“Mr。GeraldFentolin，“Mr。Dunsterremarkeddrily。
“Precisely，“Mr。Fentolindeclared。“Well，Iadmitfranklythetruthofwhatyousay。Your-shallwesaycapture，wasbywayofbeingagiganticfluke。Mynephew’sinstructionssimplyweretotraveldownbythetraintoHarwichwithyou，toendeavourtomakeyouracquaintance，tofollowyouontoyourdestination，and，ifanychancetodosooccurred，torelieveyouofyourpocket-book。
That，however，Ineverventuredtoexpect。Whatreallyhappenedwas，asyouhaveyourselfsuggested，almostinthenatureofamiracle。Mynephewshowedhimselftobepossessedofgiftswhichwerearevelationtome。Henotonlysucceededintravellingwithyoubythespecialtrain，butafteritswreckhewascleverenoughtobringyouhere，insteadofdeliveringyouovertothemerciesofavillagedoctor。Ireallycannotfindwordstoexpressmyappreciationofmynephew’sconduct。“
“Icould，“Mr。Dunstermuttered，“veryeasily！“
Mr。Fentolinsighedgently。
“Perhapsourpointsofviewmightdiffer。“
“Wehavespentaveryagreeablefewminutesinexplanations，“Mr。
Dunstercontinued。“WoulditbeaskingtoomuchifInowsuggestthatweremovethebuttonsfromourfoils？“
“Whynot？“Mr。Fentolinassentedsmoothly。“Yourfirstquestiontoyourself，underthesecircumstances，wouldnaturallybe:’WhatdoesMr。Fentolinwantwithme？’Iwillanswerthatquestionforyou。AllthatIask-itisreallyverylittle-isthewordagreedupon。“
Mr。Dunsterheldhiscigaralittlewayoffandlookedsteadfastlyathishostforamoment。Soyouhaveinterpretedmycipher？“
Mr。Fentolinspreadoutthepalmsofhishandsinadelicategesture。
“MydearMr。Dunster，“hesaid，“oneofthesimplest，Ithink，thatwaseverstrungtogether。Iamsomewhatofanauthorityuponciphers。“
“Igather，“Mr。Dunsterwenton，althoughhiscigarwasburningitselfout，“thatyouhavebrokenthesealofmydispatches？“
Mr。Fentolinclosedhiseyesasthoughhehadheardadiscord。
“Nothingsoclumsyasthat，Ihope，“hemurmuredgently。“Iwillnotinsultapersonofyourexperienceandintelligencebyenumeratingthevariouswaysinwhichthesealofadispatchmaybeliquefied。ItisquitetruethatIhavereadwithmuchpleasuretheletterwhichyouarecarryingfromacertaingroupofverydistinguishedmentoacertainpersonnowinTheHague。Theletter，however，isreplacedinitsenvelope；thesealisstillthere。Youneedhavenofearswhateverconcerningit。AllthatIrequireisthatonewordfromyou。“
“AndifIgiveyouthatoneword？“Mr。Dunsterasked。
“Ifyougiveitme，asIthinkyouwill，“Mr。Fentolinrepliedsuavely，“Ishallthentelegraphtomyagent，orratherIshouldsaytoadearfriendofminewholivesatTheHague，andthatsinglewordwillbecabledbyhimfromTheHaguetoNewYork。“
“Andinthatcase，“Mr。Dunsterenquired，“whatwouldbecomeofme？“
“Youwouldgiveusthegreatpleasureofyourcompanyhereforaverybriefvisit，“Mr。Fentolinanswered。“Weshould，Icanassureyou，doourverybesttoentertainyou。“
“AndthedispatchwhichIamcarryingtoTheHague？“
“Wouldremainherewithyou。“
Mr。Dunsterknockedtheashfromhiscigar。Withoutbeingamanofgreatparts，hewasashrewdperson，possessedofanabundantstockofcommonsense。Heappliedhimself，forafewmoments，toaconsiderationofthisaffair，withoutarrivingatanysatisfactoryconclusion。
“Come，Mr。Fentolin，“hesaidatlast，“youmustreallyforgiveme，butIcan’tseewhatyou’redrivingat。YouareanEnglishman，areyounot？“
“IamanEnglishman，“Mr。Fentolinconfessed“orrather，“headded，withghastlyhumour，“IamhalfanEnglishman。“
“Youare，Iamsure，“Mr。Dunstercontinued，“apersonofintelligence，awell-readperson，apersonofperceptions。Surelyyoucanseeandappreciatethedangerwithwhichyourcountryisthreatened？“
“Withregardtopoliticalaffairs，“Mr。Fentolinadmitted，“I
considermyselfunusuallywellposted-infact，thestudyofthediplomaticmethodsofthevariousgreatPowersisratherahobbyofmine。“
“Yet，“Mr。Dunsterpersisted，“youdonotwishthisletterdeliveredtothatlittleconferenceinTheHague，whichyoumustbeawareisnowsittingpracticallytodeterminethefateofyournation？“
“Idonotwish，“Mr。Fentolinreplied，“Idonotintend，thatthatlettershallbedelivered。Whydoyouworryaboutmypointofview？
Imayhaveadozenreasons。Imaybelievethatitwillbegoodformycountrytosufferalittlechastisement。“
“Oryoumay，“Mr。Dunstersuggested，glancingkeenlyathishost，“bethepaidagentofsomeforeignPower。“
Mr。Fentolinshookhishead。
“Mymeans，“hepointedout，“shouldplacemeabovesuchsuspicion。
Myincome，Ireallybelieve，israthermorethanfiftythousandpoundsayear。Ishouldnotenterintotheseadventures，whichnaturallyarenotentirelydissociatedfromacertainamountofrisk，forthepurposesoffinancialgain。“
Mr。Dunsterwasstillmystified。
“Grantedthatyoudosofrompureloveofadventure，“hedeclared，“Istillcannotseewhyyoushouldrangeyourselfonthesideofyourcountry’senemies。
“Intime，“Mr。Fentolinobserved，“eventhatmaybecomecleartoyou。Atpresent，well-justthatword，ifyouplease？“
Mr。Dunstershookhishead。
“No，“hedecided，“Idonotthinkso。Icannotmakeupmymindtotellyouthatword。“
Mr。Fentolingavenosignofannoyanceorevendisappointment。Hesimplysighed。Hiseyeswerefullofagentlesympathy，hisfaceindicatedacertainamountofconcern。
“Youdistressme，“hedeclared。“Perhapsitismyfault。Ihavenotmademyselfsufficientlyclear。Theknowledgeofthatwordisanecessitytome。WithoutitIcannotcompletemyplans。WithoutitIverymuchfear，dearMr。Dunster，thatyoursojournamongusmaybelongerthanyouhaveanyideaof。“
Mr。Dunsterlaughedalittlederisively。
“We’vepassedthosedays，“heremarked。“I’vedonemybesttoenterintothehumourofthissituation，buttherearelimits。Youcan’tkeepprisonersinEnglishcountryhouses，nowadays。Thereareadozenwaysofcommunicatingwiththeoutsideworld，andwhenthat’soncedone，itseemstomethatthepositionofSquireFentolinofSt。David’sHallmightbealittlepeculiar。“
Mr。Fentolinsmiled，veryslightly，stillveryblandly。
“Alas，mystalwartfriend，Ifearthatyouarebynatureanoptimist！
Iamnotabettingman，butIampreparedtobetyouahundredpoundstoonethatyouhavemadeyourlastcommunicationwiththeoutsideworlduntilIsaytheword。“
Mr。Dunsterwasobviouslyplentifullysuppliedwitheithercourageorbravado，forheonlylaughed。
“Thenyouhadbettermakeupyourmindatonce，Mr。Fentolin，howsoonthatwordistobespoken，oryoumayloseyourmoney，“heremarked。
Mr。Fentolinsatveryquietlyinhischair。
“Youmean，then，“heasked，“thatyoudonotintendtohumourmeinthislittlematter？“
“Idonotintend，“Mr。Dunsterassuredhim，“topartwiththatwordtoyouortoanyoneelseinthetheworld。Whenmymessagehasbeenpresentedtothepersontowhomithasbeenaddressed，whenmytrustisdischarged，thenandthenonlyshallIsendthatcablegram。
Thatmomentcanonlyarriveattheendofmyjourney。“
Mr。Fentolinleanednowalittleforwardinhischair。Hisfacewasstillsmoothandexpressionless，buttherewasaqueersortofmeaninginhiswords。
“Theendofyourjourney，“hesaidgrimly，“maybenearerthanyouthink。“
“IfIamnotheardofinTheHagueto-morrowatthelatest，“Mr。
Dunsterpointedout，“rememberthatbeforemanymorehourshavepassed，Ishallbesearchedfor，eventothefarcornersoftheearth。“
“Letmeassureyou，“Mr。Fentolinpromisedserenely，“thatthoughyourfriendssearchforyouupintheskiesordowninthebowelsoftheearth，theywillnotfindyou。Myhiding-placesarenotasotherpeople’s。“
Mr。Dunsterbeatlightlywithhissquare，bluntforefingeruponthetablewhichstoodbyhisside。
“That’snotthesortoftalkIunderstand，“hedeclaredcurtly。
“Letusunderstandoneanother，ifwecan。Whatistohappentome，ifIrefusetogiveyouthatword？“