Mr Thatcher had wasted no time in seeking the information that the captain had asked for late last night. He had insisted on his staff as always being aware at the time that he was in an important meeting and was definitely not to be disturbed for any reason. He called his anxious staff member into his office the next morning and offered his heartfelt thanks for showing such initiative. "This information is going to help the captain who called last night track down one of our sea captains." He said with a smile, "As punishment for disobeying my implicit instructions, I'm going to give you a bonus this year." Mr Thatcher had reviewed his records and then remembered the final voyage of the 'Cherry Hills' and he knew the office where Peter would have received his discharge papers. This was one of a number of places where discharge could have taken place so he had to be sure of his information. He remembered the officer in charge and that convinced him.
The captain had spoken with Mrs Yost and said that she should expect a great deal of traffic through the telegraph and telephone system over the next few days and weeks and most of it would be priority. "If something comes in during the middle of the night and you can get it, please don't hesitate to bring it to me please. The telegraph was in operation early that morning as promised, and the captain got straight on the phone looking for the officer in charge at the port. Mr Thatcher had also sent his own instruction in a telex to him to expect a phone call from Captain Foster in Hope Valley.
Rosemary was surprised and worried to see Christine arriving home so unusually late in the evening. The three little children had been more than happy as always to play together all day. At lunch time Emily would organise a little picnic either to be had inside or outside depending on the weather. They enjoyed each other's company and they would continue to be good friends when they would start school next year under the care of Mrs Thornton. Marie would occasionally look expectantly out the window later in the day to see if her mother was coming home to get her.
It was now getting quite late and Christine had walked home with Elizabeth and they were both completely drained after the dramatic day's events. Rosemary could see that there was something up especially when Christine picked up her daughter and cuddled her just like as if she hadn't seen her for months. They were ushered inside and they all sat down even just for a cup of tea and cookies; Rosemary often had to remind them that she could make cookies as well. Even if they didn't want to talk it would give them a chance to relax after what must have been a very challenging day. Rosemary was very impatient when there was news to be had but she tried very hard to be relaxed. Something had happened and it must be very important. She tried hard not to scream.
Four years had been a long time for Christine to be on her own and fend for herself and now to be given life changing news was something very hard to grasp. She finally released her little girl and she looked imploringly at her best friend Rosemary, "Rosemary, my husband is out there somewhere, and he is looking for me." She was now snivelling in total bewilderment as Rosemary hugged her sympathetically. "I'm strong when other people need me when I have to do my job but now, I can't even think straight." They could see that Christine was going to need a lot of support over the next few weeks. "If it wasn't for Elizabeth, we may never have known, and Peter might never be able to find me. I am so glad that the captain is here, I was a mess and he gave me hope. Rosemary, you should have heard him with his gentle, soothing voice that I'm sure could move mountains. I have faith that he knows exactly what he is going to do. I like that man and I know you do as well Elizabeth. I am so glad and thankful that he is here." Christine was sad in the knowledge that her husband was going to be coming home eventually but Elizabeth's husband was never coming home.
"Good morning, this is Captain Foster of the mounted police located here at Hope Valley. I wish to speak with your officer in charge, he is expecting my call." Mr Thatcher had instructed and personally directed all staff to provide every ounce of cooperation that they could provide with the captain. It wasn't long before the officer in charge was hastily starting to inspect records and trying to recount his recent experience with First Officer Peter Glover. It had been a few weeks since Peter had undergone his discharge process and many other personnel matters had been attended to since that date, so it took a while for the officer in charge to recall that particular incident. He soon found the documents and started to put a face to the name. "I remember now captain that he came in here after the 'Cherry Hills' docked with Captain Perkins and wanted his discharge to proceed. He was involved with the decommissioning process as this was the ship's final voyage. Mr Thatcher had tried to give him the option of a new command but, as I recall, he was determined to find his wife who is out there somewhere."
Captain Foster was pleased that now, after a while, we were finally getting somewhere in the right direction, "Sir, we have his wife here in Hope Valley and now I'm going to set about the task of finding Mr Glover wherever he may be. I'm going to need your help in trying to trace his movements once he left your office. If you have some flyers printed, someone may see them and come forward. If he ate somewhere and stayed somewhere, I want to know about it." He asked also whether Peter Glover had outlined any plans of how his first moves would be. "I'm sorry captain, it seemed like he was just mainly interested in receiving his discharge after four years of sea duty and he couldn't focus on anything else. You are absolutely right captain; he would have to have eaten somewhere after he left here. We will put out those flyers immediately and we will find someone who spoke with him."
Just before they finally ended their conversation, the captain was given an accurate description of Peter. His next plan was to update and ask Mrs Glover for her thoughts where she thought that he might have gone after his discharge. His fierce determination to follow this case through to the end was tempered with a sobering thought for Mrs Thornton. He could see how her, and Sandra hat hit it off even before they had met each other. Without her care and initiative, the chance of Mr and Mrs Glover being reunited may not have had any success for many years. This was more than just a piece of luck.
"Okay Cassie, this is where we have to be very careful. If I get on the phone and Mandy's mum hears that it is me or you, she is more than likely to have a panic attack and think that something is wrong. The last thing that people want to see is the police or a doctor on their doorstep unless they know in advance that it's a social call." Carla always tried from previous experience to have consideration for people's feelings and anxiety, so she was prepared and knew just what to do. She said all of this as she was waiting for a response from Mrs Rivers over the phone, "Hello Agnes, are you ready for some good news?" Agnes had been well aware that her daughter was getting close to giving birth and any communication from the doctor over the phone might have frightened her. Carla had nipped it in the bud before there could be any anxiety, "You have a brand-new beautiful granddaughter." This indeed was good news for Agnes because she remembered two years ago how they were badly affected by the loss of the little baby boy at the birth. She knew the strength of her daughter, but she had been worried for Chet because the loss two years ago had nearly destroyed him. He had waited so long and was looking so forward to his little baby and for that to happen to them. "Agnes, mother and baby are in the hospital for a few days to give her a chance to recover and Chet is fine. I have never seen him happier than when he saw his little girl for the first time.
We had an unexpected visitor to our town today who married my niece four years ago in Bakersfield. He was good enough to come and talk and keep Chet occupied so that he didn't get too anxious. I was very thankful to have him there and Cassie as well." Agnes was relieved but surprised because the baby wasn't due for another three weeks, but all were safe and sound and that was all that mattered. She wondered what that visitor was doing in the town and being so helpful. "Agnes, he was a ship's captain and has ended his sea duty a few weeks ago and now he is searching the country looking for his wife. He came here to see me hoping that I might know where she is but unfortunately, I couldn't help him. I haven't seen her in years since I moved here. He has a list of people named Pennington and he is using that to hope that somebody is going to know where she is. Anyhow, you are allowed to go and see your family in the hospital, and you are allowed to make a fuss."
"Good morning Doctor Carter, is Mrs Glover able to find time to talk with me for a while?" The captain had visited the Infirmary and had made sure that the two medics had no patients to deal with or any other visitors at the present so he should be able to provide Mrs Glover with his uninterrupted update. Christine came out slowly from behind the curtain and looked a shell of her former self. She looked spent and drained with the stress of the last few days. Finding out about the possibility that her husband was alive and out there somewhere was a huge shock even if it was good news. She was now faced with wondering how long she would have to wait for him to find his way home and whether he was alright. It seemed like an eternity already and she knew that she would be watching for the stage to come each day and hopefully, he would be there.
Every time the captain saw her like this caused him to steel his resolve even more to make sure that her husband would be found and quickly. Faith had insisted that she should be at work as much as she could handle it and use her work to try and take her mind off everything. Before work she had walked down to speak to Nanna Reynolds at the gravesite. "My Peter is coming home after all this time. I've tried so hard to make a good life and I know that I am doing something worthwhile to be a part of the community. Peter is going to be so proud of me, but I can't bear having to wait now that I know that he is out there somewhere. I need you to pray for us Nanna Reynolds" She had sat there quietly in the morning sunshine and wondered where he could be.
"Mrs Glover, there is something that we didn't address before." He told her how he knew about where Peter was discharged, thanks to Mr Thatcher and now, he needed to figure out where he would go from there once, he had become a civilian. "Discharge would have been a big step for him, after four years at sea and I imagine that he might have been a bit out of sorts after it was all completed. Have you any idea, Mrs Glover where he might have gone after that, if he was going to start his search for you, anything at all would be a big help for us." She thought for a while quite sadly and said how they were married in Bakersfield, but he would draw a blank if he went there because her foster parents had left soon after they were married and had gone to Europe.
"His parents and grandfather live in Ashford so he would eventually have to go there at some stage." The more she thought about it the more saddened she became because it seemed to her that this was going to be an impossible task. "Try not to worry too much Mrs Glover, as each day goes by, we are going to be a little closer to finding him. I'm going to build a map of his exploits and somebody is going to tell me where he is going next and then we will be ready for him. I promise that I will keep you aware of anything that turns up" His voice was just like it was the other night and she couldn't help but love and admire someone they hardly knew who was putting his heart and soul into helping her.
The two ladies watched him as he said goodbye and returned to the jailhouse. Faith said how the children had asked him if he was married, "How is it possible, Christine that some girl has not snapped him up already. I've never seen anyone so caring and organised as this man." She then thought back a few years to Mountie Jack and said to herself, "Yes, I remember that Jack was just as caring for everybody in every way."
Flyers had gone out as a matter of priority detailing the best description that they could come up with of Captain Peter Glover that they could present to the community, and the Officer in Charge was sure that they would eventually turn up something soon. He had told every member of his staff to be extra vigilant and that Mr Thatcher had taken a personal interest in this matter and he was hoping that Peter Glover could be located as soon as possible.
The following day an attractive young woman entered the office with one of the flyers that had been circulated around the district, in her hand. She strode up to the counter and asked anxiously, "Excuse me sir, who do I speak to, I can help you because I remember seeing this man," as she displayed the flyer. "My name is Alice and I work at the café along the street." The officer behind the counter invited her to take a seat for a moment, "You are most welcome miss, we were sure that somebody would have recalled seeing him after he left this building." He called immediately for the officer in charge who then hurriedly placed a priority phone call to Captain Foster.
"Thank you so much for coming forward Alice, my name is Captain Foster and I'm here in Hope Valley. Mr Glover's wife lives and works here as a nurse and she is very anxious as you may imagine. It was only by a streak of luck that we found out about Mr Glover and now we are going to move heaven and earth to find him for her. I want you to try and tell me every little detail, no matter how insignificant that you think it may be, anything that you can recall about your meeting with Mr Glover."
She started to talk about how she found him to be so much of a gentleman and how he had asked whether she would sit and talk with him while he had some food. "Captain, I felt that he had been so focussed on getting his discharge finalised and when it had finally happened , he was out of sorts and rather insecure about what to do next." She described how he had just been discharged from the merchant navy and how he was now going to search high and low for his wife and how they had only been married in Bakersfield for only three days before he was whisked back to sea duty. "I suggested that he start his search from there captain where her foster parents lived. Oh, one last thing captain, he was worried that she might not even remember him. If you have his wife there, you can tell her from me that she is a very lucky lady and I'm very jealous."
The captain had promised to keep Mrs Glover informed as and when he would find out anything new, so he hurriedly found his way to the Infirmary once again. Her disposition hadn't changed or improved much from the day before, but she was eager for any good news that he might have for her. He hated seeing her this way and how she was forced to wait, but he was supremely confident that he would be successful for her in the end.
"Mrs Glover, if we had any doubt at all that we didn't have the right man, that is completely dispelled from now on. Somebody has confirmed that she had spoken with your husband who had said that he had been married in Bakersfield but had to resume sea duty at short notice. She said that he was very focussed and determined that he was not going to stop until he finds you. She also said that you are a very lucky lady to have him for a husband."
Christine burst into tears, "Where is he, I want him here right now." She was inconsolable as she fell into the captain's arms in despair. He sat with her silently as she tried to regain her composure, "You know captain, our wedding day was the happiest day of my life. I have never regretted for a single moment that we married in so much haste. I would do it all again in an instant." Captain Foster knew that his position as a captain in the force gave him a great deal of authority and he was going to use it, "Mrs Glover, I'm going to need an address and names of your foster parents in Bakersfield and his parents in Ashford. You can rest assured that I will have every officer in the force in the entire country on the job before I am finished. It is only a matter of time. As I told you, we have the means of finding people wherever they may be and we are good at our job."
As a token of gratitude, Carla's husband had offered to drive Peter to a little town called Overton which was about fifty miles away from Ringwood where there was a Pennington that Peter had not had on his list. This little village was way off the beaten track and there was only one stagecoach calling there as a weekly service. Cassie had desperately wanted to go along with him, but she knew that she had to let him go. This Pennington was a niece of Carla's but on another side of her family and a few years had passed since she had seen her. She knew that she had known Christine many years ago but as life happens, people get married and move away to a new life. The town was very outdated, but it had a district general store, a telegraph station next to a small police agency and a little church. The car had actually been able to catch up to the weekly stage so Peter was able to transfer and continue on with the coach so that he would not inconvenience Carla's husband any more than necessary.
Carla could not have been more grateful for Peter's contribution to the safe arrival of the little baby girl and how he had helped Chet through the anxiety of it all. "I haven't seen this niece for many years, but I know that she used to regularly correspond with Christine. I know that she is married and she has a young boy, and I hope that she is going to be able to point you in the right direction. Her married name is Emma Gibson I think."
Peter arrived in the one and only street of this little town and looked up and down the track and decided that the police agency office was the first choice for him. His officer's uniform was again to raise eyebrows, but he was hoping to be able to avoid having to repeat his ever so long story again. He would simply ask for directions and the whereabouts of a Mrs Emma Gibson who lived out here somewhere. He was horrified at the thought that she might have moved away or simply didn't exist then he would be stuck here for a week waiting for the stage.
The man in the police agency office was more like an assistant who would summon the police if and when he considered it to be necessary. That system seemed to work well enough so far because this was, for the most part, a quiet little country town which didn't have the need a full-time police presence. After introducing himself and asking for directions to Mrs Gibson's place, he detected a note of suspicion and hesitancy from this man, and his name was written down maybe for future reference. Other than that, the man appeared helpful enough when he described how Mrs Gibson lived about three miles out of the town and he could probably borrow a horse and cart from the stables down the road.
Peter was mildly puzzled by the weird attitude of that man, but he shook it off as he wandered down to the stable with his kit. He didn't feel like a criminal but maybe it was just that he was a stranger in the district or maybe that man treated everyone like that. He had no problem with the horse and cart and soon he pulled up at a pleasantly fitted out little homestead.
Coinciding with the information that he had received from Christine and the officer in charge at the dock as well as from Alice, Captain Foster had made quick arrangements to have the relevant maps sent to him as a matter of priority. He was ready to make some solid moves and he was leaving no stone unturned. Both officers in the jailhouse started pouring over the maps trying to gauge an idea where Peter Glover might have travelled. It was reasonable to consider that he would have gone straight to Bakersfield as suggested by Alice but if, as Christine had said, he would have had no success there and possibly no plan of what to do next.
"Nathan, this is a man of considerable means, he must have some sort of a plan to go by. He would have to be looking for his wife's relations and work from there. He might get some information from various police stations and postal outlets." He noticed on the map that there were many towns along the main railway line with Cloverton being the main large town on the line near Bakersfield. He also noticed that Ashford was on the same line although it was a considerable distance away. He was starting to formulate a plan of action, but he decided that his first job was to speak with his parents in Ashford. He realised that Mrs Glover had not had any contact with his parents since their wedding or else she would have said so. Therefore, unfortunately, they would not have been able to tell him where his wife is living now , and he would have no alternative but to continue on with his search. Florence now had the job of trying to get a phone call through to the police station at Ashford.
"Mum, there's a man just pulled up out the front of our place, I think he is coming to see us." said a little boy looking out the window. His mother looked out the window as well and it was strange as they had very few visitors to their place. She noticed how he looked very formal in some sort of uniform so hopefully; he wasn't here to cause them any trouble. She opened the door hesitantly and even though this man looked pleasant enough, she kept their rifle close at hand in the corner for their own protection. Peter arrived on the steps at the front porch and didn't even have to knock on the front door as it opened hesitantly, "Hello, I'm hoping that you might be Mrs Emma Gibson." He couldn't help noticing her hesitancy and he immediately set about trying to ease any tension. "I'm sorry to surprise you like this, but I have been sent here by Carla Graham hoping that you might be able to help me. You know my wife, Christine Pennington." Emma lightened up and now had a welcoming smile, "My goodness, I haven't seen or heard of Christine in many years, how is she?" She invited Peter inside and then the little boy appeared, "This is my son Danny, and he is not as shy as he might appear." He was a fine upstanding and confident looking young boy and Peter could see that his mother was very proud of him.
"Hello young man, I am very glad to meet you sir, you look very much like your mother." Emma looked very similar to most of the Pennington's that he had seen so far but the years of toil and hard work could be seen in her face. "I'm sorry that I can't tell you anything about Christine as I've been on sea duty this last four years and I don't know where she is and that's my problem." He outlined the story of the marriage and his rapid departure and how she was left on her own. He said how he hasn't had much luck so far, but he is not going to be discouraged from his goal. She was sorry that she couldn't be more helpful, but she said that she had retained some letters that Christine had written to her years ago. Emma had them put away in boxes somewhere and it might take her a while to find them.
"We moved here about three years ago and we were doing just fine until my husband Jacob contracted a bad illness and died quickly. I still can't believe that my partner in life is really gone. I never had the heart or the energy after that to unpack everything, so what we have is all still stored away just like when we moved here." Peter was horrified to think that this lady was having to try and eke out a living here with a young child which she was having to raise by herself. It sounded like Emma didn't have any family or anyone to talk to being stuck out here a long way from anywhere. "We grow a lot of fruit and vegetables to share with other families and I work at cleaning some of the places in the street, but it is a hard and mostly a generally unforgiving life. I would like Danny to be able to go to school like what I did but the town is too small to have a school program of any sort."
Peter was now having to accept that he would be here for the entire week waiting for the next stage, but he said how he was going to help Emma out as best as he could while he was here. "I will be eternally grateful to you if you can find those letters Emma".
Next morning the phone rang in the jailhouse, "Good morning sir, I'm sorry for the delay in responding to your recent telex. Most of our lines have been down, and services have been interrupted due to bad weather conditions. The forecast is for even worse weather over the next couple of weeks so I hope that I can help you in the interim. We have had workers out painstakingly endeavouring to identify the problems and effect repairs as a matter of priority but it is going to take a while. I'm Sergeant Francis of the Ashford police station." Nathan handed the phone to the captain after telling him that this was the call he had been waiting for.
"Thank you for ringing back so promptly after our enquiry, I'm Captain Foster here at Hope Valley and I wish to speak with the family of Peter Glover as soon as possible." The sergeant became very worried, "Captain, I hope there is nothing wrong, we only had Peter back here a few weeks ago." Captain Foster was caught off guard at hearing this, "Oh, no sergeant, we know nothing of Peter and that is where our problem lies. We only have limited information on how he was discharged from the navy and that he would have travelled to Bakersfield. We know that he is searching for his wife, and I can tell you that she lives and works here in Hope Valley. I am going to need your help to progress this matter any further. I need to talk with his parents to try and figure out where he has travelled to so that we can get him to Hope Valley as soon as possible. I can tell you that his wife is going crazy knowing that he is out there somewhere. I trust that you know the family well and will be able to work with them to help us." The end of the surprise phone call triggered the sergeant into immediate action.
It was too late in the day for Peter to take the horse and cart back to the stable as the daylight was fast running out and the inclement weather was closing in and deteriorating rapidly. "We have had some really bad storms this year and poor Danny gets so frightened by all the thunder and lightning." As with most homes, they had a guest room that had never been used so Peter was made welcome to spend some time with Emma and Danny. They could see the rain approaching and the howling wind, so the horse and cart were to spend the night safely in the shed out the back. Peter could see young Danny getting more distressed by the minute, so he sat down with him and put him on his lap and started to tell him about the storms on the high seas. "We had storms like this when I was on our big ship out in the middle of the ocean." Danny was another one who had never seen or heard of water as far as the eye could see. Peter continued with his story as the little boy sat with him shivering in fright, "The sea would be really rough, and the ship would roll from side to side and many of our sailors got sick because of it. The thunder and lightning was so loud that nobody could hear each other but we just had to keep going because many people across the sea depended on us to deliver all our cargo safe and sound." It might have been just a story to some but it was every bit of truth as Peter described.
Peter was recalling how they never had a chance to be frightened of the massive storms while they were battling to keep the ship upright but now, as he watched Danny being so scared, he could imagine what it must have been like for people, with huge artillery and bombs exploding everywhere around them. "People would not have survived if we never got all our goods to them, so we had no choice but to keep going. It was all hands on deck as sailors had to fight their way around the ship in the driving wind and rain and we all worked together as a team. Even when you can see the ocean from dry land, it's never the same as when you are miles out to sea. The waves coming over the ship would be higher than the house and we had to fight the raging sea for two days and nights before we knew that we were safe. We would look out over the bridge at night and all you could see was darkness and nothing. When it was calm sea and clear skies, we would look up in the sky and see millions of stars. There was nothing else like it in the whole world. They were hard years, but they were good years, and I am very proud of all the men that I sailed with over those four years, even though I might never see them again."
Peter smiled at Danny and told him, "You are just like one of the sailors with me on the ship in the big nasty storm, I think we're going to make it." Little Danny sat next to him with his arm around him tightly and they sat together through all the noise and clatter and they waited for the storm to pass, and then everything would be okay again. Emma had not missed a beat listening to the ship's captain and watching her little boy with his new uncle. She missed her husband even more so as he would have been the one to offer comfort for his little boy.
Nathan and the captain were still reviewing all their maps especially the one around Ashford and surrounding district where they now knew Peter had been. They were still receiving quantities of priority mail containing timetables of trains and stagecoaches and their routes. They had looked over the places between Bakersfield and Ashford which were on the rail line, but these were probably irrelevant by now. If Peter had been at any of these places, he may not have received any good news about Christine. He pointed to some of the towns along the track after Ashford and wondered whether he would be there. There were towns like Grampton, Bradcliffe and Clifton or maybe he had ventured in some other direction. So far they had no way of knowing.
Hopefully, some discussion with his parents might reveal some plan that he might be following. The captain had about half an hour before the agreed time when the sergeant at Ashford would ring back with the parents, so he made a quick trip down to the school to see Elizabeth. She was surprised but pleased to see him as he walked carefully through the front door, "I'm sorry to cause an interruption to your class Mrs Thornton but can I speak with you very quickly?" Allie and Amy were soon placed in charge of the class for a few minutes while a very inquisitive Elizabeth followed the captain out the front door and down the steps.
"Mrs Thornton, I wanted you to be the first to know, we have located Mr Glover's parents and soon, weather permitting, I will be able to talk with them to find out a bit more about his whereabouts. We spoke to a young waitress at a café near where he was discharged, and she was very helpful. According to the police sergeant at their town, Mr Glover has been there only a few weeks ago trying to find his wife. Mrs Thornton, we are going to find him, and it will all be because of your initiative and perception. I have to tell you that it is you and Sandra that provide me with the inspiration and the drive to do my best for everyone." He cast a look with pride into the classroom and saw the very confident Amy going about her business. Elizabeth looked at him with affection and she wanted to hold his hand, "Amy can thank you captain for everything because I know she wouldn't be here like this without you." He looked back at Elizabeth and paused, "Mrs Thornton, when all this is over, I wonder if you would like to have a celebratory dinner with me in the café so that I can show my appreciation for all you have done for everyone both here and at Fort Clay." Elizabeth replied, "It would be my honour Captain Foster and you deserve to be the one to give Christine the good news when it happens." She smiled and watched him mount his horse and ride with purpose back to the street preparing for this very important phone call. She thought that Christine was in good hands.