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“Mostingeniousand，Imustconfess，mostsuccessful，myyoungfriend！“heexclaimedpleasantly。“Whenyouhavemadetheladderquitesecure，perhapsyouwillbesogoodastodiscussthislittlematterwithus？“
Therewasnoimmediatereply。Theeyesofallfourmenwereturnednowuponthatemptyspacethroughwhichtheladderhadfinallydisappeared。Mr。Fentolin’sfingersdisappearedwithinthepocketofhiscoat。Somethingverybrightwasglisteninginhishandwhenhewithdrewit。
“Comeandparleywithus，Mr。Hamel，“hebegged。“Youwillnotfindusunreasonable。“
Hamel’svoicecamebackinreply，butHamelhimselfkeptwellawayfromtheopening。
“Theconditions，“hesaid，“areunpropitious。Alittletimeforreflectionwilldoyounoharm。“
Thetrap-doorsweresuddenlyclosed。Mr。Fentolin’sface，ashelookedup，becamediabolic。
“Wearetrapped！“hemuttered；“caughtlikeratsinahole！“
AgleamofdaywasintheskyasHamel，withMrs。Fentolinbyhisside，passedalongthepathwhichledfromtheTowertoSt。David’sHall。Lightswerestillburningfromitswindows；theoutlineofthebuildingitselfwasfaintlydefinedagainstthesky。Behindhim，acrossthesea，wasthatonestraightlineofgreymergingintosilver。Therainhadceasedandthewindhaddropped。Oneithersideofthemstretchedthebrimmingcreeks。
“Canwegetintothehousewithoutwakinganyone？“heasked。
“Quiteeasily，“sheassuredhim。“Thefrontdoorisneverbarred。“
Shewalkedbyhisside，swiftlyandwithsurprisingvigour。Inthestill，greylight，herfacewasmoreghastlythanever，buttherewasanewfirmnessabouthermouth，anewdecisioninhertone。
TheyreachedtheHallwithoutfurtherspeech，andsheledthewaytoasmalldoorontheeasternside，throughwhichtheyenterednoiselesslyandpassedalongalittlepassageoutintothehall。
Acoupleoflightswerestillburning。Theplaceseemedfullofshadows。
“Whatareyougoingtodonow？“shewhispered。
“IwanttoringupLondononthetelephone，“hereplied。“Iknowthatthereisadetectiveeitherintheneighbourhoodoronhiswayhere，butIshalltellmyfriendthathehadbettercomedownhimself。“
Shenodded。
“IamgoingtoreleaseEsther，“shesaid。“Sheislockedinherroom。Thetelephoneisinthestudy。Iwillcomedowntheretoyou。“
Shepassedsilentlyupthebroadstaircase。Hamelgropedhiswayacrossthehailintothelibrary。Heturnedonthesmallelectricreading-lampanddrewupachairtothesideofthetelephone。Evenasheliftedthereceivertohisear，helookedaroundhimhalfapprehensively。Itseemed
