Aces and Knaves

We followed the road up toward Rannoch Moor Summit, with bare granite peaks rising on either side.
    A roar behind us told me that we were about to be obliterated by some monster machine. As my heart went into double-time and I frantically searched for an escape route, the roar passed over us.
    Arrow looked up and pointed. "Jet fighter."
    I could see the plane too, flying low, snaking its way through the canyon, its engine noise reverberating off the rocky walls. "Must be RAF," I said. "The sound of freedom. If they don't scare us to death in the process."
    I stopped at a wide spot in the road to let my shaking subside.
    "I'm ready to drive now," Arrow said.
    "Fine."
    Arrow picked driving up quickly, even shifting left-handed, and I relaxed a little. She had good coordination, although occasionally I heard her chanting the mantra, "Keep to the left." We stopped to eat at a lunchroom in a village along the north shore of Loch Ness.
    A woman behind a counter made us sandwiches and we chose to eat at an inside table, shielded from the cool wind. None of the few tables was vacant, but one had two free chairs. A man waved at the chairs and in an accent suspiciously like ours, said, "Have a seat."
    He was older, with streaks of gray in his short hair, almost skinny. He wore glasses with aviator frames. We sat down and introduced ourselves.
    "I'm Larry," he said, shaking both our hands. "I take it you're from the US."
    "Los Angeles," I said.
    "Me too, specifically Palos Verdes."
    "Small world." We spent the next two minutes determining that we lived within three miles of each other.
    "What an amazing coincidence," Arrow exclaimed.
    Larry shrugged. "The first time I was in Athens I saw somebody wearing a T-shirt that read 'Palos Verdes High School Physical Education' in Syntagma Square."
    "You must travel a lot," Arrow said, and when he nodded she added, "What are you doing here?"
    "Walking." He noticed our looks of disbelief and added, "From John O'Groats to Land's End, northeast to southwest. It's a traditional British walk. Lots of people do it."
    "Where do you stay?" Arrow asked.
    "B and B's. Bed and breakfast places. The owners are the nicest people this side of New Zealand. And many of the rooms are newly remodeled."
    "And what do you carry with you?"
    "A fanny pack with water, a little food, a change of clothes and first aid. And my North Face and waterproof pants for rain and wind. That's all I need." Larry pointed to the seat beside him, on which sat the fanny pack. A blue jacket with a hood was draped over the chair. It looked high-tech with its zippers and drawstrings.
    Maybe he could give us some information. "If you started at John O'Groats, you must have gone through Wick," I said, remembering the road map we were using.
    "The day I started I walked from John O'Groats to Wick. I stayed at Mackays Hotel. It's more expensive than a B and B, but I was still jet-lagged and I thought it might be more comfortable. It was okay, but I've found the B and B’s to be just as comfortable."
    "We have reservations at Mackays Hotel," I said. "Are the people friendly there?" Will they spill their guts to us?
    "They're friendly, if a little isolated. The day I was there the local bagpipe band marched through town, wearing their kilts. Incidentally, some of the bagpipers are girls. I was watching on the street and struck up a conversation with a couple of locals. I thought I was in a time warp. They talked about the problem of blacks moving in. I haven't heard that in 30 years."
    He didn't look specifically at Arrow and she didn't respond. I said, "Speaking of 30 years, we're attempting to look up some men who lived in Wick 30 years ago and we hope still do. Do you think the residents will help us?"
    "They'll fall all over themselves to help you. It'll give them something to do. Some days the most exciting thing that happens here is a cat has kittens."
    We chatted some more until Larry got up to leave.
    "If I stop too long at one time I get sleepy and comfortable," he said, "and it's difficult to get going again."
    "By the way, have you seen the Loch Ness monster?" Arrow asked.
    Larry had been walking along the north shore of Loch Ness.
    Larry laughed. "No. And since Loch Ness is the largest body of water in Scotland and so deep that the bottom has never been found there are plenty of places for the monster to hide."
    "One more question," Arrow said. "Why do you walk?"
    "Because I'm a lousy runner."
    ***
    Mackays Hotel is a