Evans could not neglect. Pendlebury was looking for a position to begin when his studentship ran out. Someone at Knossos suggested he apply for permission to excavate in Crete. Later back in Athens his father recommended he return home and apply for a lectureship. He wrote back rejecting the plan, stating that he did not want "an academic life". Shortly afterward an unsigned, confidential telegram arrived asking if Duncan should retire in the autumn of 1929, would he be interested in the Directorship of Knossos? The telegram could only have come from Evans or Payne. Guessing Evans correctly, Pendlebury cabled back, "answer affirmative". There is no evidence that he was party to, or even knew about, the events of that autumn. Evans claimed that he had found MacKenzie sleeping during working hours and that he was drunk. Retirement was to become effective immediately. Piet de Jong opposed this move, claiming Duncan did not drink. The truth of the story made little difference to Duncan. He was so ill that he had to be placed in the care of his family, and could not be moved from Athens. Director at Knossos and Amarna In the autumn of 1929 Arthur Evans appointed Pendlebury curator of the archaeological site at Knossos to replace MacKenzie. He was not required to assume the post of Knossos Curator until the spring of 1930. Meanwhile, he and Hilda toured Sicily and hiked over the mountains between Athens and Thebes. John taught Hilda the sport of fencing. He organised a student hockey match with a team from the Royal Navy. An article of his attempting to fit the siege of Troy into history was attacked by H. R. Hall of the British Museum. Pendlebury was outraged at this first professional critique of his work, claiming he had supported his conclusions fully with data. The Pendleburys arrived at the Villa Ariadne in March to assume the new post, but there was no improvement in contention. Almost immediately they received a second shock. A student at the British School had been invited to photograph some Greek vases in a private home and, during the shoot, the police burst in, arresting the owners of the vases for trying to sell antiquities out of the country. Spyridon Marinatos, director of the Museum at Heraklion, wrote a note of protest to Pendlebury who demanded an investigation. Humfry Payne complained to the Ministry of