Accustomedthoughhewastothesightwhichhewasabouttoface,GeraldshiveredslightlyasheopenedthedoorofMr。Fentolin’sroom。Astrangesortoffearseemedtohavecreptintohisbearingandexpression,afearofwhichtherehadbeennotraceswhateverduringthoseterriblehoursthroughwhichhehadpassed-notevenduringthatlastrecklessjourneyacrossthemarshes。Hewalkedwithhesitatingfootstepsacrossthespaciousandloftyroom。Hehadtheairofsomefrightenedcreatureapproachinghismaster。
Yetallthatwasvisibleofthedespotwhoruledhiswholehouseholdindeadlyfearwasthekindlyandbeautifulfaceofanelderlyman,whosestuntedlimbsandbodyweremercifullyconcealed。
Hesatinalittlecarriage,witharugdrawncloselyacrosshischestanduptohisarmpits。Hisbeautifullyshapedhandswereexposed,andhisface;nothingelse。Hishairwasasilverywhite;
hiscomplexionparchment-like,pallid,entirelycolourless。Hiseyeswereasoftshadeofblue。Hisfeaturesweresofinelycutandchiselledthattheyresembledsomeexquisitepieceofstatuary。
Hesmiledashisnephewcameslowlytowardshim。Onemightalmosthavefanciedthattheyoungman’sabjectstatewasasourceofpleasuretohim。
“Soyouarebackagain,mydearGerald。Apleasantsurprise,indeed,butwhatisthemeaningofit?Andwhatofmylittlecommission,eh?“
Theyoungman’sfacewasdarkandsullen。Hespokequicklybutwithoutanysignofeagernessorinterestintheinformationhevouchsafed。
“Thestormhasstoppedallthetrains,“hesaid。“Theboatdidnotcrosslastnight,andinanyeaseIcouldn’thavereachedHarwich。
Asforyourcommission,ItravelleddownfromLondonalonewiththemanyoutoldmetospyupon。IcouldhavestolenanythinghehadifIhadbeenusedtothework。Asitwas-Ibroughtthemanhimself。“
Mr。Fentolin’sdelicatefingersplayedwiththehandleofhischair。
Thesmilehadpassedfromhislips。Helookedathisnephewingentlebewilderment。
“Mydearboy,“heprotested,“come,come,becarefulwhatyouaresaying。Youhavebroughtthemanhimself!Sofarasmyinformationgoes,Mr。JohnP。Dunsterischargedwithaveryimportantdiplomaticcommission。HeisonhiswaytoCologne,andfromwhatIknowabouttheman,Ithinkthatitwouldrequiremorethanyourpersuasionstoinducehimtobreakoffhisjourney。Youdonotreallywishmetobelievethatyouhavebroughthimhereasaguest?“
“IwasatLiverpoolStreetStationlastnight,“Geralddeclared。
“Ihadnoideahowtoaccosthim,andastostealinganyofhisbelongings,Icouldn’thavedoneit。Youmusthearhowfortunehelpedme,though。Mr。Dunstermissedthetrain;sodidI-
purposely。Heorderedaspecial。Iaskedpermissiontotravelwithhim。ItoldhimalieastohowIhadmissedthetrain。I
hatedit,butitwasnecessary。“
Mr。Fentolinnoddedapprovingly。
“Mydearboy,“hesaid,“totriflewiththetruthisalwaysunpleasant。Besides,youareaFentolin,andourloveoftruthisproverbial。Buttherearetimes,youknow,whenforthegoodofotherswemustsacrificeourscruples。SoyoutoldMr。Dunsteraalsehood。“
“Heletmetravelwithhim,“Geraldcontinued。“Wewereallnightgettingabouthalf-wayhere。Then-youknowaboutthestorm,I
suppose?“
Mr。Fentolinspreadouthishands。
“Couldoneavoidtheknowledgeofitheasked。“Suchasighthasneverbeenseen。“
“Wefoundwecouldn’tgettoHarwich,“Geraldwenton。“TheytelegraphedtoLondonandgotpermissiontobringustoYarmouth。
WewereonourwaytoNorwich,andthetrainranofftheline。“
“Anaccident?“Mr。Fentolinexclaimed。
Geraldnodded。
“Ourtrainranoffthelineandpitcheddownanembankment。Mr。
Dunsterhasconcussionofthebrain。HeandIweretakentoamiserablelittleinnnearWymondham。FromthereIhiredamotor-carandbroughthimhere。“
“Youhiredamotor-carandbroughthimhere,“Mr。Fentolinrepeatedsoftly。“Mydearboy-forgivemeifIfindthisalittlehardtounderstand。Yousaythatyouhavebroughthimhere。Hadhenothingtosayaboutit?“
“Hewasunconsciouswhenwepickedhimup,“Geraldexplained。“Heisunconsciousnow。Tbedoctorsaidhewouldremainsoforatleasttwenty-fourhours,anditdidn’tseemtomethatthejourneywoulddohimanyparticularharm。Theroofhadbeenstrippedofftheinnwherewewere,andtheplacewasquiteuninhabitable,soweshouldhavehadtohavemovedhimsomewhere。Weputhiminthetonneauofthecarandcoveredhimup。Theyhavecarriedhimnowintoabedroom,andSarsonislookingafterhim。“
Mr。Fentolinsatquitesilent。Hiseyesblinkedonceortwice,andtherewasacuriouscurveabouthislips。
“Youhavedonewell,myboy,“hepronouncedslowly。“Yourschemeofbringinghimheresoundsalittleprimitive,butsuccessjustifieseverything。“
Mr。Fentolinraisedtohislipsandblewsoftlyalittlegoldwhistlewhichhungfromachainattachedtohiswaistcoat。Almostimmediatelythedooropened。Amanentered,dressedsomberlyinblack,whosebearinganddemeanouralikedenotedtheservant,butwhosephysiquewasthephysiqueofaprize-fighter。Hewasscarcelymorethanfivefeetsixinheight,buthisshoulderswereextraordinarilybroad。Hehadashort,bullneckandlong,mightyarms。Hisface,withtheheavyjawandsmalleyes,wasthefaceofthetypicalfightingman,yethisfeaturesseemedtohavebecomedisposedbyhabitintoanexpressionofgentle,almostservilecivility。
“Meekins,“Mr。Fentolinsaid,“avisitorhasarrived。Doyouhappentohavenoticedwhatluggagehebrought?“
“Thereisonesmalldressing-case,sir,“themanreplied;“nothingelsethatIhaveseen。“
“Thatisallwebrought,“Geraldinterposed。
“Youwillbringthedressing-casehereatonce,“Mr。Fentolindirected,“andalsomycomplimentstoDoctorSarson,andanypocket-bookorpaperswhichmayhelpustosendamessagetothegentleman’sfriends。“
Meekinsclosedthedooranddeparted。Mr。Fentolinturnedbacktowardshisnephew。
“Mydearboy,“hesaid,“tellmewhyyoulookasthoughtherewereghostsflittingabouttheroom?Youarenotill,Itrust?“
“Tired,perhaps,“Geraldansweredshortly。“Weweremanyhoursinthecar。Ihavehadnosleep。“
Mr。Fentolin’sfacewasfullofkindlysympathy。
“Mydearfellow,“heexclaimed,“Iamselfish,indeed!Ishouldnothavekeptyouhereforamoment。Youhadbettergoandliedown。“
“I’llgodirectly,“Geraldpromised。“CanIspeaktoyouforonemomentfirst?“
“SpeaktomeMr。Fentolinrepeated,alittlewonderingly。“MydearGerald,isthereeveramomentwhenIamnotwhollyatyourservice?“
“ThatfellowDunster,ontheplatform,thefirstmomentIspoketohim,mademefeellikeacur,“theboysaid,withasuddenaccessofvigourinhistone。“ItoldhimIwasonmywaytoagolftournament,andhepointedtothenewsaboutthewar。Isittrue,uncle,thatwemaybeatwaratanymoment?“
Mr。Fentolinsighed。
“Aterriblereflection,mydearboy,“headmittedsoftly,“but,alas!
thefingerofprobabilitypointsthatway。“
“ThenwhataboutmeGeraldexclaimed。“Idon’twanttocomplain,butlisten。YoudraggedmehomefromapublicschoolbeforeIcouldevenjoinmycadetcorps。You’vekeptmebangingaroundherewithatutor。Youwouldn’tletmegototheuniversity。You’vestoppedmyenteringeitheroftheservices。Iamnineteenyearsoldanduseless。DoyouknowwhatIshoulddoto-morrowifwarbrokeout?
Enlist!It’stheonlythingleftforme。“
Mr。Fentolinwasshocked。
“Mydearboy!“heexclaimed。“Youmustnottalklikethat!Iamquitesurethatitwouldbreakyourmother’sheart。Enlist,indeed!
Nothingofthesort。Youarepartofthecivilianpopulationofthecountry。“
“Civilianpopulationbed-d!“theboysuddenlycried,whitewithrage。“Uncle,forgiveme,IhavestoodallIcanbear。Ifyouwon’tletmegoinforthearmy-Icouldpassmyexamsto-morrow-I’moff。I’llenlistwithoutwaitingforthewar。Ican’tbearthisidlelifeanylonger。“
Mr。Fentolinleanedalittleforwardinhischair。
“Gerald!“hesaidsoftly。
Theboyturnedhishead,turneditunwillingly。Hehadtheairofacagedanimalobeyingthewordofhiskeeper。Acertainsavageuncouthnessseemedtohavefallenuponhimduringthelastfewminutes。Therewassomethingalmostlikeasnarlinhisexpression。