willwait。“
“Itseemsapityforyoutodothat，“Hamelremarked。“Yousee，Imightstayhereforsometime。“
Mr。Fentolin’sfacedarkened。Helookedattheyoungmanwithasortofpensivewrath。
“If，“thelatterwenton，“yousay’yes’tosomethingIamgoingtoaskyou，Imightevenstay-intheneighbourhood-forlongerstill。“
Mr。Fentolinsatquitemotionlessinhischair；hiseyeswerefixeduponHamel。
“Whatisitthatyouaregoingtoaskme？“bedemanded。
“Iwanttomarryyourniece。
Mr。Fentolinlookedattheyoungmaninmildsurprise。
“Asuddendecisiononyourpart，Mr。Hamel？“hemurmured。
“Notatall，“Hamelassuredhim。“Ihavebeentenyearslookingforher。“
“Andtheyounglady？“Mr。Fentolinenquired。“Whatdoesshesay？“
“Ibelieve，sir，“Hamelreplied，“thatshewouldbewilling。“
Mr。Fentolinsighed。
“Oneisforcedsometimes，“heremarkedregretfully，“torealisetheselfishnessofouryoungpeople。Formanyyearsonedevotesoneselftoprovidingthemwithallthecomfortsandluxuriesoflife。Then，inasingleday，theyturnaroundandgiveeverythingtheyhavetogivetoastranger。SoyouwanttomarryEsther？“
“Ifyouplease。“
“Shehasaverymoderatefortune。“
“Sheneedhavenoneatall，“Hamelreplied；“Ihaveenough。“
Mr。Fentolinglancedtowardsthehouse。
“Then，“hesaid，“Ithinkyouhadbettergoandtellherso；inwhichcase，Ishallbeabletopaint。“
“Ihaveyourpermission，then？“Hamelasked，risingtohisfeeteagerly。
“Negatively，“Mr。Fentolinagreed，“youhave。Icannotrefuse。
Estherisofage；thethingisreasonable。Idonotknowwhethershewillbehappywithyouornot。Ayoungmanofyourdispositionwhodeclinestostudythewhimsofanunfortunatecreaturelikemyselfisscarcelylikelytobepossessedofmuchsensibility。However，perhapsyourviewsastoasolitaryresidenceherewillchangewithyourengagementtomyniece。“
Hameldidnotreplyforamoment。Hewastryingtoaskhimselfwhy，eveninthemidstofthisrushofanticipatoryhappiness，heshouldbeconsciousofacertainreluctancetoleavetheTower-andMr。Fentolin。HewaslookinglonginglytowardstheHall。Mr。
Fentolinwavedhimaway。
“Goandmakelove，“heordered，“andleavemealone。Wearebothinpursuitofbeauty-onlyourmethodsdiffer。“
Hamelhesitatednolongerbutwalkedupthenarnowpathwithswift，buoyantfootsteps。Everywhereheseemedtobesurroundedbythegloriousspringsunshine。Itglitteredinthelittlepoolsandcreeksbyhisside。Itdrewanewcolourfromthedun-colouredmarshes，themassesofemeraldseaweed，theshimmeringsands。ItflashedinthelongrowofwindowsoftheHall。Ashedrewnearer，hecouldseethebanksofyellowcrocusesintheslopinggardensbehind。Therewereodoursofspringintheair。Heranlightlyuptheterracesteps。Therewasaneasy-chairdrawnintoherfavouritecorner，andabookuponthetable，butnosignofEsther。
Hehesitatedforamoment，andthen，retracinghisstepsalongtheterrace，enteredthehousebythefrontdoor，whichstoodwideopen。Therewasnooneinthehall，scarcelyasoundabouttheplace。Agreatclocktickedsolemnlyfromthefootofthestairs。
Therewasnotevenaservantinsight。Hamelwanderedaround，aalosswhattodo。Heopenedthedoorofthedrawing-roomandlookedin。Itwasempty。Heturnedaway，meaningtoringabell。
Onhiswayacrossthehallhepaused。Acuriouslysuggestivesoundreachedhimfaintlyfromtheendofoneofthepassages。
Itwastheclickofatypewriter。
Hamelstoodforamomentperfectlystill。HehadhurreduptotheHall，filledwiththeoneselfishjoycommontoallmankind。
HehadhadnothoughtsavethethoughtofseeingEsther。Theclickofthatmachinebroughthimhacktothesternrealitiesoflife。HerememberedhistalktoKinsley，hispromise。Onthehalltablehecouldseefromwherehewasstandingthegreatheadlineswhichannouncedthenation’sanxiety。Hewasinthehouseofasuspectedspy。Theclickofthetypewriterwasanaccompanimenttohisthought。Helookedaroundoncemoreandlistened。Thenhemadehiswayquietlyacrossthehailanddownthelongpassage，attheendofwhichtheroomwhichMr。Fentolincalledhisworkroomwassituated。Heturnedthehandleofthedoorandentered，closingitimmediatelybehindhim。Thewomanwhowastypingpausedwithherfingersuponthekeys。Hereyesmethiscoldly，withoutcuriosity。
Shehadpausedinherwork，butshetooknoothernoticeofhiscoming。
“HasMr。Fentolinsentyouhere？“sheaskedatlast。
Hecameovertothetypewriter。
“Mr。Fentolinhasnotsentme，“hesaidslowly。“Iamhereonmyownaccount。IdaresayyouwillthinkthatIamalunatictocometoyoulikethis。Nevertheless，pleaselistentome。“
Herfingersleftthekeys。Shelaidherhandsuponthetableinfrontofher。Hedrewalittlenearer。Shecoveredoverthesheetsofpaperwithwhichshewassurroundedwithapadofblotting-paper。
Hepointedsuddenlytothem。
“Whydoyoudothat？“hedemanded。“WhatisthereinyourworkthatyouareafraidImightsee？“
Sheansweredhimwithouthesitation。
“TheseareprivatepapersofMr。Fentolin’s。Noonehasanybusinesstoseethem。Noonehasanybusinesstoenterthisroom。
Whyareyouhere？“
“IcametotheHalltofindMissFentolin，“hereplied。“Iheardtheclickofyourtypewriter。Icametoyou，IsupposeIshouldsay，onimpulse。“
Hereyesresteduponhis，filledwithacoldandquestioninglight。
“There’sanimpressionupinLondon，“Hamelwenton，“thatMr。
Fentolinhasbeeninteferingbymeansofhiswirelessinaffairswhichdon’tconcernhim，andgivingawayvaluableinformation。
ThismanDunster’sdisappearanceisasyetunexplained。Ifeelmyselfjustifiedinmakingcertaininvestigations，andamongthefirstofthemIshouldlikeyoutotellmeexactlythenatureoftheworkforwhichMr。Fentolinfindsasecretarynecessary？“
Sheglancedtowardsthebell。Hemovedtotheedgeofthetableasthoughtointercepther。
“Inanyordinarycase，“hecontinued，“Iwouldnotaskyoutobetrayyouremployer’sconfidence。Asthingsare，IthinkIamjustified。YouareEnglish，areyounot？Yourealise，Isuppose，thatthecountryisonthebrinkofwar？“
Shelookedathimfromthedepthsofherstill，lusterlesseyes。
“Youmustbeaveryfoolishperson，“sheremarked，“ifyouexpecttoobtaininformationinthismanner。“
“PerhapsIam，“heconfessed，“butmyfollyhasbroughtmetoyou，andyoucangivemetheinformationifyouwill。“
“WhereisMr。Fentolin？“sheasked。
“DownattheTower，“hereplied。“Ilefthimthere。HesentmeuptoseeMissFentolin。Iwaslookingforherwhentheclickofyourtypewriterremindedmeofotherthings。“
Sheturnedcomposedlybacktoherwork。
“Ithink，“shesaid，“thatyouhadbettergoandfindMissFentolin。“
“Don’ttalknonsense！Youcan’tthinkIhaveriskedgivingmyselfawaytoyoufornothing？Imeantosearchthisroom，toreadthepaperswhichyouaretyping。“
Sheglancedaroundheralittlecontemptuously。
“Youarewelcome，“sheassuredhim。“Prayproceed。“
Theyexchangedtheglancesofduelists。Herplainblackfrockwasbuttoneduptoherthroat。Hercolourlessfaceseemedsetinexactandexpressionlesslines。Hereyeswerelikewindowsofglass。Hefeltonlytheirscrutiny；nothingofthereasonforit，orofthethoughtswhichstirredbehindinherbrain。Therewasnothingaboutherattitudewhichseemedinanywaythreatening，yethehadthefeelingthatinthisinterviewitwasshewhopossessedtheupperhand。