D The Room. Part four.

When we first got involved with the opening of the room at
St.Oswalds you will recall three gentlemen from the church committee
had been present. I didn't refer to this at the time because it did not
seem significant, but I became quite friendly with one of them, his
name was Ken. I don't know about you, but sometimes one instinctively
knows after a short time that there is a rapport. Ken turned out to be
a first class bloke, and once again I found myself regretting that I
had not made friends with him before. Maybe I had given the appearance
of being a loner? I don't know, however you will see how important he
became to me.

I will tell you now, (although I had never any intention of mentioning
this), about the last night I spent with Walter, just before his
death.

You will remember I am sure how upset he was, and that we were talking
until the early hours. I realised from our discussions, that Walter was
a very down to earth and practical guy. What had upset him so much was
the fact that he had been unable to find any normal explanation to what
had happened in the church. Walter had in fact been pursuing this quest
on his own since our first visit to the room. When we thought things
were back to normal, they certainly were not for Walter. He had kept
everything to himself apart from his requests for my assistance, and he
had not divulged anything else to me until the night of our last
meeting.

In fact instead of him actually making some progress, things had just
developed, and he had actually fallen further behind. To come to the
point, he wanted me to carry on where he left off. He told me he knew
he didn't have long to live, and he would not be at rest until this
mystery was sorted. The old guy certainly put me on the spot, he knew I
was going away on business and I made it clear, that I had no idea how
long I would be away for, but he told me I was the only one who he
would talk to, and he didn't want the mystery to die with him.

I could fully understand his reasoning, but how could I promise
anything at the time? Not knowing if I would be away six months, or two
years, I honestly didn't know.

Walter then told me that sometimes in the night when he had been unable
to sleep, he would get up to make himself a cup of tea. He then told me
that when glancing over at the church, which is directly overlooked by
the vicarage, he had often seen a light, which looked like a candle,
moving about the church. What on earth could I say? Walter was so
sincere, and again tears stained his face.

The time was now about two thirty and I simply had to go, and I knew
Walter should be in bed. I had no intention of making a promise to him
that I couldn't keep, nor did I want to hurt him at this time. I told
him not to worry and that I would be in touch. We said a tearful
goodbye, and I left.

Ken and I had been corresponding quite frequently about St. Oswalds and
particularly how things had changed there under the new vicar. I will
now tell you about the new vicar, and the changes.

The new vicar according to Ken, was a totally different character to
Walter, and like the proverbial new broom was intending to sweep clean.
Hearing this alarmed me a little bit; the congregation at St. Oswalds
needed to be treated with care and respect, if he succeeds in losing
them they will not easily be replaced. Apparently he comes over as
being dogmatic, not particularly friendly, and not easy to talk to.
What did worry me greatly was the next bombshell.

When the new vicar found out about the room and its popularity, he
apparently went mad. His immediate reaction according to Ken, was to
inform the Church council that the room would be closed henceforth, he
said that anybody who needed to use that room for whatever reason could
just as well use the Church, emphasising that's what the Church was
there for. He apparently stated further, that no animals would be
allowed in the Church. When the history of the room was explained to
him, he apparently scoffed and intimated he had never heard anything so
ridiculous. So it came to be that the room was once again sealed. Not
by plaster this time, but it was emptied, a stout external lock fitted
and some large heavy articles placed in front of the door. The natives
were not happy, and Ken wanted me to go down to talk to him about the
problem. I had been waiting for a reason to return, and now my work in
Scotland was over, I was happy to agree.

The next day after a pleasant drive down from Scotland I arrived at
Ken's little place near to St. Oswald's. I explained to him that before
we had our discussion I wanted to go over to the church. Ken
understood, and so after a welcome cup of tea and some small talk, I
set off for the Church with Wagner.I didn't know the current policy on
dogs in the Churchyard so decided to leave him tied to the form
outside.

The scene that greeted me was unbelievable! Elgar's oak plaque was
clean and the small grave tidy, but next to it, and remember we are
talking about a remote spot here, was dear Walter's grave; the thing
that reduced me to tears was the simple inscription "Walter. He had a
friend in the Church also". Nothing more. I subsequently found out that
this was Walters wish before he died, to be laid beside Elgar.

It was while I was wiping my face that I realised someone had walked up
behind me. When I turned I realised it was a reverend gentleman and I
assumed he was the new vicar. He inquired about the grave, and was most
surprised to hear it was his predecessor buried there, he genuinely
didn't know.

He then noticed Elgar's grave and commented on the unusual
inscriptions, I didn't enlighten him about Elgar, but explained that he
had died first, and to keep things simple, explained his inscription
referred to the vicar. With regards to Walter's inscription, I was not
privy to the requests of the vicar, but told him Elgar was a dear
friend. I didn't give him any time to dwell on what I had just said,
but asked him straight out if Ken and I could see him as soon as
possible to discuss an important issue. I explained that I had been at
the church some time ago, had been away on business and had just
returned. His response was quite normal, he would be glad to meet us,
and he was pleased to see me back. We arranged to meet that
night.

Continued----