ENTRY 27 -- The Red Horseman

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An Excerpt from the Travel Journal of Nigel Fox (c. 1940)

ENTRY 27 -- The Red Horseman

The sun made dappled patterns on the ground as I sat on a park bench under the shade of a large maple. My appreciation of trees had grown appreciably since my miraculous encounter several weeks earlier. To my knowledge, my pursuers never figured out how I had outwitted them. I had left England and travelled to Canada via New York. My next challenge would be to find suitable accommodation. Hence, the reason I was sitting on Mount Royal studying the classified section of the Montreal Star. According to one advert, there was a comfortable room to let not far from the park at 3569 Lorne Avenue.

The rooming house was large, attractive, and set slightly back from the street amid deciduous trees. The door was painted a welcoming shade of green. A plump, middle-aged woman who introduced herself as Miss Bertie Kerr greeted me. She invited me in and asked if I would like tea before viewing my new quarters.

"That would be most kind." I was escorted into the parlour. The Kerr 'family' consisted of sisters Ettie, Bertie, Nellie, May, and a tall, thin woman who everyone referred to as Missus Pope. It was an odd introduction, and an even odder assortment of maiden ladies and/or widows. I was definitely the most interesting aspect of their morning. The stern faced Ettie seemed to be the matriarch. She explained: "We have need of a proper gentleman boarder. You will find your room spacious, the meals palatable, the rate reasonable and the company pleasant."

"Why, may I ask, are you looking for a gentleman lodger?"

"We already have a lady lodger, Missus Pope, who has been widowed for some time. Quite frankly, Mister Fox, women feel safer with a reliable gentleman about the house. If I may be so bold, what is your profession?"

"I am a clergyman; retired from the Church of England," was my reply, handing her my travel documents and other papers which would verify that I was indeed who I claimed to be. A look of great satisfaction appeared on all the faces present. Bertie even made a cooing sound. Then she said, "You look too fit to be sent out to pasture." May blushed.

"I have been doing some confidential work for His Majesty's government," I responded, keeping my illness a secret. If the ladies had been of the feline persuasion they would have been purring. Sharp eyed Nellie, however, left nothing to chance. (She would eventually telegraph England to verify that I was indeed a retired clergyman.) She wanted to see my clerical collar. It was pure chance that I had one in my valise.

The whole group of ladies showed me the lodgings. As indicated, my room was spacious, very comfortable and quite acceptable. Also, Lorne Avenue was near McGill University -- for me, an added bonus.

The Kerr Residence

Life was truly pleasant at the Kerr residence. On the whole, I found the women endearingly quaint, while they treated me as if I were a king. I would breakfast with 'the family', then go for a brisk walk to the main library at McGill where I would read the papers.

The situation had calmed in Europe: people were referring to the tensions as the 'Phoney War', nevertheless, I did not regret that I was far away. Most of the autumn was spent either in the library, on long walks about the University grounds, or, last but not least, entertaining my new 'lady-friends'.

A Regal Time

Autumn turned to winter. Christmas at the Kerr home was congenial: I got to know the extended Kerr family and I must say they rather spoiled me. It was a regal time full of pleasure. Isolated and far removed from my old life, it was difficult to imagine from within my safe cocoon that war had been declared.

It was 9:00 p.m. on a Friday night in late March when Bertie quietly entered my room to relay a message: "Some officers are here to see you, Father."

They were dressed in the familiar uniform of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In a brusque but professional manner, one of them explained that I was to accompany them downtown. He informed me that they had a few concerns with which they needed my help. I was pleased to see that their conveyance was not a horse!

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[Bkerr]

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