Disappearances And Appearances

In the opening paragraph of "The Problem of Thor Bridge," Dr. Watson refers to:

James Phillmore who stepped back into his house for his umbrella and was never seen again;

the ship, Alicia, which sailed into a patch of mist and was never seen again;

Isadora Persano who was found insane in front of a matchbox containing a worm unknown to science.

These seem to me to be cases not for Manse Everard of the Time Patrol but for Valeria Matuchek, explorer of the multiverse. Phillimore and the Alicia departed into other universes. The worm came from another universe. There are few imaginary or speculative scenarios that cannot find an explanation in Poul Anderson's multiverse. Phillimore might have passed through the Old Phoenix either into a very different universe or into one so similar that he was not aware of any difference.

Those who leave Neil Gaiman's Inn of the Worlds' End return to the world of their origin or to one very similar.