“Thegirlwiththegreyeyeswasrightenough,“heremarkedtohimself。“Mr。Fentolinhasbeenmakinghimselfverymuchathomewithmyproperty。“
Hewithdrewthecurtains,noticing,tohissurprise,theheavyshutterswhichtheirfoldshadpartlyconcealed。Thenhemadehiswayoutalongthepassagetothefrontdoor,whichfromtheinsidehewasabletoopeneasilyenough。Leavingitcarefullyajar,he“wentoutwiththeintentionofmakinganexaminationoftheoutsideoftheplace。Instead,however,hepausedatthecornerofthebuildingwithhisfaceturnedlandwards。Exactlyfrontinghimnow,aboutthree-quartersofamileaway,onthesummitofthatstrangehillwhichstoodoutlikeagiganticrockinthewilderness,wasSt。
David’sHall。Helookedatitsteadilyandwithincreasingadmiration。Itslong,redbrickfrontwithitsmassesofclusteringchimneys,alittlebareandweather-beaten,impressedhimwithasenseofdignitydueasmuchtothepurityofitsarchitectureasthesingularityofitssituation。Behind-awonderfullyeffectivebackground-werethesteepgardensfromwhich,eveninthisuncertainlight,hecaughtfaintglimpsesofcolouringsubduedfrombrilliancybythetwilight。Thesewereencircledbyabrickwallofgreatheight,thewholeofthesouthernportionofwhichwasenclosedwithglass。Fromthefragmentofrockuponwhichhehadseatedhimself,totheraisedstoneterraceinfrontofthehouse,wasanabsolutelystraightpath,beautifullykeptlikeanavenue,withwhitepostsoneitherside,andbuiltuptoaconsiderableheightabovethebroadtidalwaywhichranforsomedistancebyitsside。Ithadalmosttheappearanceofaracingtrack,anditsstateofpreservationinthemidstofthewildernesswaslittleshortofremarkable。
“This,“Hamelsaidtohimself,asheslowlyproducedapipefromhispocketandbegantofillitwithtobaccofromabatteredsilverbox,“isaqueerfix。Looksratherliketheinnforme!“
“Andwhomightyoube,gentleman?“
Heturnedabruptlyaroundtowardshisunseenquestioner。Awomanwasstandingbythesideoftherockuponwhichhewassitting,awomanfromthevillage,apparently,whomusthavecomewithnoiselessfootstepsalongthesandyway。Shewasdressedinrustyblack,andinplaceofahatsheworeablackwoolenscarftiedaroundherheadandunderneathherchin。Herfacewaslined,herhairofadeepbrownplentifullybesprinkledwithgrey。Shehadacurioushabitofmovingherlips,evenwhenshewasnotspeaking。
Shestoodtheresmilingathim,buttherewassomethingaboutthatsmileandaboutherlookwhichpuzzledhim。
“Iamjustavisitor,“hereplied。“Whoareyou?“
Sheshookherhead。
“IsawyoucomeoutoftheTower,“shesaid,speakingwithastronglocalaccentandyetwithacertainunusualcorrectness,“inatthewindowandoutofthedoor。You’reabraveman。“
“Whybrave?“heasked。
SheturnedherheadveryslowlytowardsSt。David’sHall。Agleamofsunshinehadcaughtoneofthewindows,whichshonelikefire。
Shepointedtowarditwithherhead。
“He’slookingatyou,“shemuttered。“Hedon’tlikestrangerspokingaroundhere,thatIcantellyou。“
“Andwhoishe?“Hamelenquired。
“SquireFentolin,“sheanswered,droppinghervoicealittle。“He’saverykind-heartedgentleman,SquireFentolin,buthedon’tlikestrangershangingaround。“
“Well,Iamnotexactlyastranger,yousee,“Hamelremarked。“Myfatherusedtostayformonthsatatimeinthatlittleshantythereandpaintpictures。It’sagoodmanyyearsago。“
“Imindhim,“thewomansaidslowly。“HisnamewasHamel。“
“Iamhisson,“Hamelannounced。
ShepointedtotheHall。“Doesheknowthatyouarehere?“
Hamelshookhishead。“Notyet。Ihavebeenabroadforsolong。“
Shesuddenlyrelapsedintohercurioushabit。Herlipsmoved,butnowordscame。Shehadturnedherheadalittleandwasfacingthesea。
“Tellme,“Hamelaskedgently,“whydoyoucomeoutherealone,sofarfromthevillage?“
Shepointedwithherfingertowherethewaveswerebreakinginathinlineofwhite,aboutfiftyyardsfromthebeach。
“It’sthecemetery,。that,“shesaid,“thevillagecemetery,youknow。Ihavethreeburiedthere:George,theeldest;James,themiddleone;andDavid,theyoungest。Threeofthem-that’swhyIcome。Ican’tputflowersontheirgraves,butIcansitandwatchandlookthroughthesea,downamongtherockswheretheirbodiesare,andwonder。“
Hamellookedathercuriously。Hervoicehadgrownlowerandlower。
“It’swhatyoulandfolksdon’tbelieve,perhaps,“shewenton,“butit’strue。It’sonlyuswholiveneartheseawhounderstandit。
Iamnotanignorantbody,either。IwasschoolmistressherebeforeImarriedDavidCox。TheythoughtI’ddonewrongtomarryafisherman,butIborehimbravesons,andIlivedthelifeawomancravesfor。No,Iamnotignorant。Ihavefancies,perhaps-theLordbepraisedforthem!-andItellyouit’strue。Youlookataspotintheseaandyouseenothing-agleamofblue,afleckofwhitefoam,oneday;agleamofgreenwithablackline,another;
andagreylittlesob,thenext,perhaps。Butyougoonlooking。
Youlookdaybydayandhourbyhour,andthechasmsoftheseawillopen,andtheirvoiceswillcometoyou。Listen!“
Sheclutchedhisarm。
“Couldn’tyouhearthat?“shehalfwhispered。
“’Thelight!’ItwasDavid’svoice!’Thelight!’“Hamelwasspeechless。Thewoman’sfacewassuddenlystrangelytransformed。
Hermood,however,swiftlychanged。Sheturnedoncemoretowardsthehall。
“You’llknowhimsoon,“shewenton,“thekindestmanintheseparts,theysay。It’snotmuchthathegivesaway,buthe’sakindheart。Youseethatgreatpostattheentrancetotheriverthere?“
shewenton,pointingtoit。“Hehadthatsetupandalamphungfromthere。Fentolin’slight,theycallit。Itwastosavemen’slives。Itwasburning,theysay,thenightIlostmylads。
Fentolin’slight!“
“Theywerewrecked?“heaskedhergently。
“Wrecked,“sheanswered。“Badsteeringitmusthavebeen。Jameswouldsteer,andtheysaythathedrankabit。Badsteering!Yes,you’llmeetSquireFentolinbeforelong。He’squeertolookat-asmallbodybutagreat,kindheart。Amiserablelife,his,butitwillbemadeuptohim。Itwillbemadeuptohim!“
Sheturnedaway。Herlipsweremovingallthetime。Shewalkedaboutadozensteps,andthenshereturned。
“You’reHamel’sson,thepainter,“shesaid。“You’llbewelcomedownhere。He’llhaveyoutostayattheHall-abraveplace。
Don’tlethimbetookindtoyou。Sometimeskindnesshurts。“
Shepassedon,walkingwithacurious,shamblinggait,andsoonshedisappearedonherwaytothevillage。HamelwatchedherforamomentandthenturnedhisheadtowardsSt。David’sHall。Hefeltsomehowthatherabruptdeparturewasduetosomethingwhichshehadseeninthatdirection。Herosetohisfeet。Hisinstincthadbeenatrueone。
>FromwhereHamelstoodaqueerobjectcamestrangelyintosight。
BelowtheterraceofSt。David’sHall-fromaspot,infact,atthebaseofthesolidwall-itseemedasthoughagatehadbeenopened,andtherecametowardshimwhatheatfirsttooktobeatricycle。Asitcamenearer,itpresentedevenaweirderappearance。Mr。Fentolin,inablackcapeandblackskullcap,satalittleforwardinhiselectriccarriage,withhishandupontheguidinglever。Hisheadcamescarcelyabovethebackofthelittlevehicle,hishandsandbodyweremotionless。Heseemedtobeprogressingwithouttheslightesteffort,personalormechanical,asthoughherode,indeed,insomeghostlyvehicle。Fromthesameplaceinthewallhadissued,amomentortwolater,amanuponabicycle,whowasalsocomingtowardshim。Hamelwasscarcelyconsciousofthissecondaryfigure。Hiseyeswerefixeduponthestrangepersonagenowrapidlyapproachinghim。Therewassomethingwhichseemedscarcelyhumaninthatshrunkenfragmentofbody,thepalefacewithitswavingwhitehair,thestrangeexpressionwithwhichhewasbeingregarded。Thelittlevehiclecametoastandstillonlyafewfeetaway。Mr。Fentolinleanedforward。Hisfeatureshadlosttheirdelicatelybenevolentaspect;hiswordswereminatory。
“Iamundertheimpression,sir,“hesaid,“thatIsawyouwithmyglassesfromthewindowattemptingtoforceanentranceintothatbuilding。“
Hamelnodded。
“InotonlytriedbutIsucceeded,“heremarked。“Igotinthroughthewindow。“
Mr。Fentolin’seyesglitteredforamoment。Hamel,whohadresumedhisplaceupontherockcloseathand,hadbeenmixedupduringhislifetimeinmanywildescapades。Yetatthatmomenthehadasuddenfeelingthatthereweredangersinlifewhichasyethehadnotfaced。