“MydearMr。Dunster,“hishostreplledcalmly,“yousurelycannotimaginethatyouareamongthieves!Yourdressing-casewasopenedandthecontentsofyourpocket-bookinspectedwithaviewtoascertainingyouraddress,orthenamesofsomefriendswithwhomwemightcommunicate。“
“AmItounderstandthattheyaretoberestoredtome,then?“Mr。
Dunsterdemanded。
“Withoutadoubt,yes!“Mr。Fentolinassuredhim。“You,however,arenotfitforanything,atthepresentmoment,buttoreturntoyourbed,fromwhichIunderstandyouroserathersuddenlyafewminutesago。“
“Onthecontrary,“Mr。Dunsterinsisted,“Iamfeelingabsolutelywellenoughtotravel。IhaveanappointmentontheContinentofgreatimportance,asyoumayjudgebythefactthatatLiverpoolStreetIcharteredaspecialtrain。Itrustthatnothinginmymannermayhavegivenyouoffence,butIamanxioustogetthroughwiththebusinesswhichbroughtmeovertothissideofthewater。
Ihavesentforyoutoaskthatmypocket-book,dressing-case,andclothesbeatoncerestoredtome,andthatIbeprovidedwiththemeansofcontinuingmyjourneywithoutamoment’sfurtherdelay。“
Mr。Fentolinshookhisheadverygently,veryregretfully,butalsofirmly。
“Mr。Dunster,“hepleaded,“dobereasonable。Thinkofallyouhavebeenthrough。Icanquitesympathisewithyouinyourimpatience,butIamforcedtotellyouthatthedoctorwhohasbeenattendingyousincethemomentyouwerebroughtintothishousehasabsolutelyforbiddenanythingofthesort。“
Mr。Dunsterseemed,foramoment,tostruggleforcomposure。
“IamanAmericancitizen,“hedeclared。“Iamwillingtolistentotheadviceofanyphysician,butsolongasItaketherisk,I
amnotboundtofollowit。
InthepresentcaseIdeclinetofollowit。Iaskforfacilitiestoleavethishouseatonce。“
Mr。Fentolinsighed。
“Inyourowninterests,“hesaidcalmly,“theywillnotbegrantedtoyou。“
Mr。Dunsterhadspokenallthetimelikeamanstrugglingtopreservehisself-control。Thereweresignsnowthathiswillwasceasingtoservehim。Hiseyesflashedfire,hisvoicewasraised。
“Willnotbegrantedtome?“herepeated。“Doyoumeantosay,then,thatIamtobekepthereagainstmywill?“
Mr。Fentolinmadenoimmediatereply。Withthedelicatefingersofhisrighthandhepushedbackthehairfromhisforehead。Helookedathisquestionersoothingly,asonemightlookataspoiledchild。
“Againstmywill?“Mr。Dunsterrepeated,raisinghisvoicestillhigher。“Mr。Fentolin,ifthetruthmustbetold,Ihaveheardofyoubeforeandbeenwarnedagainstyou。Ideclinetoacceptanylongerthehospitalityofyourroof。Iinsistuponleavingit。
Ifyouwillnotprovidemewithanymeansofdoingso,Iwillwalk。“
Hemadeamotionasthoughtorisefromthebed。Meekins’handverygentlycloseduponhisarm。Onecouldjudgethatthegripwaslikeagripofiron。
“Dearme,“Mr。Fentolinsaid,“thisisreallyveryunreasonableofyou!Ifyouhaveheardofme,Mr。Dunster,yououghttounderstandthatnotwithstandingmyunfortunatephysicaltrouble,Iamapersonofconsequenceandpositioninthiscounty。Iamamagistrate,ex-highsheriff,andagreatland-ownerhere。IthinkImaysaywithoutboastingthatIrepresentoneofthemostancientfamiliesinthiscountry。Why,therefore,shouldyoutreatmeasthoughitweretomyinteresttoinveigleyouundermyroofandkeepyouthereforsomeguiltypurpose?CannotyouunderstandthatitisforyourowngoodIhesitatetopartwithyou?“
“Iunderstandnothingofthesort,“Mr。Dunsterexclaimedangrily。
“Letusbringthisnonsensetoanend。Iwantmyclothes,andifyouwon’tlendmeacaroratrap,I’llwalktothenearestrailwaystation。“
Mr。Fentolinshookhishead。
“Iamquitesure,“hesaid,“thatyouarenotinapositiontotravel。Eveninthedining-roomjustnowIheardadisturbanceforwhichIwastoldthatyouwereresponsible。“
“Isimplyinsisteduponhavingmyclothes,“Mr。Dunsterexplained。
“Yourservantrefusedtofetchthem。rerhapsIlostmytemper。
Ifso,Iamsorry。Iamnotusedtobeingthwarted。“
“Afewdays’rest-“Mr。Fentolinbegan。
“Afewdays’restbehanged!“Mr。Dunsterinterruptedfiercely。
“Listen,Mr。Fentolin,“headded,withtheairofonemakingalastefforttopreservehistemper,“themissionwithwhichIamchargedisoneofgreaterimportancethanyoucanimagine。Somuchdependsuponitthatmyownlife,ifthatisindanger,wouldbeameretrifleincomparisonwiththeissuesinvolved。IfIamnotallowedtocontinueuponmyjourneyatonce,theconsequencesmaybemoreseriousthanIcantellyou,toyouandyours,toyourowncountry。
There!-Iamtellingyouagreatdeal,butIwantyoutounderstandthatIaminearnest。IhaveamissionwhichImustperform,andwhichImustperformquickly。“
“Youareverymysterious,“Mr。Fentolinmurinured。
“Iwillleavenothingtochance,“Mr。Dunstercontinued。“Sendthismanwhoseemstohaveconstitutedhimselfmyjaileroutofearshot,andIwilltellyouevenmore。“
Mr。FentolinturnedtoMeekins。
“Youcanleavetheroomforamoment,“heordered。“Waituponthethreshold。“
Meekinsveryunwillinglyturnedtoobey。
“Youwillexcuseme,sir,“heobjecteddoubtfully,“butIamnotatallsurethatheissafe。“
Mr。Fentolinsmiledfaintly。
“Youneedhavenofear,Meekins,“hedeclared。“Iamquitesurethatyouaremistaken。IthinkthatMr。Dunsterisincapableofanyactofviolencetowardsapersoninmyunfortunateposition。
Iamwillingtotrustmyselfwithhim-perfectlywilling,Meekins。“
Meekins,withponderousfootsteps,lefttheroomandclosedthedoorbehindhim。Mr。Fentolinleanedalittleforwardinhischair。Itseemedasthoughhewereonsprings。Thefingersofhisrighthandhaddisappearedinthepocketofhisblackvelvetdinner-coat。Hewascertainlypreparedforallemergencies。
“Now,Mr。Dunster,“hesaidsoftly,“youcanspeaktomewithoutreserve。“
Mr。Dunsterdroppedhisvoice。Histonebecameoneoffierceeagerness。
“Lookhere,“heexclaimed,“Idon’tthinkyououghttoforcemetogivemyselfawaylikethis,but,afterall,youareanEnglishman,withastakeinyourcountry,andIpresumeyoudon’twanthertotakeabackseatforthenextfewgenerations。Listenhere。It’stosaveyourcountrythatIwanttogettoTheHaguewithoutasecond’sdelay。ItellyouthatifIdon’tgetthere,ifthemessageIconveydoesn’treachitsdestination,youmayfindanagreementsignedbetweencertainPowerswhichwillmeanthegreatestdiplomatichumiliationwhichGreatBritainhaseverknown。Aye,andmorethanthat!“Mr。Dunstercontinued。“Itmaybethatthebogeyyou’vebeensettingbeforeyourselfforalltheseyearsmaytrotoutintolife,andyoumayfindSt。David’sHallabarrackforGermansoldiersbeforemanymonthshavepassed。“
Mr。Fentolinshookhisheadingentledisbelief。
“Youarespeakingtoone,“hedeclared,“whoknowsmoreofthepoliticalsituationthanyouimagine。InmyyoungerdaysIwasintheForeignOffice。SincemyunfortunateaccidentIhavepreservedthekeenestinterestinpolitics。ItellyoufranklythatIdonotbelieveyou。AsthePowersaregroupedatpresent,Idonotbelieveinthepossibilityofasuccessfulinvasionofthiscountry。“
“Perhapsnot,“Mr。Dunsterrepliedeagerly,“butthegroupingofthePowersasithasexistedduringthelastfewyearsisontheeveofagreatchange。Icannottakeyouwhollyintomyconfidence。
IcanonlygiveyoumywordofhonourasafriendtoyourcountrythatthemessageIcarryisheronlysalvation。Havingtoldyouasmuchasthat,IdonotthinkIamaskingtoomuchifIaskyouformyclothesanddressing-case,andforthefastestmotor-caryoucanfurnishmewith。IguessIcangetfromheretoYarmouth,andfromthereIcanchartersomethingwhichwilltakemetotheotherside。“
Mr。Fentolinraisedthelittlegoldwhistletohislipsandblewitverysoftly。Meekinsatonceentered,closingthedoorbehindhim。
Hemovedsilentlytothesideofthemanwhobadrisennowfromthebed,andwhowasstandingwithhishandgraspingthepostandhiseyesfixeduponMr。Fentolin,asthoughawaitinghisanswer。
“Ourconversation,“thelattersaidcalmly,“hasreachedapoint,Mr。Dunster,atwhichIthinkwemayleaveitforthemoment。Youhavetoldmesomeverysurprisingthings。IperceivethatyouareamoreinterestingvisitoreventhanIhadthought。“
Heraisedhislefthand,andMeekins,whoseemedtohavebeenwaitingforsomesignalofthesort,suddenly,withamovementofhiskneeandrightarm,flungDunsterhackuponthebed。Themanopenedhismouthtoshout,butalready,withlightning-likedexterity,hisassailanthadinsertedagagbetweenhisteeth。