Mr。Fentolinshookheroff。HelookedaroundforMeekins。
“Meekins,standbymychair,“heorderedsharply。“Turnround;I
wishtogototheHall。Drivethiswomanaway。“
Meekinscamehurryingup,butalmostatthesamemomenthalfadozenofthebrownjerseyedfishermendetachedthemselvesfromtheothers。
Theyformedalittlebodyguardaroundthebath-chair。
“Whatisthemeaningofthis?“Mr。Fentolindemanded,hisvoiceshrillwithanger。“Didn’tyouhearwhatIsaid?Thiswomanannoysme。Sendheraway。“
Notoneofthefishermenansweredawordormadetheslightestmovementtoobeyhim。Oneofthem,agrey-beardedveteran,drewthechairalittlefurtherdowntheplankedwayacrossthepebbles。
HannahCoxkeptclosetoitsside。Theycametoastandstillonlyafewyardsfromwherethewaveswerebreaking。Sheliftedherhand。
“Listen!“shecried。“Listen!“
Mr。Fentolinturnedhelplesslyaround。ThelittlegroupoffishermenhadclosedinuponSarsonandMeekins。Thewoman’shandwasuponhisshoulder;shepointedseawardtowhereahissinglineofwhitefoammarkedthespotwherethetopmostoftherockswerevisible。
“YouwonderedwhyIhavespentsomuchofmytimeouthere,“shesaidquietly。“Nowyouwillknow。IfyoulistenasIamlistening,asIhavelistenedforsomanywearyhours,somanywearyyears,youwillhearthemcallingtome,DavidandJohnandStephen。
’Thelight!’Doyouhearwhattheyarecrying?’Thelight!
Fentolin’slight!’Look!“
Sheforcedhimtolookoncemoreatthetopoftheboat-house。
“Theywereright!“sheproclaimed,hervoicegaininginstrengthandintensity。“Theywereneitherdrunknorreckless。Theysteeredasstraightashumanhandcouldguideatiller,forFentolin’slight!Andtheretheyare,callingandcallingatthebottomofthesea-mythreeboysandmyman。Doyouknowforwhomtheycall?“
Mr。Fentolinshrankbackinhischair。
“Takethiswomanaway!“heorderedthefishermen。“Doyouhear?
Takeheraway;sheismad!“
Theylookedtowardshim,butnotoneofthemmoved。Mr。Fentolinraisedhiswhistletohislips,andblewit。
“Meekins!“hecried。“Whereareyou,Meekins?“
HeturnedhisheadandsawatoncethatMeekinswaspowerless。
Fiveorsixofthefishermenhadgatheredaroundhim。Therewereatleastthirtyofthemabout,sinewy,powerfulmen。TheonlypersonwhomovedtowardsMr。Fentolin’scarriagewasJacob,thecoastguardsman。
“Mr。Fentolin,sir,“hesaid,“theladshavegotyourbullysafe。
It’sayearandmorethatHannahCoxhasbeenaboutthevillagewithsomestoryabouttwolightsonastormynight。It’struewhatshesays-thathermanandboysliedrowned。There’sWilliamGreen,besides,andanephewofmyown-JohnKallender。AndPhilipGreen-hewassaved。Hesworebyallthatwasholythathesteeredstraightforthelightwhenhisboatstruck,andthatasheswamforshore,fiveminuteslater,hesawthelightreappearinanotherplace。It’sastrangestory。Whathaveyoutosay,sir,aboutthat?“
Hepointedstraighttothewire-encircledglobewhichtoweredonitsslendersupportabovetheboat-house。Mr。Fentolinlookedatitandlookedbackatthecoastguardsman。ThebrainofaMachiavellicouldscarcelyhaveinventedaplausiblereply。
“Thelightwasneverlitthere,“hesaid。“Itwassimplytohelpmeinsomeelectricalexperiments。“
Then,forthefirsttimeintheirlives,thosewhowerelookingonsawMr。Fentolinapartfromhiscarriage。Withoutanyhastebutwithamazingstrength,HannahCoxleanedover,and,withherarmsaroundhismiddle,liftedhimsheerupintotheair。Shecarriedhim,claspedinherarms,aweird,strugglingobject,totheclumsyboatthatlayalwaysatthetopofthebeach。Shedroppedhimintothebottom,tookherseat,andunshippedtheoars。Foronemomentthecoastguardsmanhesitated;thenheobeyedherlook。Hegavetheboatapushwhichsentitgrindingdownthepebblesintothesea。Thewomanbegantoworkattheoars。Everynowandthenshelookedoverhershoulderatthatthinlineofwhitesurfwhichtheywereallthetimeapproaching。
“Whatareyoudoing,woman?“Mr。Fentolindemandedhoarsely。
“Listen!Itwasanaccidentthatyourpeopleweredrowned。I’llgiveyouanannuity。I’llmakeyourichforlife-rich!Doyouunderstandwhatthatmeans?“
“Aye!“sheanswered,lookingdownuponhimashelaydoubledupatthebottomoftheboat。“Iknowwhatitmeanstoberich-betterthanyou,maybe。Nottoletthegoldandsilverpiecesfallthroughyourfingers,ortoliveinagreathouseandbewaiteduponbyservantswhodesertyouinthehourofneed。Thatisn’tbeingrich。
It’srichtofeelthetouchoftheoneyoulove,toseethefacesaroundofthoseyou’vegivenbirthto,tomoveonthroughthedaysandnightstowardstheend,withthemaround;nottoknowthechilllonelinessofanemptylife。Iamapoorwoman,Mr。Fentolin,andit’syourhandthatmademeso,andnotallthemiraclesthattheBibleevertoldofcanmakemerichagain。“
“Youareafool!“heshrieked。“Youcanbuyforgetfulness!Thememoryofeverythingpasses。“
“Imaybeafool,“sheretortedgrimly,“andyouthewiseman;butthisdaywe’llbothknowthetruth。“
Therewasalittlemurmurfromtheshore,wherethefishermenstoodinalongline。
“Bringhimback,missus,“Jacobcalledout。“You’vescaredhimenough。Bringhimback。We’llleavehimtothelaw。“
Theywereclosetothelineofsurfnow;theyhadpassedit,indeed,alittleontheleft,andtheboatwasdrifting。Shestoodup,straightandstern,andherface,asshelookedtowardstheland,waslitwiththefireoftheprophetess。
“Aye,“shecried,“we’llleavehimtothelaw-tothelawofGod!“
Thentheysawherstoopdown,andoncemorewiththatalmostsuperhumanstrengthwhichseemedtobelongtoherforthosefewmoments,sheliftedthestrangeobjectwholaycoweringthere,highaboveherhead。Fromtheshoretheyrealisedwhatwasgoingtohappen,andagreatshoutarose。Shestoodonthesideoftheboatandjumped,holdingherburdentightlyinherarms。Sotheywentdownanddisappeared。
Halfadozenoftheyoungerfishermenwereinthewaterevenbeforethegrimspectaclewasended;anotherranforaboatthatwasmooredalittlewaydownthebeach。Butfromthefirstthesearchwasuseless。OnlyJacob,whowasapersonafflictedwithmanysuperstitions,wipedthesweatfromhisforeheadasheleanedoverthebowofhisboatandlookeddownintothatfathomlessspace。
“Iheardhersinging,herorherwraith,“hesworeafterwards。
“I’llneverforgetthemomentIlookeddownanddown,andthewaterseemedtogrowclearer,andIsawherwalkingthereatthebottomamongtherocks,withhimoverherback,singingasshewent,lookingeverywhereforGeorgeandtheboys!“
Butifindeedhiseyesweretouchedwithfireatthatmoment,nooneelseintheworldsawanythingmoreofMilesFentolin。
Mr。JohnP。Dunsterremovedthecigarfromhisteethandgazedatthelongwhiteashwiththeairofaconnoisseur。Hewasstretchedinalongchair,highupintheterracedgardensbehindtheHall。
Athisfeetweregoldenmatsofyellowcrocuses;longbordersofhyacinths-pinkandpurple;bedsofviolets;agreatlilactree,withpatchesofblossomhereandthereforcingtheirwayintoasunlitworld。Theseawasblue;theshelteredairwheretheysatwaswarmandperfumed。Mr。Dunster,whowasoccupyingthepositionofafavouredguest,wasfeelingverymuchathome。
“Thereisonething,“heremarkedmeditatively,“whichIcan’thelpthinkingaboutyouBritishers。Youmaydeserveitoryoumaynot,butyoudohavethemostalmightyluck。“
“Sheerenvy,“Hamelmurmured。“Weescapefromourtightcornersbyforethought。“
“Notonyourlife,sir,“Mr。Dunsterdeclaredvigorously。“AyearorlessagoyougotaNorthSeascare,andonthestrengthofamerelyhonourableunderstandingwithyourneighbour,youriskyourcountry’sveryexistenceforthesakeofaddinghalfadozenbattleshipstoyourNorthSeaSquadron。ThedaythelastofthosebattleshipspassedthroughtheStraitsofGibraltar,thislittleConferencewasplotted。Itellyoutheymeanttomakehistorythere。
Therewasenoughforeverybody-IndiaforRussia,atime-honoureddream,butwhynot?Alsace-LorraineandperhapsEgypt,forFrance;
AustraliaforJapan;ChinaandSouthAfricaforGermany。Whynot?
YoumaylaughatitonpaperbutIsayagain-whynot?“
“Itdidn’tquitecomeoff,sir,“Geraldobserved。
“Itdidn’t,“Mr。Dunsteradmitted,“partlyowingtoyou。Therewereonlytwothingsneeded:Francetoconsiderherownbiginterestsandtoignoreanententefromwhichshegainsnothingthatwasnotassuredtoherunderthenewagreement,andthemoney。Strange,“
Mr。Dunstercontinued,“howpeopleforgetthatfactor,andyetthemanwhowasresponsibleforTheHagueConferenceknewit。WeintheStatesarerightoutsidealltheselittlejealousiesandwranglesthatbringEurope,everynowandthen,rightuptothegatesofwar,butI’mhangedifthereisoneofyoudarepassthroughthosegateswithoutahandonourmoneymarkets。It’sanewwordinhistory,thatlittledocument,newsofwhichMr。GeraldheretooktoTheHague,thewordofthemoneykingsoftheworld。Thereissomethingthatalmostnipsyourbreathintheideathatadozenmen,descendedfromtheLordknowswhom,stoppedawarwhichwouldhavealteredthewholefaceofhistory。“
“Therewasneveranyproof,“Hamelremarked,“thatFrancewouldnothaveremainedstaunchtous。“
“Verylikelynot,“Mr。Dunsteragreed,“but,ontheotherhand,yourcountryhadnevertherighttoputsuchaburdenuponherhonour。
Rememberthatsidebysidewiththoseotherconsiderations,agreatstatesman’sfirstdutyistothepeopleoverwhomhewatches,nottostudytheinterestsofotherlands。However,it’sfinished。TheHagueConferenceisbrokenup。Theofficialorgansoftheworldalludetoit,ifatall,asanunimportantgatheringcalledtogethertodiscusscertainfrontierquestionswithwhichEnglandhadnothingtodo。Butthememoryofitwilllive。Agoodcolddoucheforyoupeople,Ishouldsay,andIhopeyou’lltakewarningbyit。WhatevertheattitudeofAmericaasanationmaybetothesematters,theAmericanpeopledon’twanttoseetheoldcountryintrouble。Geewhiz!What’sthat?“
Therewasalittlecryfromallofthem。OnlyHamelstoodwithoutsignofsurprise,gazingdownwardwithgrim,setface。Adullroar,liketheboomingofagun,flashesoffire,andacolumnofsmoke-andallthatwasleftofSt。David’sTowerwasonetotteringwallandascatteredmassofmasonry。
“Ihadanidea,“Hamelsaidquietly,“thatSt。David’sTowerwasgoingtospoilthelandscapeforagoodmanyyears。Myproperty,youknow,andthere’stheendofit。Iamsickofseeingpeopleforthelastfewdayscomedownandtakephotographsofitforeverylittleragthatgoestopress。“
Mr。Dunsterpointedouttothelineofsurfbeyond。“Ifonlysomehand,“heremarked,“couldplantdynamitebelowthatstreakofwhite,sothattheseacoulddisgorgeitsdead!Theytellmethere’saSpanishgalleonthere,andaDutchwarship,besidesascoreormoreoffishing-boats。“
Mrs。Fentolinshiveredalittle。Shedrewhercloakaroundher。
Gerald,whohadbeenwatchingher,sprangtohisfeet。
“Come,“heexclaimed,“wechosethegardensforourlastafternoonhere,tobeoutofthewayoftheseplaces!We’llgoroundthehill。“
Mrs。Fentolinshookherheadoncemore。Herfacehadrecovereditsserenity。Shelookeddownwardgravelybutwithnosignoffear。
“Thereisnothingtoterrifyusthere,Gerald,“shedeclared。“Theseahasgathered,andtheseawillholditsown。“
HamelheldouthishandtoEsther。
“IhavedestroyedtheonlyhouseintheworldwhichIpossess,“hesaid。“Comeandlookforvioletswithmeinthespinney,andletustalkofthehouseswearegoingtobuild,andthedreamsweshalldreaminthem。“
End