"This will take you through," he said. "It will point the right way for you; that's why it is called the point feather. Just follow it. If you are frightened and want to leave your search and come home, tap on the ground with it and you will be back in Glenollisdal. But somehow I don't think you will. And whatever you do, don't lose it. When you reach the fairy grove, show it to the guardian, and he will let you in; and mind you don't go in unless he shows you its fellow. Oh, I'm all right, thank you; I'll have grown others long before they are needed. There is no great rush to Fairyland on the part of people who haven't _got_ to go, my dear." "It all sounds so much more difficult than I thought," said poor Fiona. "Nothing worth while is ever easy," said the woodcock. "And now I'll show you where to start. By the bye, you can't take the dogs with you." "This dog wouldn't go," said Artemis, shivering. "That black collie's there somewhere." "Don't bother about us," said Apollo. "We'll be home long before the keeper is out of bed." So Fiona took a warm farewell of the two dogs, who lamented her sad fate and wished her luck all in one breath, and then set off homeward with their long swinging gallop. "And now, if you want to be in time for the great gathering, which you humans call Hallow E'en, you'll have to hurry," said the woodcock. "But it's nearly a month to Hallow E'en," said Fiona. "You'll want every minute of it," said the bird. "Come on." And they started off for the fairy ring, the woodcock pattering along on his little feet at a pace which would have surprised anyone who had never seen a woodcock do it. "How come you to be doorkeeper?" asked Fiona, as they went. "Hereditary," said the bird. "We used to go to all the lost lands, you know, like Lyonesse and Lemuria and Bresil and Atlantis. We still cross Ireland once a year and pass on into the Atlantic to salute the site of Plato's island, before we settle in Britain. And Fairyland is only another of the lost lands. Here we are." They had come to the fairy ring. "There's nothing more I can do now," said the woodcock. "A straight step and a stout heart, my dear." Fiona took the feather in her hand and stood in the fairy ring. CHAPTER VII FIONA IN THE FAIRY-WORLD