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Wemustwatchforthatlight。Wemustwatch-“
Thewords，whisperedhoarselyinto。hisear，suddenlydiedaway。
Evenastheystoodthere，farawayfromtheotherlights，anotheroneshonesuddenlyoutinthespottowardswhichshehadpointed，andcontinuedtoburnsteadily。Hefeltthewomanwhowasclingingtohisarmbecomesuddenlyadeadweight。
“Shewasright！“Mrs。Pentolinmoaned。“Heiscomingdownto-night！
Heispreparingtoleavenow；perhapshehasalreadystarted！Whatshallwedo？Whatshallwedo？“
Hamelwasconsciousofagatheringsenseofexcitement。He，too，lookedatthesignalwhichwasflashingoutitsmessagetowardsthem。
Thenhegrippedhiscompanion’sarmandalmostcarriedherbackintothesitting-room。
“Lookhere，“hesaidfirmly，“youcandonothingfurther。Youhavedoneyourpartanddoneitwell。Staywhereyouareandwait。Therestbelongstome。“
“Butwhatcanyoudo？“shedemanded，hervoiceshakingwithfear。
“Meekinswillcomewithhim，andDoctorSarson，unlessheisherealready。Whatcanyoudoagainstthem？Meekinscanbreakanyordinaryman’sback，andMr。Fentolinwillhavearevolver。“
Hamelthrewanotherlogontothefireanddrewherchairclosertoit。
“Nevermindabouthedeclaredcheerfully。“Mr。Fentolinistooclevertoattemptviolence，exceptasalastresource。HeknowsthatIhavefriendsinLondonwhowouldneedsomeexplanationofmydisappearance。Stayhereandwait。“
Sherecognisedthenoteofauthorityinhistone，andshebowedherhead。Thenshelookedupathim；shewasachangedwoman。
“PerhapsIhavedoneilltodragyouintoourtroubles，Mr。Hamel，“
shesaid，“andyet，Ibelieveinyou。IbelievethatyoureallycareforEsther。Ifyoucanhelpusnow，itwillbeforyourhappiness，too。Youareaman。Godblessyou！“
HamelgropedhiswayroundthesideoftheTowerandtookupapositionattheextremecornerofthelandwardsideofthebuilding，withinayardofthecloseddoors。Thelightfaroutupontheleftwasstillgleamingbrightly，buttwooftheothersinalinewithithaddisappeared。Heflattenedhimselfagainstthewallandwaited，listeningintently，hiseyesstrainingthroughthedarkness。
Yettheywerealmostuponhimbeforehehadtheslightestindicationoftheirpresence。Asinglegleamoflightinthepath，comeandgonelikeaflash，thegleamofanelectrictorchdirectedmomentarilytowardstheroad，washisfirstindicationthattheywerenear。Amomentortwolaterheheardthestrangeclick，clickofthelittleengineattachedtoMr。Fentolin’schair。Hamelsethisteethandsteppedafewinchesfurtherback。Thedarknesswassointensethattheywereactuallywithinayardorsoofhimbeforehecouldevendimlydiscerntheirshapes。Therewerethreeofthem-Mr。Fentolininhischair，DoctorSarson，andMeekins。Theypausedforamomentwhilethelatterproducedakey。Hameldistinctlyheardaslow，softwhisperfromDoctorSarson。
“ShallIgoroundtothefrontandseethatheisinbed？“
“Noneed，“Mr。Fentolinrepliedcalmly。“Itisnearlyfouro’clock。
Betternottoriskthesoundofyourfootstepsuponthepebbles。
Now！“
Thedoorswungnoiselesslyopen。ThedarknesswassocompletethateventhoughHamelcouldhavetouchedthemwithanoutstretchedhand，theirshapeswereinvisible。Hamel，whohadformednodefiniteplans，hadnotimetohesitate。Asthelastonedisappearedthroughthedoor，he，too，sli
