Shehesitatedforamomentandthenassented。Theyleftthecarandwalkedalongthelittletrack,borderedwithwhiteposts,whichledontotheridge。Totheirrightwasthevillage,separatedfromthemonlybyonelevelstretchofmeadowland;inthebackground,thehall。Theyturnedalongtheraiseddikejustinsidethepebblybeach,andsheshowedhercompanionthenarrowwaterwayuptothevillage。Atitsentrancewasatallironupright,withaladderattachedandagreatlampatthetop。
“Thatistoshowthemthewayinatnight,isn’tit?“heasked。
Shenodded。
“Yes,“shetoldhim。“Mr。Fentolinhaditplacedthere。Andyet,“
shewenton,“curiouslyenough,sinceitwaserected,therehavebeenmorewrecksthanever。“
“Itdoesn’tseemadangerousbeach,“heremarked。
ShepointedtoaspotaboutfiftyyardsfromtheTower。Itwasthespottowhichthewomanwhomhehadmetonthedayofhisarrivalhadpointed。
“Youcan’tseethem,“shesaid;“theyarealwaysoutofsight,evenwhenthetideisatthelowest-buttherearesomehideoussunkenrocksthere。’TheDaggers,’theycallthem。Oneortwofishingboatshavebeenlostonthem,tryingtomakethevillage。WhenMr。
Fentolinputupthelamp,everyonethoughtthatitwouldbequitesafetotryandgetinatnight。Thiswinter,though,therehavebeenthreewreckswhichnoonecouldunderstand。Itmustbesomethinginthecurrents,orasortofopticalillusion,becauseinthelastshipwreckonemanwassaved,andhesworethatatthetimetheystrucktherock,theywereheadedstraightforthelight。“
TheyhadreachedtheTowernow。Hamelbecamealittleabsorbed。
Theywalkedaroundit,andhetriedthefrontdoor。Hefound,ashehadexpected,thatitopenedreadily。Helookedaroundhimforseveralmoments。
“Yourunclehasbeenherethismorning,“heremarkedquietly。
“Verylikely。“
“Thatouthouse,“hecontinued,“mustbequitealargeplace。Haveyouanyideawhatitisheworksuponthere?“
“None,“sheanswered。
Helookedaroundhimoncemore。
“Mr。Fentolinhasbeenpreparingformycoming,heobserved。“I
seethathehasmovedafewofhispersonalthings。“
Shemadenoreply,onlysheshiveredalittleasshesteppedbackintothesunshine。
“Idon’tbelieveyoulikemylittledomicile,“heremarked,astheystartedoffhomeward。
“Idon’t,“sheadmittedcurtly。
“Inthetrain,“heremindedher,“youseemedrathertodiscouragemycominghere。Yetlastnight,afterdinner-“
“Iwaswrong,“sheinterrupted。“Ishouldhavesaidnothing,andyetIcouldn’thelpit。Idon’tsupposeitwillmakeanydifference。“
“Makeanydifferencetowhat?“
“Icannottellyou,“sheconfessed。“OnlyIhaveastrangeantipathytotheplace。Idon’tlikeit。Myunclesometimesshutshimselfuphereforquitealongtime。Wehaveanidea,GeraldandI,thatthingshappenheresometimeswhichnooneknowsof。Whenhecomesback,heismoodyandill-tempered,orelsehalfmadwithexcitement。
Heisn’talwaystheamiablecreaturewhomyouhavemet。Hehasthefaceofanangel,buttherearetimes-“
“Well,don’tlet’stalkabouthim,“Hamelbegged,ashervoicefaltered。“NowthatIamgoingtostayintheneighbourhoodforafewdays,youmustpleaserememberthatitispartlyyourresponsibility。Youarenotgoingtoshutyourselfup,areyou?
You’llcomeandplaygolfagain?“
“Ifhewillletme,“shepromised。
“Ithinkhewillletyou,rightenough,“Hamelobserved。“Betweenyouandme,IratherthinkhehateshavingmedownattheToweratall。Hewillencourageanythingthattakesmeaway,evenasfarastheGolfClub。“
TheywereapproachingtheHallnow。Shewaslookingoncemoreasshehadlookedlastnight。Shehadlosthercolour,herwalkwasnolongerbuoyant。Shehadtheairofaprisonerwho,afterabriefspellofliberty,entersoncemoretheplaceofhisconfinement。
Geraldcameouttomeetthemastheyclimbedthestonestepswhichledontotheterrace。Heglancedbehindashegreetedthem,andthenalmoststealthilytookatelegramfromhispocket。
“Thiscameforyou,“heremarked,handingittoHamel。“Imettheboybringingitoutoftheoffice。“
Hameltoreitopen,withawordofthanks。Geraldstoodinfrontofhimasheread。
“Ifyouwouldn’tmindputtingitawayatonce,“heasked,alittleuncomfortably。“Yousee,thetelegraphofficeisintheplace,andmyunclehasaqueerrulethateverytelegramisbroughttohimbeforeitisdelivered。“
Hameldidnotspeakforamoment。Hewaslookingatthefewwordsscrawledacrossthepinksheetwithaheavyblackpencil:
“MakeeveryenquiryinyourneighbourhoodforanAmerican,JohnP。Dunster,entrustedwithmessageofgreatimportance,addressedtoVonDusenberg,TheHague。IsbelievedtohavebeeninrailwayaccidentnearWymondhamandtohavebeentakenfrominnbyyoungmaninmotor-car。Suggestthatheisbeingim-
properlydetained。“
Hamelcrumpledupthetelegramandthrustitintohispocket。
“By-the-by,“heasked,astheyascendedthesteps,“whatdidyousaythenameofthispoorfellowwaswhoislyingillup-stairs?“
Geraldhesitatedforamoment。Thenheansweredasthoughaspeciesofrecklessnesshadseizedhim。
“HecalledhimselfMr。JohnP。Dunster。“
Mr。Fentolin,havingsucceededingettingridofhisnieceandhissomewhatembarrassingguestforatleasttwohours,wasseatedinhisstudy,planningoutasomewhatstrenuousmorning,whenhisprivacywasinvadedbyDoctorSarson。
“Ourguest,“thelatterannounced,inhisusualcoldandmeasuredtones,“hassentmetorequestthatyouwillfavourhimwithaninterview。“
Mr。Fentolinlaidhispendeliberatelydown。
“Sosoon,“hemurmured。“Verywell,Sarson,Iamathisservice。
SaythatIwillcomeatonce。“
Mr。Fentolinlostnotimeinpayingthissuggestedvisit。Mr。JohnP。Dunster,shavedandclothed,wasseatedinaneasy-chairdrawnuptothewindowofhisroom,smokingwhathewasforcedtoconfesswasaveryexcellentcigar。Heturnedhisheadasthedooropened,andMr。Fentolinwavedhishandpleasantly。
“Really,“hedeclared,“thisismostagreeable。Ihadanidea,Mr。
Dunster,thatIshouldfindyouareasonableperson。Menofyoureminenceintheirprofessionusuallyare。“
Mr。Dunsterlookedatthespeakercuriously。
“Andwhatmightmyprofessionbe,Mr。Fentolin?“heasked。“Youseemtoknowagreatdealaboutme。“
“Itistrue,“Mr。Fentolinadmitted。“Idoknowagreatdeal。“
Mr。Dunsterknockedtheashfromhiscigar。
“Well,“hesaid,“IhavebeenthehearerofseveralimportantcommunicationsfrommysideoftheAtlantictoEnglandandtotheContinent,andIhavealwaysknownthattherewasacertainamountofriskinthebusiness。OnceIhadanexceedinglynarrowshave,“
hecontinuedreminiscently,“butthisisthefirsttimeIhaveeverbeendeadupagainstit,andIdon’tmindconfessingthatyou’vefairlygotmepuzzled。Whothemischiefareyou,Mr。Fentolin,andwhatareyouinterferingabout?“
Mr。Fentolinnsmiledqueerly。
“Iamwhatyousee,“hereplied。“Iamoneofthoseunfortunatehumanbeingswho,byreasonoftheirphysicalmisfortunes,arecutofffromtheworldofactuallife。Ihavebeencompelledtoseekdistractioninstrangequarters。Ihavewealth-greatwealthI
supposeIshouldsay;aninordinatecuriosity,atalentforintrigue。
AstothedirectioninwhichIcarryonmyintrigues,orevenastothedirectinterestswhichIstudy,thatisamatter,Mr。Dunster,uponwhichIshallnotgratifyyourcuriositynoranybodyelse’s。
But,yousee,Iamadmittingfreelythatitdoesinterestmetointerfereingreataffairs。“
“Buthowonearthdidyougettoknowaboutme,“Mr。Dunsterasked,“andmyerrand?Youcouldn’tpossiblyhavegotmehereinanordinaryway。Itwasanentirefluke。“
“There,youspeakwithsomeshowofreason。Ihaveanephewwhomyouhavemet,whoisdevotedtome。“