{"sf1_id":1033356,"sf2_id":"J1OlXlXe","title":"In the Service of Mystery (Pt. 6)","author":"CofEFur","words":2768,"posted_at":"2016-06-21T07:40:00.000Z","tags":["Canine","Clean","Lynx","Plot Development","Stag"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1033356-in-the-service-of-mystery-pt-6","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/J1OlXlXe","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/2a/36/2a366345-19fb-49ba-b8d9-4284e65f6e53","description":"#6 of In the Service of Mystery\n\nFather Francis finds out more about Reverend Cormack's war experiences.","content":"\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; They both nodded.\u0026nbsp; In an unguarded moment, I realised that for the first time ever, I had actually used Dean Grayson's Christian name.\u0026nbsp; I gathered myself and took Harry to my car.\u0026nbsp; Minutes later we were heading back home.\u0026nbsp; We drove home in silence, Harry very quickly falling asleep.\n\nThe following morning, I was woken by the sunlight streaming through my kitchen window.\u0026nbsp; Last night, I had settled Harry in my guest bedroom and had gone downstairs to try and make sense of what my friend was going through.\u0026nbsp; At some point, I must have fallen asleep on the hard wooden chair and slept through the night.\u0026nbsp; I attempted to straighten up, but all this achieved with a pained yelp on my part and a feeling like I had caught my tail in a vice.\u0026nbsp; Very slowly, I levered myself out of the chair and began to potter about the kitchen.\u0026nbsp; The clock radio on the worktop switched on as 6 a.m. came round, so I sat with a cup of coffee to listen to the news.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Above me, I could hear Harry stirring.\u0026nbsp; He had always been an early riser and I was glad that the experience of the previous day had not completely removed the Harry Cormack that I knew.\u0026nbsp; A few moments later, Harry poked his head around the door.\u0026nbsp; He smiled faintly and sniffed at the aroma of coffee.\u0026nbsp; He still looked tired, but it was good to see him smile.\n\n'Morning, Nerd.'\u0026nbsp; He said quietly, 'Do you think you might spare some coffee for me?'\n\n'Sure.'\u0026nbsp; I replied.\u0026nbsp; I waved at him to sit down and fished a mug out of the cupboard.\u0026nbsp; I placed the mug and coffeepot in front of him and shunted the milk jug and sugar bowl across the table to him. \u0026nbsp;I noticed that as he poured his coffee, his paw visibly shook.\n\n'Do you want some breakfast?'\u0026nbsp; I asked.\n\nHarry granted a yes at me from the depths of his mug.\u0026nbsp; I put out my meagre selection of breakfast items on the kitchen table.\u0026nbsp; I wasn't much of a breakfast eater, so I always felt a poor host in the mornings.\u0026nbsp; Harry looked at my offering and grunted again.\n\n'How about we go out for breakfast?'\u0026nbsp; I asked, 'There's a lovely café over in Amblehead that does good cooked breakfasts.'\n\n'Yeah, sure.\u0026nbsp; I could go for a fry up.'\u0026nbsp; Said Harry.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I took this as a good sign.\u0026nbsp; Ever since I had known him, Harry had been a fiend for cooked breakfasts.\u0026nbsp; On feast days at seminary we would have a cooked breakfast and somehow Harry always managed to be first in the queue; and go back for seconds.\n\n'Good,' I said, 'I'll just changed into some reasonable clothes and we'll go.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; It wasn't something I cared to admit, but I used to spend my time at home in tatty shorts and faded convention T-shirts.\u0026nbsp; It was also my firm belief that no one should see their parish priest in a shirt that said \"_Anskar's RPGSoc: Sleep, Game, Repeat_\" on it.\u0026nbsp; As I got up, I noticed that Harry was looking at his own clothes - the black suit he had been wearing since yesterday was rumpled and covered in dust.\n\n'Nerd,' he said, 'Do you think I could, you know, borrow something else to wear?'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I nodded and went to find a shirt and some jeans for him.\u0026nbsp; Thankfully, we were both of the similar height.\u0026nbsp; Once I had changed, I sat in the hall to wait for Harry.\u0026nbsp; As he walked down the stairs, I realised that I had overlooked something: although we were of a similar height, Harry actually had muscle tone; whereas I was quite scrawny.\u0026nbsp; A muscle tone similar to boiled string, Harry said.\u0026nbsp; He was struggling valiantly with the collar on the shirt I had lent him.\n\n'Blast it,' I heard him mutter, 'I'll just leave the dratted thing undone.'\n\nHe looked up as he reached the bottom step and said:\n\n'Thanks, Nerd, but I'm not sure that I could ever get this collar closed.'\n\nI smiled and replied:\n\n'I think you're entitled to not be immaculately turned out once in a while.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; He smiled back, the tip of his tail curling up as it did whenever he thought something was funny, but only just funny.\u0026nbsp; We left the house and drove off.\u0026nbsp; The Amblehead Road skirted the edge of the Oxfold Estate before crossing the river and climbing up the wooded hillside.\u0026nbsp; I had always thought the woods to be very pleasant, the ancient oaks and elms cast the road in a cool, green light.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; We drove in silence, the only sound in the car with Harry drumming his claws lightly on the dashboard.\u0026nbsp; Amblehead sat on the crest of a hill, it was a pretty town that had grown up around Amble Castle.\u0026nbsp; We wound through the cramped streets and I parked on the marketplace.\u0026nbsp; We got out of the car and crossed the road to the Castle View Café.\u0026nbsp; The café was just being opened for the day.\u0026nbsp; Inside we could see its owner bustling around.\u0026nbsp; She was an elderly Airedale terrier with a permanent look of disappointment on her muzzle.\u0026nbsp; The bell above the door tinkled as we entered.\u0026nbsp; Without looking round the terrier said:\n\n'Take a seat, love, I'll be with you in a moment.'\n\nWe sat down at one of the little Formica topped tables in the café's window.\u0026nbsp; I looked through the menu while Harry watched the town slowly come to life as its inhabitants began their days.\u0026nbsp; A few minutes later the owner came up to our table brandishing a notepad and a pen like they were weapons of war.\n\n'What'll it be?'\u0026nbsp; She asked.\n\n'Could I have the eggs Benedict and a pot of tea?'\u0026nbsp; I said.\n\n'Full breakfast please.'\u0026nbsp; Said Harry, 'And a glass of orange juice.\u0026nbsp; Thanks.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The terrier nodded appreciatively at Harry's order and shot me a glance as if to say that I didn't take breakfast seriously enough.\u0026nbsp; She bustled off and from the kitchen came the clanking of pots and pans.\u0026nbsp; This was accompanied by a muffled 'Eggs Benedict, well!'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I looked at Harry and said:\n\n'How are you, Harry?\u0026nbsp; Yesterday came as a shock to me and to Bishop George as well.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Harry looked at me and in his eyes I saw a deep sadness.\u0026nbsp; I wondered how long he had been carrying such a burden.\n\n'Yeah, sorry.'\u0026nbsp; He replied, 'it's just... Just.\u0026nbsp; It's just that I had thought that the guilt would fade.\u0026nbsp; Those lads were my responsibility and I let them down in the worst way possible.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I opened my mouth to say something, but Harry held up a paw.\n\n'No,' He continued, 'Don't say it.\u0026nbsp; I know what the court of enquiry said.\u0026nbsp; It doesn't change the fact of what happened.\u0026nbsp; The enquiry report didn't say what I told them.\u0026nbsp; It's not wrong, just cold, clinical.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; 'We were a little way up that road.\u0026nbsp; I was in the front-most vehicle.\u0026nbsp; I was supposed to be checking the terrain so that we could get some heavy stuff up to that village - they wanted a forward operating base there or something.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; 'They attacked us with mortars.\u0026nbsp; The first I knew was when the vehicle behind me flipped over as the first shell hit.\u0026nbsp; It seemed to happen in total silence: there was a red-black rose of fire that seemed to bloom on one side of the tank; and then it just rolled over.\u0026nbsp; Then, I heard the blast.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; 'You know, I found myself mesmerised by the swirling cloud of dust that the mortar shell had kicked up.\u0026nbsp; I came to my senses and started barking orders, trying to get us into a position where we could fight back.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; 'I remember how the trees seemed to be pressing in around us, as if the forest itself seemed to want to get in our way.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; 'That first shell was a ranging shot.\u0026nbsp; They must have had spotters in the trees near the road, because the next attack was heavy and accurate.\u0026nbsp; I couldn't make out the individual explosions, there was just a solid wall of noise.\u0026nbsp; There was a constant flaring and roiling of fire.\u0026nbsp; All I could do was watch as the flames engulfed the last tank in our convoy.\u0026nbsp; Strangely, my memory from there is silent - just images.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; 'I saw how my own vehicle was hit.\u0026nbsp; How it rocked away from the blast.\u0026nbsp; I felt myself being thrown clear.\u0026nbsp; And, I saw how the tank landed on its turret - trapping my crew inside.\u0026nbsp; I watched as a machine designed to protect its crew became their coffin.\u0026nbsp; I watched as the last shell dropped, its blast pushing my tank up the hill.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; 'I lay there and watched as my consciousness faded away.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; 'I woke up three days later in a field hospital.\u0026nbsp; I had been found by the rescue patrol that had been sent out when my unit failed to make contact.\u0026nbsp; I was the only survivor and had been shipped back to our operational headquarters.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; 'The medics had operated on me for ten hours.\u0026nbsp; They said that they had to remove 50 pieces of metal from my body and reattach the tip of my left ear.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Harry returned to silence.\u0026nbsp; I stared at my paws on the table-top, I was amazed.\u0026nbsp; As far as I knew, Harry had never told anyone about the attack; except for his official report to the court of enquiry.\u0026nbsp; The little café seemed dark and grim to me, as if touched somehow by the horrors that Harry had endured.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The gloom was broken by the return of the terrier bearing a tray with our breakfasts on it.\u0026nbsp; The contents of the tray were placed on the table and of the terrier disappeared back into the kitchen.\u0026nbsp; Harry chased a piece of mushroom around his plate with his fork.\n\n'Ten years,' He said, 'Ten years have passed, but I still see that forsaken place every time I close my eyes.'\n\nHe sighed and stared out the window.\n\n'I shouldn't have lumbered you with this, Francis.'\u0026nbsp; He said.\n\n'Harry,' I replied, 'I've known you for eight years now.\u0026nbsp; I don't know what to say or do - I can't make it better, but whenever you need to talk, you know I'm ready to listen.'\n\nI paused for a moment and then added:\n\n'Also, it sounds weird when you call me Francis.'\n\nHarry snorted and grinned at me.\u0026nbsp; There was a brief flash of the Harry Cormack I knew, a glimpse of his sense of humour.\n\n'Yeah, sorry, Nerd.'\u0026nbsp; He replied and then glanced out the window again.\n\n'Do you know that stag?'\u0026nbsp; He said, 'Only he keeps waving at us.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I looked at Harry askance.\u0026nbsp; Then, I looked out of the window and saw that there was indeed a red deer stag waving his hoof at me.\u0026nbsp; I gazed blankly at the stag for a second, then I stared at Harry.\n\n'Oh, heck.'\u0026nbsp; I said, 'That's Mike Buck, I went to university with him; or in spite of him.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Harry laughed at this, causing the café owner to poke her head out of the kitchen to tut at such behaviour.\n\n'Oh look, he's coming over.'\u0026nbsp; Said Harry, a grin covering his features.\u0026nbsp; Although I was dreading seeing Mike Buck again, that smile was a gladdening thing.\u0026nbsp; I knew that, at least for the moment, Harry was back to his former self.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The shop bell tinkled as Mike Buck walked in.\u0026nbsp; He was a tall red deer stag with surprisingly short antlers and a physique that spoke of more than just average exercise.\u0026nbsp; In one hoof he carried a black briefcase, and with the other he pointed at me.\n\n'Good grief,' He boomed, 'Nerdy Francis Shepherd!\u0026nbsp; What are you doing here?'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Buck grabbed a chair and dragged it up to our table and sat down heavily.\n\n'Hi!'\u0026nbsp; He said to Harry, 'Mike Buck, I'm the manager of the Equine Savings Bank over the way.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Harry took the proffered hoof and suppressed a wince as Buck shook it and tried to crush Harry's paw.\n\n'This is Reverend Harry Cormack.'\u0026nbsp; I said, 'He's a friend of mine.'\n\n'Reverend?\u0026nbsp; You're a padre then?'\u0026nbsp; Said Buck, 'So, how'd you know the IT department then?'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I cringed to hear that nickname again.\u0026nbsp; I had hated it at university and it didn't sound any better now.\u0026nbsp; Harry gingerly extracted his paw from Buck's grip.\n\n'We trained together,' said Harry, 'I met Father Francis at seminary.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; At this I took some joy in the confusion that Buck found himself in. \u0026nbsp;I shouldn't have taken pleasure in it, but it was rare to see Mike Buck lost for words.\u0026nbsp; Buck stared at me.\n\n'You're a priest?'\u0026nbsp; He said.\n\n'Yes,' I replied, 'And, I think you're moving into my parish.'\n\nThis confused Buck even further, so I added:\n\n'I bumped into Laura yesterday afternoon.\u0026nbsp; She is teaching at the school in the village.\u0026nbsp; Congratulations on the wedding by the way.'\n\n'Well, err, thanks.\u0026nbsp; I'd better be going.'\u0026nbsp; He said.\n\nAnd with that Buck left the café and walked slowly over to the bank.\n\n'Now, that was interesting.'\u0026nbsp; Said Harry.\n\n'Yeah,' I replied, 'I'm his vicar and he's my bank manager.'\n\n'Tell all, Nerd, I'm dying to hear.'\n\n'After I've paid.\u0026nbsp; I'd rather not discuss it in public, I know you too well.'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I could sense Harry's impatience to hear what I had to say the way back to the car.\u0026nbsp; I also knew that he was never going to let me forget my experiences of Mike Buck at Anskar's.\u0026nbsp; Nevertheless, I hoped it would help Harry to just be Harry for a while.\u0026nbsp; Once we got back into the car I fixed Harry with my most piercing look.\n\n'Harry,' I said, 'I want you to promise that this doesn't go any further.\u0026nbsp; I managed to avoid this all coming out at seminary and I don't want the entire diocese to know.'\n\n'I promise, I promise.'\u0026nbsp; Said Harry, holding up his paws.\n\n'Good.'\u0026nbsp; I said, 'Mike Buck and I really didn't get on at university.\u0026nbsp; He used to play rugby for the Varsity side and he was after a girl I liked.\u0026nbsp; I never told her that I felt that way about her and, well, now she's married to him.\u0026nbsp; Anyway, Mike Buck made my life a living hell, or tried to, the last time I met him he tried to glue my tail to a bench in a bus stop.\u0026nbsp; And once, he chased me three times around the entire campus.'\n\nI had to stop as Harry was doubled up with laughter.\u0026nbsp; We drove home.\u0026nbsp; I knew that my efforts weren't much, but, as we travelled along, I was aware of Harry relaxing.\u0026nbsp; For now, I thought, his horrors were passed.\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; By the time we arrived home it was as if the old Harry had never left.\n\n'Do you remember that time when I got Brian Strix to climb the West Front of the cathedral with me?'\u0026nbsp; Harry asked.\n\n'Oh yes.'\u0026nbsp; I replied, 'Until then I didn't know that owls could get vertigo.\u0026nbsp; What was that for?'\n\n'Mission Aid Week, I think.\u0026nbsp; Didn't old Father Lutra put a ban on me doing things for sponsorship after that?'\n\n'Well,' I replied, 'You did get Brian stuck halfway up the cathedral._\u0026nbsp; And_ you had to carry poor Helen Mustela back from your \"sponsored walk\" which sounded more like a forced march to me.'\n\n'Oh, yeah.\u0026nbsp; How are they doing, do you know?'\n\n'Helen is teaching and working as a school chaplain.'\u0026nbsp; I replied.\u0026nbsp; 'And, I think that Brian is a missionary somewhere.'\n\n'What?\u0026nbsp; Brian?'\u0026nbsp; Said Harry, 'I thought he couldn't be more than half a mile from a posh supermarket without feeling ill.'\n\n'Yeah,' I laughed, 'Look it's my day off today and you're supposed to be having a break from parish life, I thought we could go to look at the ruins of an old Abbey that is not too far away.'\n\n'Okay,' Replied Harry, 'What's got you interested in archaeology all of a sudden?'\n\n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I explained to Harry the gist of Anna's story.\n\n'... So, I thought it would be interesting to check it out.'\u0026nbsp; I finished.\n\n'That sounds good.'\u0026nbsp; Said Harry, 'with my parish work, I don't think I've done any walking pleasure in an age.'\n\n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"In the Service of Mystery","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1029278-in-the-service-of-mystery-pt-5.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/1037210-in-the-service-of-mystery-pt-7.json"}}