“Minewasaveryfoolishrequest，“sheadmittedquietly。“IamsorrythatIevermadeit。Itwasjustanimpulse，becausethelittlebuildingwewerespeakingofhasbeenconnectedwithoneortwoverydisagreeableepisodes。Nevertheless，itwasfoolishofme。Howlongdidyouthinkofstayingthere-thatis，“sheadded，withafaintsmile，“providingthatyoufinditpossibletoproveyourclaimandtakeuppossession？“
“Oh，justforaweekorso，“heansweredlightly，“andastoregainingpossessionofit，“hewenton，aslightlypugnaciousinstinctstirringhim，“Idon’timaginethatthere’llbeanydifficultyaboutthat。“
“Really！“shemurmured。
“NotthatIwanttomakemyselfdisagreeable，“hecontinued，“buttheTowerismine，rightenough，evenifIhaveletitremainunoccupiedforsometime。“
Sheletdownthewindow-ataskinwhichhehastenedtoassisther。
Arushofsalt，coldairsweptintothecompartment。Hesniffediteagerly。
“Wonderful！“heexclaimed。
Shestretchedoutalongarmandpointed。Awayinthedistance，onthesummitofalineofpebbledshore，standing，asitseemed，sheeroverthesea，wasalittleblackspeck。
That，“shesaid，“istheTower。“
Hechangedhispositionandleanedoutofthewindow。
“Well，it’saqueerlittleplace，“heremarked。“Itdoesn’tlookworthquarrellingover，doesit？“
“Andthat，“shewenton，directinghisattentiontothehill，“isMr。Fentolin’shome，St。David’sHall。“
Forseveralmomentshemadenoremarkatall。Therewassomethingcuriouslyimpressiveinthatsuddensweepupfromthesea-line；thestrange，miniaturemountainstandinginthemiddleofthemarshes，withitstree-crownedbackground；andthelong，weather-beatenfrontofthehouseturnedbravelytothesea。
“Ineversawanythinglikeit，“hedeclared。“Why，it’sbarelyaquarterofamilefromthesea，isn’tit？“
“Alittlemorethanthat。Itisastrangelysituatedabode，isn’tit？“
“Wonderful！“heagreed，withemphasis。“Imuststudythegeologicalformationofthathill，“hecontinued，withinterest。“Why，itlooksalmostlikeanislandnow。“
“Thatisbecauseofthefloods，“shetoldhim。“Evenathightidethecreeksneverreachsofarasthebackthere。Allthewateryouseestretchingawayinlandisfloodwater-theresultofthestorm，Isuppose。Thisiswhereyougetout，“sheconcluded，risingtoherfeet。
Sheturnedawaywiththeslightestnod。Amaidwasalreadyawaitingheratthedoorofthecompartment。Hamelwassuddenlyconsciousofthefactthathedislikedhergoingimmensely。
“Weshall，perhaps，meetagainduringthenextfewdays，“heremarked。
Shehalfturnedherhead。Herexpressionwasscarcelyencouraging。
“Ihope，“shesaid，“thatyouwillnotbedisappointedinyourquarters。“
Hamelfollowedherslowlyontotheplatform，sawherescortedtoaveryhandsomemotor-carbyanobsequiousstation-master，andwatchedtheformerdisappeardownthestretchofstraightroadwhichledtothehill。Then，withastickinonehand，andthehandbagwhichwashissoleluggageintheother，heleftthestationandturnedseaward。
Mr。Fentolin，surroundedbyhissatellites，wasseatedinhischairbeforethewriting-table。Therewerepresentintheroommostofthepeopleimportanttohiminhissomewhatsingularlife。Afewfeetaway，incharacteristicattitude，stoodMeekins。DoctorSarson，withhishandsbehindhim，waslookingoutofthewindow。Atthefurtherendofthetablestoodaconfidentialtelegraphclerk，whowasjustdepartingwithalittlesheafofmessages。Byhisside，withanotebookinherhand，stoodMr。Fentolin’sprivatesecretary-awhite-hairedwoman，withastrangelytransparentskinandlightbrowneyes，dressedinsomberblack，awomanwhomighthavebeenofanyagefromthirtytofifty。Behindherwasamiddle-agedmanwhosepositioninthehouseholdnoonewasquitesureabout-aclean-shavenmanwhosenamewasRyan，andwhomightverywellhavebeenonceanactororaclergyman……InthebackgroundstoodHenderson，theperfectbutler。
“Itisperhapsopportune，“Mr。Fentolinsaidquietly，“thatyouallwhomItrustshouldbepresentheretogether。Iwishyoutounderstandonething。Youhave，Ibelieve，inmyemploylearnedthegiftofsilence。Itistobeexercisedwithregardtoacertainvisitorbroughtherebymynephew，avisitorwhomIregrettosayisnowlyingseriouslyill。“
Therewasabsolutesilence。DoctorSarsonaloneturnedfromthewindowasthoughabouttospeak，butmetMr。Fentolin’seyeandatonceresumedhisposition。
“Irelyuponyouall，“Mr。Fentolincontinuedsoftly。“Henderson，you，perhaps，havethemostdifficulttask，foryouhavetheservantstocontrol。Nevertheless，Irelyuponyou，also。Ifonewordofthisvisitor’spresencehereleaksoutevensofarasthevillage，outtheygo，everyoneofthem。
Iwillnothaveaservantintheplacewhodoesnotrespectmywishes。Youcangiveanyreasonyoulikeformyorders。Itisawhim。Ihavewhims，andIchoosetopayforthem。Youareallbetterpaidthananymanbreathingcouldpayyou。InreturnIaskonlyforyourimplicitobedience。“
Hestretchedouthishandandtookacigarettefromacuriouslycarvedivoryboxwhichstoodbyhisside。Hetappeditgentlyuponthetableandlookedup。
“Ithink，sir，“Hendersonsaidrespectfully，“thatIcananswerfortheservants。Beingmostlyforeigners，theyseelittleornothingofthevillagepeople。“
Nooneelsemadeanyremark。Itwasstrangetoseehowdominatedtheyallwerebythatqueerlittlefragmentofhumanity，whoseheadscarcelyreachedafootabovethetablebeforewhichhesat。Theydepartedsilently，almostabjectly，dismissedwithasinglewaveofthehand。Mr。Fentolinbeckonedhissecretarytoremain。Shecamealittlenearer。
“Sitdown，Lucy，“heordered。
Sheseatedherselfafewfeetawayfromhim。Mr。Fentolinwatchedherforseveralmoments。Hehimselfhadhisbacktothelight。
Thewoman，ontheotherhand，wasfacingit。Thewindowswerehigh，andthecurtainsweredrawnbacktotheirfullestextent。Acoldstreamofnorthernlightfelluponherface。Mr。Fentolingazedatherandnoddedherheadslightly。
“MydearLucy，“hedeclared，“youarewonderful-aperfectcameo，agem。Tolookatyounow，withyourdelightfulwhitehairandyourflawlessskin，onewouldneverbelievethatyoubadeverspokenasingleangryword，thatyouhadeverfeltthebloodflowthroughyourveins，orthatyoureyeshadeverlookeduponthegentlethingsoflife。“
Shelookedathim，stillwithoutspeech。Theimmobilityofherfacewasindeedamarvellousthing。Mr。Fentolin’sexpressiondarkened。
“Sometimes，“hemurmuredsoftly，“IthinkthatifIhadstrongfingers-reallystrongfingers，youknow，Lucy-Ishouldwanttotakeyoubythethroatandholdyoutighterandtighter，untilyourbreathcamefast，andyoureyescameoutfromtheirshadows。“
Sheturnedoverafewpagesofhernotebook。Toallappearanceshehadnotheardaword。
“To-day，“sheannounced，“isthefourthofApril。ShallIsendoutthevariouscheckstothosemeninParis，NewYork，Frankfort，St。
Petersburg，andTokio？“
“Youcansendthechecks，“hetoldher。“Besurethatyoudrawthem，asusual，upontheCreditLyonaiseandinthenameyouknowof。SaytoLebonaitreofParisthatyouconsiderhislastreportsfaulty。NomentionwasmadeofMonsieurC’svisittotheRussianEmbassy，orofthesupperpartygiventotheBaronvonErlsteinbyacertainRussiangentleman。Warnhim，ifyouplease，thatreportswithsuchomissionsareuselesstome。“
Shewroteafewwordsinherbook。
“Youmadeanoteofthat？“
Sheraisedherhead。
“Idonotmakemistakes，“shesaid。
Hiseyebrowsweredrawntogether。Thiswashiswork，hetoldhimself，thismagnificentphysicalsubjection。Yethisinabilitytostirhersometimesmaddenedhim。
“Youknowwhoisinthishouse？“heasked。“Youknowthenameofmyunknownguest？“
“Iknownothing，“shereplied。“Hispresencedoesnotinterestme。“
“SupposingIdesireyoutoknow？“hepersisted，leaningalittleforward。“SupposingItellyouthatitisyourdutytoknow？“
“Then，“shesaid，“IshouldtellyouthatIbelievehimtobethespecialenvoyfromNewYorktoTheHague，orwhateverplaceontheContinentthiscomingconferenceistobeheldat。“
“Right，woman！“Mr。Fentolinansweredsharply。“Right！Itisthespecialenvoy。Hehashismandatewithhim。Ihavethemboth-themanandhismandate。CanyouguesswhatIamgoingtodowiththem？“
“Itisnotdifficult，“shereplied。“Yourmethodsarescarcelyoriginal。Hismandatetotheflames，andhisbodytothesea！“
SheraisedhereyesasshespokeandlookedoverMr。Fentolin’sshoulder，acrossthemarshlandtothegreystretchofocean。Hereyesbecamefixed。Itwasnotpossibletosaythattheyheldanyexpression，andyetonefeltthatshesawbeneaththegreywaves，eventotherocksandcavernsbelow。
“Itdoesnotterrifyyou，then，“heaskedcuriously，“tothinkthatamanunderthisroofisabouttodie？“
“Whyshouldit？“sheretorted。“Deathdoesnotfrightenme-myownoranybodyelse’s。Doesitfrightenyou？“
