musttrytoearnyourbetteropinion。
Hamelreadsteadilyfortheremainderofthemorning。Itwaspastoneo’clockwhenherosestifflyfromhisseatamongthesandknollsand,strollingbacktotheTower,openedthedoorandentered。Theclothwaslaidforluncheoninthelittlesitting-room,buttherewerenosignsofHannahCox。Hepassedonintothekitchenandcametoasuddenstandstill。Oncemorethememoryofhisownworkpassedawayfromhim。Oncemorehewasbackagainamongthatqueer,cloudedtangleofstrangesuspicions,ofthrilling,half-formedfears,whichhadassailedhimattimeseversincehisarrivalatSt,David’s。Hestoppedquiteshort。Thewordswhichrosetohislipsdiedaway。Hefeltthebreathless,compellingneedforsilenceandgrewtenseintheefforttomakenosound。
HannahCoxwaskneelingonthestonefloor。Herearwasclosetothecrackofthedoorwhichledintotheboat-house。Herface,halfturnedfromit,wassetinastrange,concentratedpassionoflistening;herlipswereparted,hereyeshalfclosed。ShetooknomorenoticeofHamelorhisarrivalthanifhehadbeensomeuselesspieceoffurniture。Everyfacultyseemedtobeabsorbedinthatoneintenseeffortoflistening。Therewasnoneedofherout-stretchedfinger。Hamelfellinatoncewithamoodsomesmeric。
He,too,listened。Thesmallclockwhichshehadbroughtwithherfromthevillagetickedawayuponthemantelpiece。Thefullseafellwithplacidsoftnessuponthehighbeachoutside。Someslightnoiseofcookingcamefromthestove。Saveforthesethingstherewassilence。Yet,foraspaceoftimewhichHamelcouldneverhavemeasured,theybothlistened。Whenatlastthewomanrosetoherfeet,Hamel,findingwordsatlast,wassurprisedtofindthathisthroatwasdry。
“Whatisit,Mrs。Cox?“heasked。“Whywereyoulisteningthere?“
Herfacewasabsolutelyexpressionless。Shewasbusyingherselfnowwithasmallsaucepan,andherbackwasturnedtowardshim。
“Ispendmylife,sir,“shesaid,“listeningandwaiting。Oneneverknowswhentheendmaycome。“
“Buttheboat-house,“Hamelobjected。“Noonehasbeenintherehismorning,havethey?“
“Whocantell?“sheanswered。“Hecouldgoanywherewhenhechose,orhowhechose-throughthekeyhole,ifhewanted。“
“Butwhylisten?“Hamelpersisted。“Thereisnothingintherenowbutsomeoddsandendsofmachinery。“
Sheturnedfromthefireandlookedathimforamoment。Hereyeswerecolourless,hertoneunemotional。
“Maybe!There’snoharminlistening。“
“Didyouhearanythingwhichmadeyouwanttolisten?“
“Whocantell?“sheanswered。“Awomanwholiveswell-nighalone,asIlive,inaquietplace,hearsthingssooftenthatotherfolkneverlistento。There’salwayssomethinginmyears,nightorday。
SometimesIamnotsurewhetherit’sinthisworldortheother。Itwaslikethatwithmejustthen。ItwasforthatreasonIlistened。
Yourluncheon’sready,sir。“
Hamelwalkedthoughtfullybackintohissitting-room。HeseatedhimselfbeforeaspotlessclothandwatchedHannahCoxspreadouthiswell-cooked,cleanly-servedmeal。
“Ifthere’sanythingyouwant,sir,“shesaid,“Ishallhearyouataword。Thekitchendoorisopen。“
“Onemoment,Mrs。Cox。“
Shelingeredtherepatiently,withthetrayinherhand。
“Therewassomesound,“Hamelcontinued,“perhapsarealsound,perhapsafancy,whichmadeyougodownonyourkneesinthekitchen。
Tellmewhatitwas。“
“ThesoundIalwayshear,sir,“sheansweredquietly。“Ihearitinthenight,andIhearitwhenIstandbytheseaandlookout。I
havehearditforsomanyyearsthatwhocantellwhetheritcomesfromthisworldortheother-thecryofmenwhodie!“
Shepassedout。Hamellookedafterher,foramoment,likeamaninadream,Inhisfancyhecouldseeherbackagainoncemoreinthekitchen,kneelingonthestonefloor,-listening!
AcoldtwilighthadfallenuponthelandwhenHamellefttheTowerthateveningandwalkedbrisklyalongthefoot-waytotheHall。
Littlepatchesofmisthungoverthecreeks,theskywasalmostfrosty。ThelightsfromSt。David’sHallshonelikecheerfulbeaconsbeforehim。Hehastenedupthestonesteps,crossedtheterrace,andpassedintothehall。Aservantconductedhimatoncetothedrawing-room。Mrs。Fentolin,inapinkeveningdress,withapinkornamentinherhair,heldoutbothherhands。Inthebackground,Mr。Fentolin,inhisqueerly-cuteveningclothes,satwithfoldedarms,leaningbackinhiscarriage。Helistenedgrimlytohissister-in-lawasshestoodwithHamel’shandsinhers。
“MydearMr。Hamel!“sheexclaimed。“Howperfectlycharmingofyoutocomeupandrelievealittleoursadloneliness!Delightful,I
callit,ofyou。IwasjustsayingsotoMiles。“
Hamellookedaroundtheroom。Alreadyhisheartwasbeginningtosink。
“MissFentoliniswell,Ihope?“heasked。
“Well,butaverynaughtygirl,“hermotherdeclared。“IlethergotoLadySaxthorpe’stolunch,andnowwehavehadsimplythefirmestletterfromLadySaxthorpe。TheyinsistuponkeepingEsthertodineandsleep。Ihavehadtosendhereveningclothes,butyoucan’ttell,Mr。Hamel,howImissher。“
Hamel’sdisappointmentwasalittletooobvioustopassunnoticed。
Therewasashadeofannoyance,too,inhisface。Mr。Fentolinsmoothlyintervened。
“LetusbequitecandidwithMr。Hamel,dearFlorence,“hebegged。
“Ihavespokentomysister-in-lawandtoldherthesubstanceofourconversationthismorning,“heproceeded,wheelinghischairnearertoHamel。“Sheisthunderstruck。Shewishestoreflect,toconsider。Estherchancedtobeaway。Wehaveencouragedherabsenceforafewmorehours。“
“Ihope,Mrs,Fentolin,“Hamelsaidsimply,“thatyouwillgivehertome。Iamnotarichman,butIamfairlywelloff。IshouldbewillingtoliveexactlywhereEstherwishes,andIwoulddomybesttomakeherhappy。“
Mrs,Fentolinopenedherlipsonceandclosedthemagain。Shelaughedalittle-ahigh-pitched,semi-hystericallaugh。Thehandwhichgrippedherfanwasstrainingsothattheblueveinsstoodoutalmostlikewhipcord。
“Estherisveryyoung,Mr。Hamel。Wemusttalkthisover。Youhaveknownherforsuchaveryshorttime。“
Aservantannounceddinner,andHamelofferedhisarmtohishostess。
“IsGeraldaway,too?“heasked。
“Wedoindeedoweyouourapologies,“Mr。Fentolindeclared。
“GeraldisspendingacoupleofdaysattheDormyHouseatBrancaster-agolfarrangementmadesometimeback。“
“Hepromisedtoplaywithmeto-morrow,“Hamelremarkedthoughtfully。
“Hesaidnothingaboutgoingaway。“
“Ifearthatlikemostyoungmenofhisagehehaslittlememory,“
Mr。Fentolinsighed。“However,hewillbebackto-morroworthenextday。Ioweyoumyapologies,Mr。Hamel,forourlackofyoungpeople。Wemustdoourbesttoentertainourguest,Florence。Youmustbeatyourbest,dear。Youmusttellhimsomeofthosecapitalstoriesofyours。“
Mrs,Fentolinshiveredforamoment。Hamel,ashehandedhertoherplace,wasstruckbyastrangelookwhichshethrewuponhim,halffurtive,fullofpain。Herhandalmostclungtohis。Sheslippedalittle,andheheldhertightly。Thenhewassuchdenlyconsciousthatsomethinghardwasbeingpressedintohispalm。Hedrewhishandawayatonce。
“Youseemalittleunsteadythisevening,mydearFlorence,“Mr。
Fentolinremarked,peeringacrosstheroundtable。
Sheeyedhimnonchalantlyenough。
“Thefloorisslippery,“shesaid。“Iwasglad,foramoment,ofMr。Hamel’sstronghand。Wherearethosedearpuppies?Chow-Chow,“
shewenton,“comeandsitbyyourmistressatonce。“
Hamel’sfingersinsidehiswaistcoatpocketweresmoothingoutthecrumpledpieceofpaperwhichshehadpassedtohim。Soonhehaditquiteflat。Mrs,Fentolin,asthoughfreedfromsomeanxiety,chatteredawaygaily。
“Idon’tknowthatIshallapologisetoMr。Hamelatallfortheyoungpeoplebeingaway,“shedeclared。“Justfancywhatwehavesavedhimfrom-asolitarymealservedbyHannahCox!Doyouknowthattheysaysheishalf-witted,Mr。Hamel?“
“Sofar,shehaslookedaftermeverywell,“Hamelobserved。