“Mr。Fentolinwouldliketospeaktoyou，inspector，“hesaid，“ifyouwillcomethisway。“
TheinspectorfollowedGeraldandsalutedthelittlegroupsolemnly。
Mr。Fentolinheldouthishand。
“Yougotmytelephonemessage，inspector？“heasked。
“WehavenotreceivedanymessagethatIknowof，sir，“theinspectorreplied。“Ihavecomeoverhereinaccordancewithinstructionsreceivedfromheadquarters-infactfromScotlandYard。“
“Quiteso，“Mr。Fentolinassented。“You’vecomeover，Ipresume，tomakeenquiriesconcerningMr。JohnP。Dunster？“
“Thatisthenameofthegentleman，sir。“
“Ionlyunderstoodto-dayfrommyfrienaLordSaxthorpe，“Mr。
Fentolincontinued，“thatMr。Dunsterwasbeingenquiredaboutasthoughhehaddisappeared。MynephewbroughthimhereaftertherailwayaccidentatWymondham，sincewhenhehasbeenunderthecareofmyownphysician。Itrustthatyouhavenothingseriousagainsthim？“
“Myfirstduty，sir，“theinspectorpronounced，“istoseethegentlemaninquestion。“
“Byallmeans，“Mr。Fentolinagreed。“Gerald，willyoutaketheinspectoruptoMr。Dunster’srooms？Orstop，Iwillgomyself。“
Mr。Fentolinstartedhischairandbeckonedtheinspectortofollowhim。Meekins，whowaswaitinginsidethehall，escortedthembymeansofthelifttothesecondfloor。TheymadetheirwaytoMr。
Dunster’sroom。Mr。Fentolinknockedsoftlyatthedoor。Itwasopenedbythenurse。
“Howisthepatient？“Mr。Fentolinenquired。
DoctorSarsonappearedfromtheinterioroftheroom。
“Stillunconscious，“hereported。“Otherwise，thesymptomsarefavourable。Heisquiteunfit，“thedoctoradded，lookingsteadilyattheinspector，“toberemovedorquestioned。“
“Thereisnoideaofanythingofthesort，“Mr。Fentolinexplained。
“ItisInspectorYardley’sdutytosatisfyhimselfthatMr。Dunsterishere。Itisnecessaryfortheinspectortoseeyourpatient，sothathecanmakehisreportatheadquarters。“
DoctorSarsonbowed。
“Thatisquitesimple，sir，“hesaid。“Pleasestepin。“
Theyallenteredtheroom，whichwaslargeandhandsomelyfurnished。
Throughtheopenwindowscameagentlecurrentoffreshair。Mr。
Dunsterlayinthemidstofalltheluxuryoffinelinensheetsandembroideredpillow-cases。Theinspectorlookedathimstolidly。
“Isheasleep？“heasked。
Thedoctorshookhishead。
“Itisthethirddayofhisconcussion，“hewhispered。“Heisstillunconscious。Hewillremaininthesameconditionforanothertwodays。Afterthathewillbegintorecover。“
Mr。Fentolintouchedtheinspectoronthearm。
“Youseehisclothingatthefootofthebed，“hepointedout。
“Hislinenismarkedwithhisname。Thatishisdressing-casewithhisnamepaintedonit。“
“Iamquitesatisfied，sir，“theinspectorannounced。“Iwillnotintrudeanyfurther。“
Theylefttheroom。Mr。Fentolinhimselfescortedtheinspectorintothelibraryandorderedwhiskyandcigars。
“Idon’tknowwhetherIamunreasonablycurious，“Mr。Fentolinremarked，“butisitreallytruethatyouhavehadenquiriesfromScotlandYardaboutthepoorfellowup-stairs？“
“Wehadaveryimportantenquiryindeed，sir，“theinspectorreplied。
“IhaveinstructionstotelegraphallIhavebeenabletodiscover，immediately。“
“Pardonmyputtingitplainly，“Mr。Fentolinasked，“butisourfriendacriminal？“
“Iwouldn’tgosofarasthat，sir，“theinspectoranswered。“I
knowofnochargeagainsthim。Idon’tknowthatIhavetherighttosaysomuch，“headded，sippinghiswhiskyandsoda，“butputtingtwoandtwotogether，Ishouldrathercometotheconclusionthathewasapersonofsomepoliticalimportance。“
“Notacriminalatall？“
“NotasIknowof，“theinspectorassented。
“Thatisn’tthewayIreadtheenquiriesatall。“
“Yourelieveme，“Mr。Fentolindeclared。“Nowwhatabouthispossessions？“
“There’samancomingdownshortlyfromScotlandYard，“theinspectorannounced，alittlegloomily。“Myordersweretotouchnothing，buttolocatehim。“
“Well，you’vesucceededsofar，“Mr。Fentolinremarked。“Hereheis，andhereIthinkhewillstayuntilsomedaysafteryourfriendfromScotlandYardcangethere。“
“Itdoesseemso，indeed，“theinspectoragreed。“Tomehelooksterribleill。Butthere’sonethingsure，he’shavingallthecareandattentionthat’spossible。Andnow，sir，I’llnotintrudefurtheruponyourtime。I’lljustmakemyreport，andyou’llprobablyhaveavisitfromtheScotlandYardmansometimewithinthenextfewdays。“
Mr。Fentolinescortedtheinspectortohisdog-cart，shookhandswithhim，andwatchedhimdriveoff。OnlyMrs。SeymourFentolinremainedupontheterrace。Heglidedovertoherside。
“Mydearflorence，“heasked，“wherearetheothers？“
“Mr。HamelandEstherhavegoneforawalk，“sheanswered。“Geraldhasdisappearedsomewhere。Hasanything-iseverythingallright？“
“Naturally，“Mr。Fentolinrepliedeasily。“AllthattheinspectordesiredwastoseeMr。Dunster。Hehasseenhim。Thepoorfellowwasunfortunatelyunconscious，butourfriendwillatleastbeabletoreportthathewasingoodhandsandwellcaredfor。“
“Unconscious，“Mrs。Fentolinrepeated。“Ithoughtthathewasbetter。“
“Oneisalwayssubjecttothoseslightrelapsesinanaffairofconcussion，“Mr。Fentolinexplained。
Mrs。Fentolinlaiddownherworkandleanedalittletowardsherbrother-in-law。Herhandresteduponhis。Hervoicehadfallentoawhisper。
“Miles，“shesaid，“forgiveme，butareyousurethatyouarenotgettingalittleoutofyourdepth？Rememberthattherearesomeriskswhicharenotworthwhile。“
“Quitetrue，“heanswered。“Andtherearesomerisks，mydearFlorence，whicharewortheverydropofbloodinaman’sbody，andeverybreathoflife。ThepeaceofEuropeturnsuponthatmanup-stairs。Itisworthtakingalittleriskfor，worthalittledanger。Ihavemademyplans，andImeantocarrythemthrough。
Tellme，whenIwasup-stairs，thisfellowHamel-washetalkingconfidentiallytoGerald？“
“Notparticularly。“
“IamnotsurethatItrusthim，“Mr。Fentolincontinued。“HehadatelegramyesterdayfromamanintheForeignOffice，atelegramwhichIdidnotsee。Hetookthetroubletowalkthreemilestosendthereplytoitfromanotheroffice。“
“Butafterall，“Mrs。Fentolinprotested，“youknowwhoheis。YouknowthatheisPeterHamel’sson。Hehadadefinitepurposeincominghere。“
Mr。Fentolinnodded。
“Quitetrue，“headmitted。“Butforthat，Mr。Hamelwouldhavefoundalittletroublebeforenow。Asitis，hemustbewatched。
IfanyonecomesbetweenmeandthethingsforwhichIamschemingto-day，theywillriskdeath。“
Mrs。Fentolinsighed。ShewaswatchingthefiguresofEstherandHamelfarawayinthedistance，pickingtheirwayacrossthelaststripofmarshlandwhichlaybetweenthemandthesea。
“Miles，“shesaidearnestly，“youtakeadvicefromnoone。Youwillgoyourownway，Iknow。Andyet，itseemstomethatlifeholdssomanycompensationsforyouwithoutyourtakingtheseterriblerisks。Iamnotthinkingofanyoneelse。Iamnotpleadingtoyouforthesakeofanyoneelse。Iamthinkingonlyofyourself。Ihavehadasortoffeelingeversincethismanwasbroughtintothehouse，thattroublewouldcomeofit。Tomethetroubleseemstobegatheringevennow。“
Mr。Fentolinlaughedsoftly，alittlecontemptuously。
