“ThankGod！“theboymurmured。
“Lookhere，“Hamelcontinued，“whatareyoudoinginthisbusiness，anyway？Youareoldenoughtoknowyourownmindandtogoyourownway。“
“Yousaythatbecauseyoudon’tknow，“Geralddeclaredbitterly。
“InasenseIdon’t，“Hameladmitted，“andyetyoursisterhintedtomeonlythisafternoonthatyouandshe-“
“Oh，Iknowwhatshetoldyou！“theboyinterrupted。“We’vewornthechainsforthelasteightyears。Theyarebreakingher。
They’vebrokenmymother。SometimesIthinktheyarebreakingme。
But，youknow，therecomesatime-therecomesatimewhenonecan’tgoon。I’veseensomestrangethingshere，somethatI’vehalfunderstood，somethatIhaven’tunderstoodatall。I’veclosedmyeyes。I’vekeptmypromise。I’vedonehisbidding，whereeverithasledme。Butyouknowthereisatime-thereisalimittoallthings。Ican’tgoon。IspiedonthismanDunster。Ibroughthimhere。ItisIwhoamresponsibleforanythingthatmayhappentohim。It’sthelasttime！“
Gerald’sfacewaswhitewithpain。Hamellaidhishanduponhisshoulder。
“Myboy，“hesaid，“thereareworsethingsintheworldthanbreakingapromise。Whenyougaveit，theconditionswhichwereexistingatthetimemadeit，perhaps，arightandreasonableundertaking，butsometimesthewholeoftheconditionsunderwhichapromisewasgiven，change。Thenonemusthavecourageenoughtobefalseeventoone’sword。“
“Haveyoutalkedtomysisterlikethat？“Geraldaskedeagerly。
“IhaveandIwillagain，“Hameldeclared。“To-morrowmorningI
leavethishouse，butbeforeIgoImeantohavetheaffairofthismanDunsterclearedup。Yourunclewillbeveryangrywithme，withoutadoubt。Idon’tcare。ButIdowantyoutotrustme，ifyouwill，andyoursister。Ishouldliketobeyourfriend。“
“Godknowsweneedone！“theboysaidsimply。“Goodnight！“
Oncemorethehousewasquiet。Hamelpushedhiswindowwideopenandlookedoutintothenight。Theairwasabsolutelystill，therewasnowind。Theonlysoundwasthefallingofthelowwavesuponthestonybeachandthefaintscrunchingofthepebblesdrawnbackbytheebb。Helookedalongtherowofwindows，alldarkandsilentnow。Arushofpleasantfanciessuddenlychasedawaythegrimdepressionofthelastfewminutes。Outofallthissordidnessandmysterythereremainedatleastsomethinginlifeforhimtodo。A
certainaimlessnessnofpurposewhichhadtroubledhimduringthelastfewmonthshaddisappeared。Hehadfoundanobjectinlife。
“To-day，“Hameldeclared，ashestoodatthesideboardthefollowingmorningatbreakfast-timeandhelpedhimselftobaconandeggs，“I
ampositivelygoingtobeginreading。IhaveacasefullofbooksdownattheTowerwhichIhaven’tunpackedyet。“
Esthermadealittlegrimace。
“Lookatthesunshine，“shesaid。“Thereisn’tabreathofwind，either。Ithinkto-daythatIcouldplayfromthemen’stees。“
Hamelsighedashereturnedtohisplace。
“Mygoodintentionsarealreadyhalfdissipated，“headmitted。
Shelaughed。
“Howcanweattacktheotherhalf？“sheasked。
Gerald，whowasalsoonhiswaytothesideboard，suddenlystopped。
“Hullo！“heexclaimed，lookingoutofthewindow。“Who’sgoingawaythismorning，Iwonder？There’stheRolls-Royceatthedoor。“
Hamel，too，roseoncemoretohisfeet。Thetwoexchangedswiftglances。Movedbyacommonthought，theybothstartedforthedoor，onlytofinditsuddenlyopenedbeforethem。Mr。Fentolinglidedintotheroom。
“Uncle！“Geraldexclaimed。
Mr。Fentolinglancedkeenlyaroundtheroom。
“Goodmorning，everybody，“hesaid。“Myappearanceatthishourofthemorningnaturallysurprisesyou。Asamatteroffact，Ihavebeenupforquitealongtime。Estherdear，givemesomecoffee，willyou，andbesurethatitishot。Ifanyofyouwanttosaygood-bytoMr。JohnP。Dunster，you’dbetterhurryout。“
“Youmeanthatheisgoing？“Hamelaskedincredulously。
“Heisgoing，“Mr。Fentolinadmitted。“Iwashmyhandsoftheman。
Hehasgivenusaninfiniteamountoftrouble，hasmonopolisedDoctorSarsonwhenheoughttohavebeenattendinguponme-alittlemorehotmilk，ifyouplease，Esther-andnow，althoughhereallyisnotfittoleavehisroom，heinsistsuponhurryingofftokeepanappointmentsomewhereontheContinent。Thelittleoperationwespokeoflastnightwassuccessful，asDoctorSarsonprophesied，andMr。Dunsterwasquiteconsciousandabletositupearlythismorning。Wetelephonedatsixo’clocktoNorwichforasurgeon，whoisnowonhiswayoverhere，buthewillnotwaiteventoseehim。Whatcanyoudowithamansoobstinate！“
NeitherHamelnorGeraldhadresumedtheirplaces。Theformer，afteramoment’shesitation，turnedtowardsthedoor。
“Ithink，“hesaid，“thatIshouldliketoseethelastofMr。
Dunster。“
“Praydo，“Mr。Fentolinbegged。“Ihavesaidgood-bytohimmyself，andallthatIhopeisthatnexttimeyouofferawayfarerthehospitalityofSt。David’sHall，Gerald，hemaybeamoretractableperson。ThismorningIshallgivemyselfatreat。Ishalleatanold-fashionedEnglishbreakfast。Closethedoorafteryou，ifyouplease，Gerald。“
Hamel，withGeraldbyhisside，hurriedoutintothehall。JustastheycrossedthethresholdtheysawMr。Dunster，wrappedfromheadtofootinhislongulster，asofthatuponhisheadandoneofMr。Fentolin’scigarsinhismouth，stepfromthebottomstairintothehallandmakehiswaywithsomewhatuncertainfootstepstowardsthefrontdoor。DoctorSarsonwalkedononeside，andMeekinsheldhimbythearm。HeglancedtowardsGeraldandhiscompanionandwavedthehandwhichheldhiscigar。
“Solong，myyoungfriend！“heexclaimed。Yousee，I’vegotthemtoletmemakeastart。Nexttimewegoaboutthecountryinasalooncartogether，Ihopewe’llhavebetterluck。Say，butI’mgroggyabouttheknees！“
“You’dbettersaveyourbreath，“DoctorSarsonadvisedhimgrimly。
“Youhaven’tanytosparenow，andyou’llwantmorethanyouhavebeforeyougettotheendofyourjourney。Carefullydownthesteps，mind。“
Theyhelpedhimintothecar。HamelandGeraldstoodunderthegreatstoneportico，watching。
“Well，I’mjiggered！“theboyexclaimed，underhisbreath。
Hamelwaswatchingtheproceedingswithapuzzledfrown。Tohissurprise，neitherDoctorSarsonnorMeekinswereaccompanyingthedepartingman。
“He’soff，rightenough，“Hameldeclared，asthecarglidedaway。
“Doyouunderstandit？Idon’t。“
