下载辰思小说免费APP
“Ihaveafriend，“Hamelanswered，“whowillseetothat。“
“Ifyouarerelyinguponthelaw，“shesaid，“Ithinkyouwillfindthatthelawcannottouchhim。Mr。Dunsterwasbroughttothehouseinaperfectlynaturalmanner。Hewascertainlyinjured，andinjuredinarailwayaccident。DoctorSarsonisafullyqualifiedsurgeon，andhewilldeclarethatMr。Dunsterwasunfittotravel。
Ifnecessary，theywillhavedestroyed`theman’sintelligence。Ifyouthinkthatyouhavehimbroken，letmewarnyouthatyoumaybedisappointed。Letme，ifImay，giveyouonewordofadvice。“
“Pleasedo，“Hamelbegged。
Shelookedathimcoldly。Hertonewasstillfreefromanysortofemotion。
“Youhavetakenupsomesortofpositionhere，“shecontinued，“asafriendofMrs。SeymourFentolin，afriendofthefamily。Don’tletthemcomebackundertheyoke。Youknowthesecretoftheirbondage？“
“Iknowit，“headmitted。
“Theyhavebeenhisslavesbecausetheirabsoluteobediencetohiswillwasoneoftheconditionsofhissecrecy。Hehasdrawnthecordstootight。Betterletthetruthbeknown，ifneedsbe，thanhavetheirthreelivesbroken。Don’tletthemgobackunderhisgovernance。Forme，Icannottell。Ifhecomesback，ashewillcomeback，Imaybecomehisslaveagain，butletthembreakaway。
Listen-thatisMrs。Fentolin。“
Shelefthim。Hamelfollowedheroutintothehail。Estherandhermotherwerealreadyatthefootofthestairs。Hedrewthemintothestudy。Esthergavehimherhands，butshewastremblingineverylimb。
“Iamterrified！“shewhispered。“EverymomentIthinkIcanheartheclickofthatawfulcarriage。Hewillcomeback；Iamsurehewillcomeback！“
“Hemay，“Hamelansweredsturdily，“butnevertomakeyoupeoplehisslavesagain。Youhavedoneenough。Youhaveearnedyourfreedom。“
“Iagree，“Mrs。Fentolinsaidfirmly。“Wehavegoneonfromsacrificetosacrifice，untilithasbecomeahabitwithustoconsiderhimthemasterofourbodiesandoursouls。To-day，Esther，wehavereachedthebreakingpoint。Notevenforthesakeofthatmessagefromtheothersideofthegrave，noteventopreservehishonourandhismemory，canwedomore。“
Hamelhelduphisfinger。HeopenedtheFrenchwindows，andtheyfollowedhimoutontotheterrace。Thegreydawnhadbrokennowoverthesea。Thereweregleamsoffitfulsunshineonthemarshes。
Somedistanceawayalargemotor-carwascomingrapidlyalongtheroad。
Mr。JohnP。Dunster，lyingflatuponhislittlebed，watchedwithdilatedeyesthedisappearanceoftheladder。Thenhelaughed。Itwasaqueersound-broken，spasmodic，devoidofanyoftheordinaryelementsofhumor-andyetitwasalaugh。Mr。Fentolinturnedhisheadtowardshisprisonerandnoddedthoughtfully。
“Whataconstitution，myfriend！“heexclaimed，withoutanytraceofdisturbanceinhisvoice。“Andwhatasenseofhumour！Strangethatatriflingcircumstancelikethisshouldaffectit。Meekins，burnsomemoreofthepowder。Theatmospheredownheremaybesalubrious，butIamunaccustomedtoit。“
“Perhaps，“Mr。Duns
