Hamelpointedout。“Theman，afterall，wasonlyaguest。“
“That’sasitmaybe，sir，“thenursereplied。“Allthesame，thosethatwon’tobeytheirdoctorsaren’tfittobeallowedaboutalone。
That’sthewayIlookatit。“
Mrs。Fentolinwaspassingalongthecorridorastheyissuedfromtheroom。Shestartedalittleasshesawthem。
“Whathaveyoutwobeendoinginthere？“sheaskedquickly。
“Wewerejustpassing，“Hamelexplained。“Westoppedforamomenttospeaktothenurse。“
“Mr。Dunsterhasgone，“shesaid。“Yousawhimgo，Gerald。Yousawhim，too，didn’tyou，Mr。Hamel？“
“Icertainlydid，“Hameladmitted。
Mrs。Fentolinpointedtothegreatnorthwindownearwhichtheywerestanding，throughwhichtheclearsunlightstreamedalittlepitilesslyuponherwornfaceandmassofdyedhair。
“Yououghtneitherofyoutobeindoorsforaminuteonamorninglikethis，“shedeclared。“Estheriswaitingforyouinthecar，Ithink，Mr。Hamel。“
Geraldpassedonupthestairstohisroom，butHamellingered。
Acuriousimpulseofpitytowardshishostessstirredhim。Themorningsunlightseemedtohavesuddenlyrevealedthetragedyofherlife。Shestoodthere，atired，wornwoman，withtheburdenheavyuponhershoulders。
“WhynotcomeoutwithMissFentolinandme？hesuggested。“WecouldlunchattheGolfClub，outonthebalcony。Iwishyouwould。Can’tyoumanageit？“
Sheshookherhead。
“Thankyouverymuch，“shesaid。“Mr。Fentolindoesnotliketobeleft。“
Somethinginthefinalityofherwordsseemedtohimcuriouslyeloquentofherstateofmind。Shedidnotmoveon。Sheseemed，indeed，tohavetheairofoneanxioustosaymore。Inthatruthlesslight，theadvantagesofherelegantclothesandgracefulcarriageweresuddenlystrippedawayfromher。Shewastheabjectwreckofabeautifulwoman，wizened，prematurelyaged。
Nothingremainedbuttheeyes，whichseemedsomehowtohavetheirmessageforhim。
“Mr。Fentolinisalittlepeculiar，youknow，“shewenton，hervoiceshakingslightlywiththeeffortshewasmakingtokeepitlow。“HeallowsEsthersolittleliberty，sheseessofewyoungpeopleofherownage。Idonotknowwhyheallowsyoutobewithhersomuch。Becareful，Mr。Hamel。“
Hervoiceseemedsuddenlytovibratewithacuriousnoteofsuppressedfear。Almostasshefinishedherspeech，shepassedon。
Herlittlegesturebadehimremainsilent。Asshewentupthestairs，shebegantohumscrapsofalittleFrenchair。
Hamelslicedhisballattheninth，andafterwaitingforafewminutespatiently，Esthercametohelphimlookforit。Hewasstandingdownonthesands，alittleapartfromthetwocaddieswhowerebeatingoutvarioustuftsoflonggrass。
“Wherediditgo？“sheasked。
“Ihavenoidea，“headmitted。
“Whydon’tyouhelplookforit？“
“Searchingforballs，“heinsisted，“isacaddy’soccupation。Boththecaddiesarenowbusy。Letussitdownhere。Thesesandhummocksaredelightful。Itisperfectlysheltered，andthesunisinourfaces。Golfisanoverratedpastime。Letussitandwatchthatlittlestreakofbluefinditswayupbetweenthewhiteposts。“
Shehesitatedforamoment。
“Weshallloseourplace。“
“Thereisnoonebehind。“
Shesankontothelittleknollofsandtowhichhehadpointed，witharesignedsigh。
“Youreallyareaqueerperson，“shedeclared。“Youhavebeenplayinggolfthismorningasthoughyourverylifedependeduponit。
Youhavescarcelymissedashotorspokenaword。Andnow，allofasudden，youwanttositonasandhummockandwatchthetide。“
“Ihavebeensilent，“hetoldher，“becauseIhavebeenthinking。“
“Thatmaybetruthful，“sheremarked，“butyouwouldn’tcallitpolite，wouldyou？“
“Thesubjectofmythoughtsismyexcuse。Ihavebeenthinkingofyou。“
Forasinglemomenthereyesseemedtohavecaughtsomethingofthatsympatheticlightwithwhichhewasregardingher。Thenshelookedaway。
“Wasitmymashieshotsyouwereworryingabout？“sheasked。
“Itwasnot，“herepliedsimply。“Itwasyou-youyourself。“
Shelaughed，notaltogethernaturally。
“Howflattering！“shemurmured。“By-the-by，youareratheradownrightperson，aren’tyou，Mr。Hamel？“
“Somuchso，“headmitted，“thatIamgoingtotellyouoneortwothingsnow。Iamgoingtobeveryfrankindeed。“
Shesatsuddenlyquitestill。Herfacewasturnedfromhim，butforthefirsttimesincehehadknownhertherewasaslightundertoneofcolourinhercheeks。
“Aweekago，“hesaid，“Ihadn’tthefaintestideaofcomingintoNorfolk。Iknewaboutthislittleshantyofmyfather’s，butI
hadforgottenallaboutit。IcameastheresultofaconversationIhadwithafriendwhoisintheForeignOffice。“
Shelookedathimwithstartledeyes。
“Whatdoyoumean？“sheaskedquickly。“YouareMr。Hamel，aren’tyou？“
“Certainly，“hereplied。“NotonlyamIRichardHamel，miningengineer，butIreallyhaveallthatreadingtodoIhavespokenabout，andIreallywaslookingforaquietspottodoitin。ItistruethatIhadthispartoftheworldinmymind，butIdonotthinkthatIshouldeverhavereallydecidedtocomehereifithadnotbeenformyfriendinLondon。HewasveryinterestedindeeddirectlyImentionedSt。David’sTower。Wouldyouliketoknowwhathetoldme？“
“Yes！Goon，please。“
“Hetoldmealittleofthehistoryofyouruncle，Mr。Fentolin，andwhathedidnottellmeatthetime，hehassincesupplemented。
Isuppose，“headded，hesitatingly，“thatyouyourself-“
“Pleasegoon。PleasespeakasthoughIknewnothing。“
“Well，then，“Hamelcontinued，“hetoldmethatyourunclewasatonetimeintheForeignOfficehimself。Heseemedtohaveamostbrilliantcareerbeforehimwhensuddenlytherewasaterriblescandal。Apoliticalsecret-Idon’tknowwhatitwas-hadleakedout。TherewererumoursthatithadbeenacquiredforalargesumofmoneybyaforeignPower。Mr。FentolinretiredtoNorfolk，pendinganinvestigation。Itwasjustasthattimethathemetwithhisterribleaccident，andthematterwasdropped。“
“Goon，please，“shemurmured。
“MyfriendwentontosaythatduringthelastfewyearsMr。FentolinhasonceagainbecomeanobjectofsomesuspiciontotheheadofourSecretServiceDepartment。Foralongtimetheyhaveknownthathewasemployingagentsabroad，andthathewasshowingtheliveliestinterestinundergroundpolitics。Theybelievedthatitwasamerehobby，bornofhisuselesscondition，atasteministeredto，withoutdoubt，bytheoccupationofhisearlierlife。Onceortwicelatelytheyhavehadreasontochangetheirminds。Youknow，Idaresay，inwhataterriblydisturbedstateEuropeanaffairsarejustnow。
Well，myfriendhadanideathatMr。FentolinwasshowinganextraordinaryamountofinterestinacertainconferencewhichweunderstandistotakeplaceatTheHague。Hebeggedmetocomedown，andtowatchyourunclewhileIwasdownhere，andreporttohimanythingthatseemedtomenoteworthy。SincethenIhavehadamessagefromhimconcerningtheAmericanwhomyouentertained-Mr。
JohnP。Dunster。ItappearsthathewasthebearerofveryimportantdispatchesfortheContinent。“
“Buthehasgone，“shesaidquickly。“Nothinghappenedtohim，afterall。Hewentawaywithoutawordofcomplaint。Weallsawhim。“
“Thatisquitetrue，“Hameladmitted。“Mr。Dunsterhascertainlygone。Itisratheracoincidence，however，thatheshouldhavetakenhisdeparturejustastheenquiriesconcerninghiswhereaboutshadreachedsuchastagethatithadbecomequiteimpossibletokeephimconcealedanylonger。“
Sheturnedalittleinherplaceandlookedathimsteadfastly。
“Mr。Hamel，“shesaid，“tellme-whatofyourmission？Youhavehadanopportunityofstudyingmyuncle。Youhaveevenlivedunderhisroof。Tellmewhatyouthink。“