第20章

“MydearGerald！“heexclaimedreprovingly。“Youwouldleaveussoabruptly？Beforeyoursister，too！WhatwillMr。Hamelthinkofourcountryways？Prayresumeyourseat。“

Foramomenttheboystoodquitestill，thenheslowlysubsidedintohischair。Mr。Fentolinpassedaroundadecanterofwinewhichhadbeenplaceduponthetablebythebutler。Theservantshadnowlefttheroom。

“Youmustexcusemynephew，ifyouplease，Mr。Hamel，“hebegged。

“Geraldhasaboy’scuriousaversiontopraiseinanyform。Iamlookingforwardtohearingyourverdictuponmyport。Thecollectionofwineandpictureswasahobbyofmygrandfather’s，forwhichwe，hisdescendants，canneverbesufficientlygrateful。“

Hamelpraisedhiswine，asindeedhehadeveryreasonto，butforafewmomentsthesmoothconversationofhishostfellupondeafears。Helookedfromtheboy’sface，paleandwrinkledasthoughwithsomesortofsuppressedpain，tothegirl’sstill，stonyexpression。Thiswasindeedahouseofmysteries！Therewassomethinghereincomprehensible，somethingabouttherelationsofthesethreeandtheirknowledgeofoneanother，utterlybaffling。

Itwasthequeeresthousehold，surely，intowhichanystrangerhadverbeenprecipitated。

“Theplantingoftreesandthelayingdownofportaretwovirtuesinourancestorswhichhaveneverbeenproperlyappreciated，“Mr。

Fentolincontinued。“Letus，atanyrate，freeourselvesfromthereproachofingratitudesofarasregardsmygrandfather-GeraldFentolin-towhomIbelieveweareindebtedforthiswine。Wewilldrink-“

Mr。Fentolinbrokeoffinthemiddleofhissentence。Theaugustcalmofthegreathousehadbeensuddenlybroken。Fromup-stairscamethetumultofraisedvoices，theslammingofadoor，thefallingofsomethingheavyuponthefloor。Mr。Fentolinlistenedwithagrimchangeinhisexpression。Hissmilehaddeparted，hislowerlipwasthrustout，hiseyebrowsmet。Heraisedthelittlewhistlewhichhungfromhischain。Atthatmoment，however，thedoorwasopened。DoctorSarsonappeared。

“Iamsorrytodisturbyou，Mr。Fentolin，“hesaid，“butourpatientisbecomingalittledifficult。Theconcussionhaslefthim，asI

feareditmight，inastateofnervousexcitability。Heinsistsuponaninterviewwithyou。“

Mr。Fentolinbackedhislittlechairfromthetable。Thedoctorcameoverandlaidhishanduponthehandle。

“Youwill，Iamsure，excusemeforafewmoments，Mr。Hamel，“

hishostbegged。“Mynieceandnephewwilldotheirbesttoentertainyou。Now，Sarson，Iamready。“

Mr。Fentolinglidedacrossthedim，emptyspacesofthesplendidapartment，followedbythedoctor；aghostlylittleprocessionitseemed。Thedoorwasclosedbehindthem。Forafewmomentsacurioussilenceensued。Geraldremainedtenseandapparentlysufferingfromsomesortofsuppressedemotion。Estherforthefirsttimemovedinherplace。SheleanedtowardsHamel。Herlipswereslowlyparted，hereyessoughtthedoorasthoughinterror。

Hervoice，althoughsaveforthemselvestherewasnooneelseinthewholeofthatgreatapartment，hadsunktothelowestofwhispers。

“Areyouabraveman，Mr。Hamel？“sheasked。

Hewasstaggeredbutheansweredherpromptly。

“Ibelieveso。“

“Don’tgiveuptheTower-justyet。Thatiswhat-hehasbroughtyouherefor。Hewantsyoutogiveitupandgoback。Don’t！“

Theearnestnessofherwordswasunmistakable。Hamelfeltthethrillofcomingevents。

“Whynot？“

“Don’taskme，“shebegged。“Onlyifyouarebrave，ifyouhavefeelingforothers，keeptheTower，ifitbeforonlyaweek。

Hush！“

Thedoorhadbeennoiselesslyopened。Thedoctorappearedandadvancedtothetablewithagravelittlebow。

“Mr。Fentolin，“hesaid，“hasbeenkindenoughtosuggestthatI

takeaglassofwinewithyou。Mypresenceisnotneededup-stairs。

Mr。Hamel，“headded，“Iamglad，sir，tomakeyouracquaintance。

Ihaveforalongtimebeenagreatadmirerofyourfather’swork。“

Hetookhisplaceattheheadofthetableand，fillinghisglass，bowedtowardsHamel。OncemoreGeraldandhissisterrelapsedalmostautomaticallyintoanindifferentandcultivatedsilence。

Hamelfoundcivilitytowardsthenewcomerdifficult。Unconsciouslyhisattitudebecamethatoftheothertwo。Heresentedtheintrusion。HefoundhimselfregardingtheadventofDoctorSarsonaspossessingsomesecondarysignificance。ItwasalmostasthoughMr。Fentolinpreferrednottoleavehimalonewithhisnieceandnephew。

Neverthe1ess，hisvoice，whenhespoke，wasclearandfirm。

Mr。Fentolin，onleavingthedining-room，steeredhischairwithgreatprecisionthroughtheopen，wrought-irondoorsofasmallliftatthefurtherendofthehall，whichDoctorSarson，whosteppedinwithhim，promptlydirectedtothesecondfloor。HeretheymadetheirwaytotheroominwhichMr。Dunsterwaslying。

DoctorSarsonopenedthedoorandlookedin。Almostimmediatelyhestoodatoneside，outofsightofMr。Dunster，andnoddedtoMr。

Fentolin。

“Ifthereisanytrouble，“hewhispered，“sendforme。Iambetteraway，forthepresent。Mypresenceonlyexciteshim。“

Mr。Fentolinnodded。

“Youareright，“hesaid。“Godownintothedining-room。IamnotsureaboutthatfellowHamel，andGeraldisinaqueertemper。Staywiththem。Seethattheyarenotalone。“

Thedoctorsilentlywithdrew，andMr。Fentolinpromptlyglidedpasthimintotheroom。Mr。JohnP。Dunster，inhisnightclothes，wassittingonthesideofthebed。Standingwithinafewfeetofhim，watchinghimallthetimewiththesubtleintentnessofacatwatchingamouse，stoodMeekins。Mr。Dunster’sheadwasstillbound，althoughthebandagehadslippedalittle，apparentlyinsomestruggle。Hisfacewaschalklike，andhewasbreathingquickly。

“Soyou’vecomeatlast！“heexclaimed，alittletruculently。“AreyouMr。Fentolin？“

Mr。Fentolingravelyadmittedhisidentity。Hiseyesresteduponhisguestwithanairoftenderinterest。Hisfacewasalmostbeautiful。

“Youaretheownerofthishouse-Iamunderneathyourroof-isthatso？“

“ThisiscertainlySt。David’sHall，“Mr。Fentolinreplied。“Itreallyappearsasthoughyourconclusionswerecorrect。“

“ThenwillyoutellmewhyIamkeptaprisonerhere？“

Mr。Fentolin’sexpressionwasforamomentclouded。Heseemedhurt。

“Aprisoner，“herepeatedsoftly。“MydearMr。Dunster，youhavesurelyforgottenthecircumstanceswhichprocuredformethepleasureofthisvisit；theconditioninwhichyouarrivedhere-only，afterall，averyfewhoursago？“

“Thecircumstances，“Mr。Dunsterdeclareddrily，“aretomestillinexplicable。AtLiverpoolStreetStationIwasaccostedbyayoungmanwhoinformedmethathisnamewasGeraldFentolin，andthathewasonhiswaytoTheHaguetoplayinagolftournament。

Hisstoryseemedentirelyprobable，andIpermittedhimaseatinthespecialtrainIhadcharteredforHarwich。TherewasanaccidentandIreceivedthisblowtomyhead-onlyatriflingaffair，afterall。Icometomysensestofindmyselfhere。Idonotknowexactlywhatpartoftheworldyoucallthis，butfromthefactthatIcanseetheseafrommywindow，itmustbesomeconsiderabledistancefromthesceneoftheaccident。Ifindthatmydressing-casehasbeenopened，mypocket-bookexamined，andIamapparentlyaprisoner。

Iaskyou，Mr。Fentolin，foranexplanation。“

Mr。Fentolinsmiledreassuringly。

“Mydearsir，“hesaid，“mydearMr。Dunster，IbelieveImayhavethepleasureofcallingyou-yourconclusionsseemtomejustalittlemelodramatic。Mynephew-GeraldFentolin-didwhatI

considerthenaturalthing，underthecircumstances。Youhadbeencourteoustohim，andherepaidtheobligationtothebestofhisability。Theaccidenttoyourtrainhappenedinadrearypartofthecountry，somethirtymilesfromhere。MynephewadoptedacoursewhichIthink，underthecircumstances，wasthenaturalandhospitableone。Hebroughtyoutohishome。Therewasnohospitalortownofanyimportancenearer。“

“Verywell，“Mr。Dunsterdecided。“Iwillacceptyourversionoftheaffair。Iwill，then，uptothispointacknowledgemyselfyourdebtor。Butwillyoutellmewhymydressing-casehasbeenopened，myclothesremoved，andapocket-bookcontainingpapersofgreatimportancetomehasbeentamperedwith？“