Parson's Pleasure (short story)

He gains entry to their houses in the guise of cataloguing their old furniture; if he sees something he can re-sell, he offers to buy it.

In order to buy the furniture for less than it is worth he uses his knowledge and a number of tricks, such as substituting machine-made screws for the genuine old ones.

After leaving his station wagon hidden so as not to spoil his image as an old clergyman, he walks to a rundown farmhouse where he meets three locals – Claud, Bert, and Rummins – in the yard.

While Boggis goes away to get his vehicle the three men decide to help the parson; they assume his car will not be big enough to easily carry the commode and fear he will lose interest in the deal once he discovers the piece will not fit inside.

As they wait for Boggis to return, they comment that the commode was made by a 'bloody good carpenter no matter what the parson says'.