Treatinghisstrugglesasthestrugglesofababy,Meekinsnextproceededtosecurehiswristswithhandcuffs。Hethenheldhisfeettogetherwhilehequietlywoundacoilofcordaroundthem。
Mr。Fentolinwatchedtheproceedingsfromhischairwithanairofpleasedandcriticalinterest。
“Verywelldone,Meekins-veryneatlydone,indeed!“heexclaimed。
“AsIwassaying,Mr。Dunster,“hecontinued,turninghischair,“ourconversationhasreachedapointatwhichIthinkwemaysafelyleaveitforatime。Wewilldiscussthesemattersagain。
Yourpretextofapoliticalmissionis,ofcourse,anabsurdone,butfortunatelyyouhavefallenintogoodhands。TakegoodcareofMr。Dunster,Meekins。Icanseethatheisaveryimportantpersonage。Wemustbecarefulnottolosesightofhim。“
Mr。Fentolinsteeredhischairtothedoor,openedit,andpassedout。Onthelandingheblewhiswhistle;theliftalmostimmediatelyascended。Amomentortwolaterheglidedintothedining-room。Thethreemenwerestillseatedaroundthetable。Adecanterofwine,almostempty,wasbeforeDoctorSarson,whosepallidcheeks,however,wereasyetunflushed。
“Atlast,mydearguest,“Mr。Fentolinexclaimed,turningtoHamel,“Iamabletoreturntoyou。Ifyouwilldrinknomorewine,letushaveourcoffeeinthelibrary,youandI。IwanttotalktoyouabouttheTower。“
Mr。Fentolinledthewaytoadelightfullittlecornerofhislibrary,wherebeforetheopengrate,recentlypiledwithhissinglogs,aneasychairhadbeendrawn。Hewheeledhimselfuptotheothersideofthehearthrugandleanedbackwithalittleairofexhaustion。Thebutler,whoseemedtohaveappearedunsummonedfromsomewhereamongtheshadows,servedcoffeeandpouredsomeoldbrandyintolargeandwonderfullythinglasses。
“Whymyhouseshouldbeturnedintoanasylumtogratifythehospitableinstinctsofmyyoungnephew,Icannotimagine,“Mr。
Fentolingrumbled。“Amostextraordinaryperson,ourvisitor,Icanassureyou。Quiteviolent,too,hewasatfirst。“
“Haveyouhadanyoutsideadviceabouthiscondition?“Hamelinquired。
Mr。FentolinglancedacrossthosefewfeetofspaceandlookedatHamelwithswiftsuspicion。
“WhyshouldI?“heasked。“DoctorSarsonisfullyqualified,andthecaseseemstopresentnounusualcharacteristics。“
Hamelsippedhisbrandythoughtfully。
“Idon’tknowwhyIsuggestedit,“headmitted。“Ionlythoughtthatanoutsidedoctormighthelpyoutogetridofthefellow。“
Mr。Fentolinshruggedhisshoulders。
“Afterall,“hesaid,“thematterisofnorealconsequence。DoctorSarsonassuresmethatweshallbeabletosendhimonhiswayveryshortly。Inthemeantime,Mr。Hamel,whatabouttheTower?“
“Whataboutit?“Hamelasked,selectingacigarfromtheboxwhichhadbeenpushedtohisside。“IamsureIhaven’tanywishtoinconvenienceyou。“
“Iwillbequitefrank,“Mr。Fentolindeclared。“Idonotdisputeyourrightforamoment。Ontheotherhand,myfewhoursdailydowntherehavebecomeahabitwithme。Idonotwishtogivethemup。
Stayherewithus,Mr。Hamel。Youwillbedoingusagreatkindness。
Mynephewandniecehavetoolittlecongenialsociety。Makeupyourmindtogiveusafortnightofyourtime,andIcanassureyouthatwewilldoourbesttomakeyoursapleasantstay。“
Hamelwasalittletakenaback。
“Mr。Fentolin,“hesaid,“Icouldn’tthinkofacceptingyourhospitalitytosuchanextent。MyideaincomingherewassimplytofulfilanoldpromisetomyfatherandtoroughitattheTowerforaweekorso,andwhenthatwasover,Idon’tsupposeIshouldeverbelikelytocomebackagain。Youhadbetterletmecarryoutthatplan,andafterwardstheplaceshallbeentirelyatyourdisposal。“
“Youdon’tquiteunderstand,“Mr。Fentolinpersisted,alittleirritably。“Isitthereeverymorning。Iwant,forinstance,tobethereto-morrowmorning,andthenextmorning,andthemorningafterwards,tofinishalittleseascapeIhavecommenced。Nowhereelsewilldo。CallitawhimorwhatyouwillIhavebegunthepicture,andIwanttofinishit。“
“Well,youcansitthereallright,“Hamelassuredhim。“Ishallbeoutplayinggolforfishing。Ishalldonothingbutsleepthere。“
“Andveryuncomfortableyouwillbe,“Mr。Fentolinpointedout。
“Youhavenoservant,Iunderstand,andthereisnooneinthevillagefittolookafteryou。Thinkofmythirty-nineemptyrooms,mybookshere,mygardens,mymotor-cars,myyoungpeople,entirelyatyourservice。Youcanhaveasuitetoyourself。Youcandisappearwhenyoulike。ToalleffectsandpurposesyouwillbethemasterofSt。David’sHall。Bereasonable。Don’tyouthink,now,thatyoucanspendafortnightmorepleasantlyundersuchcircumstancesthanbyplayingthemisanthropedownattheTower?“
“Pleasedon’tthink,“Hamelbegged,“thatIdon’tappreciateyourhospitality。Ishouldfeeluncomfortable,however,ifIpaidyouavisitofthelengthyouhavesuggested。Come,Idon’tsee,“headded,“whymyoccupationoftheTowershouldinterferewithyou。
Ishouldbeawayfromitbyaboutnineorteno’clockeverymorning。
Ishouldprobablyonlysleepthere。Can’tyouaccepttheuseofitalltherestofthetime?Icanassureyouthatyouwillbewelcometocomeandgoasthoughitwereentirelyyourown。“
Mr。Fentolinhadlitacigaretteandwaswatchingthebluesmokecurlupwardstotheceiling。
“You’reanobstinateman,Mr。Hamel,“hesighed,“butIsupposeyoumusthaveyourownway。By-the-by,youwouldonlyneedtousetheup-stairsroomandthesitting-room。Youwillnotneedtheouthouse-rathermorethananouthouse,thoughisn’tit?Imeantheshedwhichleadsoutfromthekitchen,wherethelifeboatusedtobekept?“
“Idon’tthinkIshallneedthat,“Hameladmitted,alittlehesitatingly。
“Totellyouthetruth,“Mr。Fentolincontinued,“amongmyotherhobbiesIhavedonealittleinventing。Iworksometimesatamodelthere。Itisfoolish,perhaps,butIwishnoonetoseeit。
DoyoumindifIkeepthekeysoftheplace?“
“Notintheleast,“Hamelreplied。“Tellme,whatdirectiondoyourinventionstake,Mr。Fentolin?
“Beforeyougo,“Mr。Fentolinpromised,“Iwillshowyoumylittlemodelatwork。Untilthenwewillnottalkofit。Nowcome,befrankwithme。Shallweexchangeideasforalittletime?Willyoutalkofbooks?Theyaremydailyfriends。Ihavethousandsofthem,belovedcompanionsoneveryside。Orwillyoutalkofpoliticsortravel?Orwouldyouratherbefrivolouswithmynieceandnephew?
That,Ithink,isEstherplaying。“
“Tobequitefrank,“Hameldeclaredbluntly,“Ishouldliketotalktoyourniece。
Mr。Fentolinsmiledasthoughamused。Hisamusement,however,wasperfectlygood-natured。
“Ifyouwillopenthisdoor,“hesaid,“youwillseeanotheroneexactlyoppositetoyou。Thatisthedrawing-room。YouwillfindEstherthere。Beforeyougo,willyoupassmetheQuarterlyReview?
Thankyou。“
Hamelcrossedthehail,openedthedooroftheroomtowhichhehadbeendirected,andmadehiswaytowardsthepiano。Estherwasthere,playingsoftlytoherselfwitheyeshalfclosed。Hecameandstoodbyherside,andshestoppedabruptly。Hereyesquestionedhim。Thenherfingersstoleoncemoreoverthekeys,moresoftlystill。
“Ihavejustleftyouruncle,“Hamelsaid。“HetoldmethatImightcomeinhere。“
“Yes?“shemurmured。
“Hewasveryhospitable,“Hamelcontinued。“HewantedmetoremainhereasaguestandnotgototheToweratall。“
“Andyou?“
“IamgoingtotheTower,“hesaid。“Iamgoingthereto-morroworthedayafter。“
Themusicswelledbeneathherfingers。
“Forhowlong?“
“Foraweekorso。Iamjustgivingyouruncletimetoclearouthisbelongings。Iamleavinghimtheouthouse。“
“Heaskedyoutoleavehimthat?“shewhispered。
“Yes!
“Youarenotgoinginthereatall?“
“Notatall。“