Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven

Mrs. McRae—Cannon Pennyfather's housekeeper—ordered Dover plaice for the evening he came home.There are many advantages to ordering a Dover plaice like this: it doesn't need to be warmed up on the grill or in a frying pan until Father Canon Penny gets home safely; it can be kept until the next day if necessary.Cannon Pennyfather liked Dover plaice, and Mrs. McRae herself would have enjoyed a Dover plaice meal if she had received a phone call or telegram that Mr. Cannon would be staying elsewhere that evening.So everything is ready for Mr Canon's return.Follow up the pancakes with Dover plaice.The plaice lay on the kitchen table, and the milk batter for the pancakes was ready in a bowl.Everything is ready.The copper cooker shone, the silver cooker gleamed, and there was not a speck of dust anywhere.Only one thing was missing: Mr. Canon himself.

According to the plan, Mr. Cannon returned from London by the train arriving at 6:30. At seven o'clock he had not come back.The train must be late.At half past seven he still hadn't come back.Mrs. McRae sighed in distress.She doubted it would be one of those things again.It was eight o'clock, but Mr. Canon was still nowhere to be seen.Mrs. McRae let out a long, irritated sigh.Soon, sure, she'll get a call, but chances are she won't even get one.He may have written to her.He must have written it, but he probably forgot to post it. "Alas, alas!" sighed Mrs. McRae.

At nine o'clock sharp, she made herself three pancakes out of the batter, and carefully placed the plaice in the freezer. "I don't know where this old gentleman is now?" she said to herself.She knew from past experience that he could be anywhere.He might catch his mistake in time to telegram or call her before she goes to bed. "I'll stay till eleven, but no later," said Mrs. McRae.Her bedtime was ten-thirty, which she considered her duty to extend until eleven, but if there was nothing at eleven, no news from Canon, then Mrs. McRae would close the door on time and go to bed.

Can't say she was worried.Stuff like this has happened before.There is nothing you can do but wait for news.The possibilities are endless.Canon Pennyfather may have gotten on the wrong train and only discovered his mistake when he got to Rand's side or John O'Groats; he might have met a friend or friends at that foreign conference he was rushing to, and had been kept there, perhaps through the weekend; he might have meant to tell her but had quite forgotten to do so.So, like I said earlier, she wasn't worried.The day after tomorrow, his old friend, Archdeacon Simmons, will come to stay for a while.Mr. Canon must have remembered such things, so there is no doubt that he himself or his telegram will arrive tomorrow, and he will return the day after tomorrow at the latest, or there will be a letter.

However, the next morning, there was still no news of him.For the first time, Mrs. McRae began to feel uneasy.Between nine in the morning and one in the afternoon, she looked at the phone suspiciously.Mrs. McRae has obsessive thoughts about the phone.She had used it and recognized its convenience, but she didn't like the phone.Some of her home shopping is done over the phone, but she prefers to do it in person because, she insists, if you don't see what you're handed, the store owner will try to trick you.In addition, for some domestic affairs, the telephone is also very useful.She also sometimes calls friends or relatives near her - but rarely.A long-distance call of any distance, or a call to London, would disturb her deeply.That was a shameful waste of money.However, she faced; faced with such a problem, she hesitated.

Finally, when another day broke and there was still no news from him, she decided to act.She knew where Canon lived in London—the Bertram Hotel.A nice old fashioned place.Perhaps, if she called to inquire, there should be no problem.They probably knew where Mr. Canon was.It was no ordinary hotel.She will ask to be put through to Miss Gorringe.Miss Gorringe was always efficient and thoughtful.Of course, Mr. Canon might be back by half past twelve.If so, he could be here anytime now. But time passed minute by minute, and there was still no sign of Kanon.Mrs. McRae took a deep breath and mustered up the courage to ask for a long distance to London.While waiting to connect, she bit her lip and pressed the receiver tightly to her ear.

"Bertram's Hotel, at your service," said a voice. "I thought, if you'd like, I'd like to speak to Miss Gorringe," said Mrs. McRae. "Wait a minute. What should I call you?" "I'm Canon Pennyfather's steward, Mrs. McRae." "Just a moment please." Presently the calm and efficient voice of Miss Gorringe came over. "This is Miss Gorringe. Canon Pennyfather's steward, you say?" "Yes. Mrs. McCrae." "Oh, yes, of course. What can I do for you, Mrs. McRae?" "Is Canon Pennyfather still living in your hotel?"

"I'm glad you called," said Miss Gorringe. "We're in a great hurry and don't know what to do." "You mean something happened to Canon Pennyfather? He got into an accident?" "No, no, not at all. But we expected him to return from Lucerne on Friday or Saturday." "Uh—that's right." "But he didn't come back. Well, that's not much of a surprise, of course. He went ahead and booked the room--that is, until yesterday. He didn't come back or send any messages yesterday, and his things are still there." Here it is, most of his luggage. We really don't know what to do with it. Of course," Miss Gorringe went on hurriedly, "we know Mr. Canon is - well - a little forgetful sometimes."

"You can say that!" "That embarrasses us a bit. Our room is fully booked. In fact his room is booked for another guest." She went on: "You don't know where he is?" Mrs. McRae said bitterly: "The man could be anywhere!" She collected herself. "Thank you, Miss Gorringe, then." "If there's anything I can do..." said Miss Gorringe willingly. "I think I'll hear from him soon," said Mrs. McRae.She thanked Miss Gorringe again and hung up. She sat by the phone, her face full of anxiety.She is not afraid of Canon's personal safety.If he had been involved in an accident, she would have been notified by now.She was very sure of that.On the whole, Mr. Canon is not what he is called prone to trouble.He was what Mrs. McRae called in her mind "a bit of a lunatic," and those who are a little bit of a lunatic always seem to be protected by a special deity.Despite the slightest inattention and thoughtlessness, they managed to avoid danger, even narrow escapes from crosswalks.No, she didn't picture Canon Pennyfather lying moaning in the hospital.He must be chatting innocently and blissfully with some friend somewhere.Maybe he's still abroad.The problem was that Archdeacon Simmons was arriving this evening, and Archdeacon Simmons would like to have a host for him.She couldn't tell Archdeacon Simmons not to come because she didn't know where he was.It's really hard, but like most difficulties, it has its bright spots.Its shining point is Archdeacon Simmons.Archdeacon Simmons knows what to do.She will leave the matter to him.

Vicar Simmons stands in stark contrast to her employer.He knew where he was going, what he was doing, and always knew exactly what to do and knew how to do it.A confident pastor.After the tall and strong Vicar Simmons arrived, he was greeted by McCree's big explanation, apology and harassment.Likewise, he was not alarmed. "Don't worry, Mrs. McRae," he said kindly, as he sat down to enjoy the food she had prepared for his arrival. "We'll find this absent-minded chap. Ever hear the story about Cheston? G. K. Cheston, a writer. He called his wife once when he was on a report tour: 'I'm going to Lu train station. Where should I go?'”

He laughed.Mrs. McCrae smiled perfunctorily, too.She didn't think it was funny, because Canon Pennyfather might be doing exactly the same sort of thing. "Ah," said Archdeacon Simmons appreciatively, "you make an excellent steak! You are a wonderful cook, Mrs. McRae. I hope my old friend appreciates you." After the steak and some castle pudding with black poisonous sauce - Mrs. McRae remembered it as one of the Archdeacon's favorite desserts - the good man eagerly devoted himself to the search for his missing friend. in action.He was busy on the phone with such vigor and indifference to the bill that Mrs. McRae pursed her lips uncomfortably, but not really against the fact that her master's whereabouts had to be found out. The Archdeacon made a routine first attempt to call Canon's sister, who paid little attention to her brother's whereabouts, as usual she had no idea where he was or might be.Then he cast the net wide open.He called the Bertram Hotel again and asked for details as precisely as possible: Canon must have left there on the evening of the nineteenth; he had a small BEA (British European Airways) handbag with him, but the rest Stayed in the room he happened to be keeping; he mentioned that he was going to Lucerne for some meeting; he didn't go straight from the hotel to the airport, the doorman clearly identified him, waited for him to get into a taxi and let Mr. Canon The taxi drove to the "Temple of Athena" club.That was the last time anyone at Bertram's Hotel saw Canon Pennyfather.Oh, yes, one small detail - he forgot to leave the key and had it with him.This is not the first time this has happened. Archdeacon Simmons paused for a moment to reflect before making the next call.He can call the airport in London.That will undoubtedly take some time.Maybe there is a shortcut.He called Dr. Weisgarton, a learned Hebrew scholar who had almost certainly been at the meeting. Dr. Wesgarton happened to be at home.As soon as he heard who was talking to him, he rattled off endlessly, mostly derogatory comments on two papers presented at the Lucerne meeting. "Very lame, that fellow Khojalov," he said, "very lame. I don't know how he got in! The fellow is no scholar at all. You know he is How did you say it?" The archdeacon sighed and had to follow him decisively.Otherwise, the rest of the evening would likely be spent listening to critiques of fellow academics at the Lucerne conference.Somewhat reluctantly, Dr. Wesgarton was forced to pay attention to more personal matters. "Father Penny?" he said. "Father Penny? He's supposed to be there. Don't know why he's not there. Said he'd be. That's what I told him a week ago when I saw him at the 'Temple of Athena' mine." "You mean, he wasn't at the meeting at all?" "That's exactly what I meant. He ought to be there." "Do you know why he wasn't there? Did he send an explanation?" "How would I know? He must have said he was going there. By the way, now that I think about it, he was supposed to be, and a few people commented on his absence, thinking he might have typhoid or something. Very dangerous." The weather." He was about to get back to his criticism of the guy-scholar when Archdeacon Simmons hung up. He had a fact, but for the first time it stirred an uneasy feeling inside him.Canon Pennyfather did not attend the Lucerne meeting.He had planned to go to that meeting.It seemed extraordinary to the archdeacon that he had not been there.Of course, he could have been on the wrong plane, but in general BEA will take such good care of you that you are unlikely to make such a mistake.Could it be that Canon Pennyfather had forgotten the exact time he had gone to the meeting?It's always possible, he thought.But if so, where did he go? Then he called the airport.The process involved a lot of patient waiting and switching from one department to another.In the end, he got a solid fact: Father Canon Penny booked himself a ticket to Lucerne at 21:40 on the 18th, but he didn't get on the plane. "We've made progress," Archdeacon Simmons said to Mrs. McRae, who was prowling nearby. "Now, let me think about it. Who should I try next?" "That's going to cost a lot of money," Mrs. McRae said. "I think so. I think so," said Archdeacon Simmons, "but you know, we've got to find him. He's not a young man." "Oh, sir, don't you think it's possible that something really happened to him?" "Well, I hope not . . . I don't think so, because I suppose you'd have heard of it if that was the case. He-er-has his name and address with him all the time, hasn't he?" "Oh, yes, sir, he has a card. He has letters in his purse, and all sorts of that." "Well, then I don't think he's in the hospital," said the archdeacon, "let me see. After leaving the hotel, he took a taxi to the 'Temple of Athena'. I'll give them a call next. .” From there he got some definite facts.Canon Pennyfather, who was well known there, dined there at seven-thirty on the evening of the nineteenth.Only then did the archdeacon notice what he had ignored until then.The plane ticket was on the 18th, but Canon left the Bertram Hotel in a taxi to go to the Temple of Athena, saying he was going to Lucerne for a meeting on the 19th.There are eyebrows. "Stupid old thing," thought Archdeacon Simmons, but he was careful not to say it aloud in front of Mrs. McRae, "got the date wrong. The meeting was on the nineteenth. I'm sure of that. He Must have thought he started on the eighteenth. Wrong day." He carefully analyzed what happened next.Canon went to the "Temple of Athena", had dinner, and then went to Kensington Airport.There, someone must have pointed out to him that his plane ticket was from the previous day, and he would have realized that the meeting he was going to had ended by then. "According to this analysis," said Archdeacon Simmons, "that's how it happened." He explained it to Mrs. McRae, who said it was very likely. "Then what will he do?" "Back to the hotel," said Mrs. McRae. "He's not coming straight back here—I mean straight to the station." "Not if his luggage is still in the hotel. Anyway, he can call there and have them send it." "Exactly," Simmons said. "Well, let's think of it this way. He left the airport with the bag and went back to the hotel—or started to go to the hotel anyway. He probably had dinner first—no, He already ate at the 'Temple of Athena'. Well, he returned to the hotel. But, he never got there." He paused for a moment, then said in disbelief, "Either to the hotel? People saw him. So what happened to him on the road?" "He might have met someone," said Mrs. McRae doubtfully. "Yes. Of course that's perfectly possible. Some friend he hasn't seen in a long time... He may follow a friend to a friend's hotel or a friend's house, but he won't be staying there for three days, will he? He can't be the whole Three days without remembering that his luggage was still in the hotel. He should have called and asked, he should have called for the luggage, or, even in the most befuddled manner, he might have gone straight home. Three days of no news, These cannot be explained in any way.” "What if something happens to him..." "Yes, Mrs. McRae, of course that's possible. We can ask the hospital. You say he has a lot of papers on him that would identify him? Well—I think there's only one thing we can do now." Mrs. McRae looked at him in horror. "I think, you know," said the archdeacon mildly, "that we'll have to call the police."