CRUISING 39 



or bar of chocolate, for lunch is always light. But 

 more often a seductive glade or shady brook will lure 

 the cruiser to his hour of leisure. Oblivious then of 

 the return run, the long miles to camp, he will sit 

 ruminating pleasantly while the quiet minutes float 

 away, <soothed by the ancient peace of the forest, 

 with only the murmuring of the stream or the chat- 

 ter of a squirrel or the song of birds to keep his 

 thoughts company. 



When Frazer and I started back we found the 

 westward journey much harder than the outward 

 trip. It was a steady climb all the way. At noon 

 the aneroid recorded an elevation of 8,200. When 

 we reached the baseline at half past four we found 

 that we had ascended to a height of 9,100 feet, a 

 climb of almost a quarter of a mile. 



We checked in on station six. We were three 

 chains too far north and a chain east of the station 

 when we finished, fair pacing in rough country. 



This checking in is always an interesting climax 

 to the day's work. In unsurveyed land it is the only 

 means a cruiser has of testing the accuracy of his 

 pacing. Of course compensating errors may some- 

 times cause a man to come much nearer his station 

 than the quality of his work warrants, but as a rule 

 the practice is a fairly reliable criterion of the 

 cruiser's proficiency in measuring distance. 



We rested a short time before starting for camp. 

 I felt full of energy and vigour, far fresher than in 

 the morning, as if I could continue climbing moun- 



