheets of driving snow told them that winter had begun and soon there would be hard work for them all.