“Amagnificentprofession，“hemurmured。“Ahealthyone，too，I
shouldjudgefromyourappearance。Youareastrongman，Mr。Hamel。“
“Ihavehadreasontobe，“Hamelrejoined。“DuringnearlythewholeofthetimeIhavebeenabroad，Ihavebeenpracticallypioneering。
BuildingrailwaysinthefarWest，withgangsofChineseandItaliansandHungariansandscarcelyaforemanwhoisn’tterrifiedofhisjob，isn’texactlydrawing-roomwork。“
“Youaregoingbackthere？“Mr。Fentolinasked，withinterest。
Hamelshookhishead。
“Ihavenoplans，“hedeclared。“Ihavebeenfortunateenough，orshallIsomedaysayunfortunateenough，Iwonder，tohaveinheritedalargelegacy。“
Mr。Fentolinsmiled。
“Don’teverdoubtyourgoodfortune，“hesaidearnestly。“ThelongerIlive-andinmylimitedwayIdoseeagooddealoflife-themoreIappreciatethefactthatthereisn’tanythinginthisworldthatcompareswiththepowerofmoney。Idistrustapoorman。
Hemaymeantobehonest，butheisatalltimessubjecttotemptation。Ah！hereismyniece。
Mr。Fentolinturnedtowardsthedoor。Hamelroseatoncetohisfeet。Hissurmise，then，hadbeencorrect。Shewascomingtowardsthemveryquietly。Inhersoftgreydinner-gown，herbrownhairsmoothlybrushedback，apearlnecklacearoundherlong，delicateneck，sheseemedtohimaveryexquisiteembodimentofthosememorieswhichhehadbeencarryingaboutthroughouttheafternoon。
“Here，Mr。Hamel，“hishostsaid，“isamemberofmyfamilywhohasbeenadeserterforashorttime。ThisisMr。RichardHamel，Esther；myniece，MissEstherFentolin。“
Sheheldoutherhandwiththefaintestpossiblesmile，whichmighthavebeenofgreetingorrecognition。
“ItravelledforsomedistanceinthetrainwithMr。Hamelthisafternoon，Ithink，“sheremarked。
“Indeed？“Mr。Fentolinexclaimed。“Dearme，thatisveryinteresting-veryinteresting，indeed！Mr。Hamel，Iamsure，didnottellyouofhisdestination？“
Hewatchedthemkeenly。Hamel，thoughhescareelyunderstood，wasquicktoappreciatethepossiblesignificanceofthattentativequestion。
“Wedidnotexchangeconfidences，“heobserved。“MissFentolinonlychangedintomycarriageduringthelastfewminutesofherjourney。Besides，“hecontinued，“totellyouthetruth，myideasastomydestinationwerealittlehazy。Tocomeandlookforsomequeersortofbuildingbythesideofthesea，whichhasbeenunoccupiedforadozenyearsorso，scarcelyseemsareasonablequest，doesit？“
“Scarcely，indeed，“Mr。Fentolinassented。“Youmaythankme，Mr。
Hamel，forthefactthattheplaceisnotinruins。Myblatanttrespassinghassavedyoufromthat，atleast。AfterdinnerwemusttalkfurtherabouttheTower。Totellyouthetruth，Ihavegrownaccustomedtotheuseofthelittleplace。“
Thesoundofthedinnergongboomedthroughthehouse。AmomentlaterGeraldentered，followedbyabutlerannouncingdinner。
“Theonlyremainingmemberofmyfamily，“Mr。Fentolinremarked，indicatinghisnephew。“Gerald，youwillbepleased，Iknow，tomeetMr。Hamel。Mr。Hamelhasbeenagreattraveller。Longbeforeyoucanremember，hisfatherusedtopaintwonderfulpicturesofthiscoast。“
Geraldshookhandswithhisvisitor。Hisface，foramoment，lightedup。Hewaslookingpale，though，andsingularlysullenanddejected。
“Therearetwoofyourfather’spicturesinthemodernsideofthegalleryup-stairs，“heremarked，alittlediffidently。“Theyaregreatfavouriteswitheverybodyhere。“
Theyallwentintodinnertogether。Meekins，whohadappearedsilently，hadglidedunnoticedbehindhismaster’schairandwheeleditacrossthehall。
“Apartiecarreeto-night，“Mr。Fentolindeclared。“Ihavearesidentdoctorhere，averydelightfulperson，whooftendineswithus，butto-nightIthoughtnot。Fiveisanawkwardnumber。
Iwanttogettoknowyoubetter，Mr。Hamel，andquickly。I
wantyou，too，tomakefriendswithmynieceandnephew。Mr。
Hamel’sfather，“hewenton，addressingthetwolatter，“andyourfatherweregreatfriends。By-the-by，haveItoldyoubothexactlywhyMr。Hamelisaguesthereto-night-whyhecametothesepartsatall？No？Listen，then。HecametotakepossessionoftheTower。Theworstofitisthatitbelongstohim，too。Hisfatherboughtitfromyourfathermoreyearsagothanweshouldcaretotalkabout。Ihavereallybeenatrespasserallthistime。“
Theytooktheirplacesatasmallroundtableinthemiddleofthedining-room。Theshadedlightsthrowndownwardsuponthetableseemedtoleavemostoftherestoftheapartmentinsemi-darkness。
Thegloomyfacesofthemenandwomenwhosepictureshunguponthewallswerealmostinvisible。Theservantsthemselves，standingalittleoutsidethehalooflight，werelikeshadowspassingswiftlyandnoiselesslybackandforth。Atthefarendoftheroomwasanorgan，andtotheleftalittlebalcony，builtoutasthoughforanorchestra。Hamellookedabouthimalmostinwonderment。Therewassomethingcuriouslyimpressiveinthesizeoftheapartmentanditsemptiness。
“Atrespasser，“Mr。Fentolincontinued，ashetookupthemenuandcriticiseditthroughhishorn-rimmedeyeglass，“thatiswhatI
havebeen，withoutadoubt。“
“Butforyourinterestandconsequenttrespass，“Hamelremarked，“I
shouldprobablyhavefoundtheroofoffandthewholeplaceinruins。“
“Insteadofwhichyoufoundthedoorlockedagainstyou，“Mr。
Fentolinpointedout。“Well，weshallsee。Imight，atanyrate，havelosttheopportunityofentertainingyouherethisevening。
Iamparticularlygladtohaveanopportunityofmakingyouknowntomynieceandnephew。Ithinkyouwillagreewithmethatherearetwoyoungpeoplewhoarehighlytobecommended。Icannotofferthemacheerfullifehere。Thereislittlesociety，nogaiety，nosortofexcitement。Yettheyneverleaveme。Theyseemtohavenootherinterestinlifebuttobealwaysatmybeckandcall。Acase，Mr。Hamel，ofreallytouchingdevotion。Ifanythingcouldreconcilemetomymiserablecondition，itwouldhethekindnessandconsiderationofthosebywhomIamsurrounded。“
Hamelmurmuredafewwordsofcordialagreement。Yethefoundhimself，inasense，embarrassed。Geraldwaslookingdownuponhisplateandhisfacewashidden。Esther’sfeatureshadsuddenlybecomestonyandexpressionless。Hamelfeltinstinctivelythatsomethingwaswrong。
“Therearecompensations，“Mr。Fentolincontinued，withtheairofoneenjoyingspeech，“whichfindtheirwayintoeventhegloomiestoflives。AsIlieonmyback，hourafterhour，Ifeelallthemoreconsciousofthis。Theworldisaschoolofcompensations，Mr。Hamel。
Theinterests-thementalinterests，Imean-ofunfortunatepeoplelikemyself，cometopossessintimeapeculiarsignificanceandtoyieldapeculiarpleasure。Ihavehobbies，Mr。Hamel。Ifranklyadmitit。Withoutmyhobbies，Ishuddertothinkwhatmightbecomeofme。Imightbecomeaselfish，cruel，misanthropicalperson。
Hobbiesareindeedagreatthing。“
Thebrotherandsistersatstillinstonysilence。Hamel，lookingacrossthelittletablewithitsglitteringloadofcutglassandsilverandscarletflowers，caughtsomethinginEsther’seyes，sorarelyexpressiveofanyemotionwhatever，whichpuzzledhim。Helookedswiftlybackathishost。Mr。Fentolin’sface，atthatmoment，waslikeabeautifulcameo。Hisexpressionwasoneofgentlebenevolence。
“Letmebequitefrankwithyou，“Mr。Fentolinmurmured。“MyoccupationoftheTowerisoneofthesehobbies。Ilovetosittherewithinafewyardsoftheseaandwatchthetidecomein。
Icatchsomethingofthespirit，Ithink，whichcaughtyourfather，Mr。Hamel，andkepthimaprisonerhere。InmysmallwayI，too，paintwhileIamdownthere，paintanddream。Thesethingsmaynotappealtoyou，butyoumustrememberthattherearefewthingslefttomeinlife，andthatthose，therefore，whichIcanmakeuseof，aredeartome。Gerald，youaresilentto-night。Howisitthatyousaynothing？“
“Iamtired，sir，“theboyansweredquietly。
Mr。Fentolinnoddedgravely。
“Itisinexcusableofme，“hedeclaredsmoothly，“tohaveforgottenevenforamoment。Mynephew，Mr。Hamel，“hewenton，“hadquiteanexcitingexperiencelastnight-orratheraseriesofexperiences。Hewasfirstofallinarailwayaccident，andthen，forthesakeofapoorfellowwhowaswithhimandwhowasbadlyhurt，hemotoredbackhereinthegreyhoursofthemorningandran，theytellme，considerableriskofbeingdrownedonthemarshes。
Averywonderfulandpraiseworthyadventure，Iconsiderit。Itrustthatourfriendup-stairs，whenherecovers，willbeproperlygrateful。“
Geraldrosetohisfeetprecipitately。Theserviceofdinnerwasalmostconcluded，andhemutteredsomethingwhichsoundedlikeanexcuse。Mr。Fentolin，however，stretchedouthisbandandmotionedhimtoresumehisseat。
