tinned to be nervous to the end 

 of the relay. 



The afternoon wore on. Unaccus- 

 tomed to such excitement and long 

 hours of cramped sitting, we were 

 feeling wearied and chilled, and the 

 sandwich lunch brought from the 

 Palace Hotel and eaten en route, 

 was causing discomfort. 



Tired as I was, the charm of the 

 mountains began to claim me. The 

 storm had passed. All was damp 

 and soggy and the sun could not 

 break through a barrier of clouds, 

 but the greyness was deepening 

 into darker shadows, and the time 

 of all the day that I loved most, 

 its close, had come. The road had 

 been mounting for the past two 

 hours and at six o'clock the third 

 and last relay station was reached. 

 The change of horses was accom- 

 plished without much trouble, and 

 we dashed off through the fragrant, 

 deep-shadowed pines, on the twenty- 

 mile home stretch to the little log 

 hotel on the Canon's edge. We were 

 now on a table land clothed with 

 alpine forest, its pungent odour was 

 like a draught of wine, intoxicating 



