54 ERCHLESS AND FARLEY, 1918 



thought I had better make a bee-line for home 

 before it was quite dark. I could just see Erchless 

 Wood about three miles distant, so, dead beat 

 and all as I was, I made for it at great speed, not 

 wanting at all to spend the night in the forest, 

 having neither food nor flask with me. Fast and 

 all as I went, Fraser must have gone faster, as after 

 going about a couple of miles I found him beside 

 me. greatly to my relief. He said he had left the 

 stag still staggering on just fast enough to beat 

 him, and making for the top of Cairn Slofti, 

 the steep hill facing Erchless Wood; so we were 

 a very sad pair as we stumbled on to Erchless 

 Wood, where he found the opening all right, which 

 I should probably have missed and spent hours 

 wandering about its recesses and ravines, and 

 getting to the car goodness knows when. As it 

 was, it was 9 o'clock before we reached it, and 

 Susan had long since finished her tea and was 

 beginning to think of sending out a search-party. 

 I snatched a hasty cup or two, and divine nectar 

 it seemed after my eight hours' interval from the 

 last nourishment; and then as a final debacle 

 the car refused to start, and it was 10 o'clock 

 before we could get it going, and a quarter to 11 

 before we reached Balblair, as we had no motor 

 lamps, and had to borrow a pair of carriage lamps 

 and travel very warily, as it is a bad road at any 

 time and a teaser in the dark with indifferent lights. 

 And thus ended what I may call " the Switch's 



