The Signal on the Hill

1. NarratorThe school trip to the hills was nearly over. On the last evening, Zara, Sam and Priya sat on the grass outside the tents, watching the sky turn from orange to dark blue.
2. PriyaLook at the hill. There is a light, near the top.
3. SamIt is probably a star.
4. ZaraStars do not blink like that. Watch. Three short flashes, three long, three short.
5. NarratorThe light flashed again, exactly the same. Zara sat up straight.
6. ZaraThat is a signal. Three short, three long, three short. It is the old distress signal. My grandfather taught me.
7. SamYou mean somebody needs help?
8. ZaraMaybe. Or maybe it is a joke. But we cannot ignore it.
9. PriyaWe must tell Miss Hall. She is in the big tent.
10. NarratorThe three friends ran across the field. The teacher listened carefully while Zara explained. Then she picked up her radio.
11. PriyaDo you believe us, Miss Hall?
12. NarratorMiss Hall spoke into the radio. A moment later a voice crackled back. The mountain rescue team could be there in forty minutes, but they needed to know exactly where the light was.
13. ZaraIt is on the east side, past the stone wall, close to the big rock with the flat top.
14. SamI can show them. I took a photo of the hill this afternoon, with a landmark.
15. NarratorSam found the photograph on his phone and held it up. Miss Hall passed the details over the radio.
16. NarratorThen Miss Hall gave them jobs. Zara and Priya fetched blankets and a flask of hot tea, and Sam stayed by the radio to listen for news. Nobody spoke much. The air was cold, and the hill looked very large and very dark.
17. PriyaI keep thinking about him up there on his own.
18. ZaraThink about the rescuers instead. They know exactly where to go, because of Sam's photograph.
19. SamAnd because you saw the pattern, Zara.
20. NarratorFor the first time that evening, all three of them smiled.
21. NarratorThe wait felt very long. The light flashed three times more, and then it stopped.
22. PriyaWhat if it was only a torch running out of battery?
23. ZaraThen we did the right thing anyway. It is always better to check.
24. NarratorAt last, torches appeared on the hillside, moving in a line. After a while, they came back down. Two rescuers were carrying a man between them.
25. NarratorThe man was an older hill walker called Mr Brandt. He sat on a camp chair and drank hot tea. His ankle was wrapped in a bandage.
26. Mr BrandtI slipped on the wet stones, about five o'clock. My phone had no signal, and my torch battery was almost dead. I used the last of the light to send the signal.
27. ZaraWe saw it from the field.
28. Mr BrandtAnd you knew what it meant. I am very glad that somebody did.
29. PriyaHow did you know the signal, Zara?
30. ZaraMy grandfather was a sailor. He taught me three short, three long, three short when I was seven.
31. SamI did not know it. I thought it was a star.
32. Mr BrandtThank you, all three of you. Not many young people would have spoken up.
33. NarratorMiss Hall smiled at them. That night, the three friends lay in their sleeping bags, tired but very proud.
34. SamNext time I see a strange light, I will not say it is a star.
35. ZaraNext time, you can be the one who sends the signal.

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