Geralddidnotspeakforseveralmoments。Hiseyeswerestillfixeduponthebackofthedisappearingcar。ThenheturnedtowardsHamel。
“Thereisn’tmuch，“hesaidsoftly，“thatMr。Fentolindoesn’tknow。
Ifthatdetectivewasreallyonhiswayhere，therewasn’tanychanceofkeepingMr。Dunstertohimself。Yousee，thewholestoryiscommonproperty。Andyet，there’ssomethingabouttheaffairthatbothersme。“
“Andme，“Hameladmitted，watchingthecaruntilitbecameaspeckinthedistance。
“Hewasfairlywellcornered，“Geraldconcluded，astheymadetheirwaybacktothedining-room，“butitisn’tlikehimtoletgoofanythingsoeasily。“
“Soyou’veseenthelastofourguest，“Mr。Fentolinremarked，asamelandGeraldre-enteredthedining-room。“Aqueerfellow-almostanewtypetome。Doggedandindustrious，Ishouldthink。Hehadn’ttheleastrighttotravel，youknow，andIthinksolongaswehadtakenthetroubletotelephonetoNorwich，hemighthavewaitedtoseethephysician。Sarsonwasveryangryaboutit，butwhatcanyoudowiththesefellowswhoareneverill？Theyscarcelyknowwhatphysicaldisabilitymeans。Well，Mr。Hamel，andhowareyougointoamuseyourselfto-day？“
“IhadthoughtofcommencingsomereadingIbroughtwithme，“Hamelreplied，“butMissEstherhaschallengedmetoanothergameofgolf。“
“Excellent！“Mr。Fentolindeclared。“Itisverykindofyouindeed，Mr。Hamel。Itisalwaysamatterofregretformethatsocietyinthesepartsissorestricted。Mynephewandniecehavelittleopportunityforenjoyingthemselves。PlaygolfwithMr。Hamel，byallmeans，mydearchild，“hecontinued，turningtohisniece。“Makethemostofthisgloriousspringweather。Andwhataboutyou，Gerald？
Whatareyoudoingto-day？“
“Ihaven’tmadeupmymindyet，sir，“theboyreplied。
Mr。Fentolinsighed。
“Alwaysthatlackofinitiative，“heremarked。“Alackofinitiativeisoneofyourworstfaults，Iamafraid，dearGerald。“
Theboylookedupquickly。Foramomentitseemedasthoughhewereabouttomakeafiercereply。HemetMr。Fentolin’ssteadygaze，however，andthewordsdiedawayuponhislips。
“Iratherthought，“hesaid，“ofgoingintoNorwich，ifyoucouldspareme。CaptainHolthasaskedmetolunchattheBarracks。“
Mr。Fentolinshookhisheadgently。
“Itismostunfortunate，“hedeclared。“Ihaveacommissionforyoulaterintheday。“
Geraldcontinuedhisbreakfastinsilence。Hebentoverhisplatesothathisfacewasalmostinvisible。Mr。Fentolinwaspeelingapeach。Aservantenteredtheroom。
“LieutenantGodfrey，sir，“heannounced。
Theyalllookedup。Atrim，clean-shaven，hard-featuredyoungmaninnavaluniformwasstandinguponthethreshold。HebowedtoEsther。
“Verysorrytointrude，sir，atthishourofthemorning，“hesaidbriskly。“LieutenantGodfrey，myname。IamflaglieutenantoftheBritannia。Youcan’tseeher，butshe’snotfiftymilesoffatthisminute。IlandedatSheringhamthismorning，hiredacarandmadethebestofmywayhere。MessagefromtheAdmiral，sir。“
Mr。Fentolinsmiledgenially。
“Wearedelightedtoseeyou，LieutenantGodfrey，“hesaid。“Havesomebreakfast。“
“Youareverygood，sir，“theofficeranswered。“Businessfirst。
I’llbreakfastafterwards，withpleasure，ifImay。TheAdmiral’scompliments，andhewouldtakeitasafavourifyouwouldhauldownyourwirelessforafewdays。“
“Haddownmywireless，“Mr。Fentolinrepeatedslowly。
“Wearedoingalotofmanoeuvringwithinrangeofyou，andlikelytodoabitmore，“theyoungmanexplained。“Youarecatchingupourmessagesallthetime。Ofcourse，weknowthey’requitesafewithyou，butthingsgetabout。Asyoursisonlyaprivateinstallation，we’dlikeyou，ifyoudon’tmind，sir，toshutupshopforafewdays。“
Mr。Fentolinseemedpuzzled。
“But，mydearsir，“heprotested，“wearenotatwar，arewe？“
“Notyet，“theyoungofficerreplied，“butGodknowswhenweshallbe！Weareundersealedorders，anyway，andwedon’twantanyriskofourplansleakingout。That’swhywewantyourwirelessdisconnected。“
“Youneedsaynomore，“Mr。Fentolinassuredhim。“Thematterisalreadyarranged。Esther，letmepresentLieutenantGodfrey-myniece，MissFentolin；Mr。GeraldFentolin，mynephew；Mr。Hamel，aguest。SeethatLieutenantGodfreyhassomebreakfast，Gerald。I
willgomyselfandseemyMarconioperator。“
“Awfullygoodofyou，sir，“theyoungmandeclared，“andIamsureweareverysorrytotroubleyou。Inaweekortwo’stimeyoucangointobusinessagainasmuchasyoulike。It’sonlywhilewearefiddlingaroundherethattheAdmiral’sjumpyaboutthings。
Maymymanhaveacupofcoffee，sir？I’dliketobeonthewaybackinaquarterofanhour。“
Mr。Fentolinhaltedhischairbythesideofthebell，andrangit。
“Praymakeuseofmyhouseasyourown，sir，“hesaidgravely。
“Fromwhatyouleaveunsaid，Igatherthatthingsaremoreseriousthanthepaperswouldhaveusbelieve。Underthosecircumstances，Ineednotassureyouthatanyhelpwecanrenderisentirelyyours。“
Mr。Fentolinlefttheroom。LieutenantGodfreywasalreadyattackinghisbreakfast。Geraldleanedtowardshimeagerly。
“Istherereallygoingtobewar？“hedemanded。
“AskthosechapsatTheHague，“LieutenantGodfreyanswered。
“Doingtheirbesttofreezeusout，orsomething。AllIknowis，ifthere’sgoingtobefighting，wearereadyforthem。By-the-by，whathaveyougotwirelesstelegraphyforhere，anyway？“
“It’safadofmyuncle’s，“Geraldreplied。“Sincehisaccidentheamuseshimselfinallsortsofqueerways。“
LieutenantGodfreynodded。
“Poorfellow！“hesaid。“Iheardhewasacripple，orsomethingofthesort。Forgivemyasking，but-youpeopleareEnglish，aren’tyou？“
“Rather！“Geraldanswered。“TheFentolinshavelivedhereforhundredsofyears。Whydoyouaskthat？“
LieutenantGodfreyhesitated。Helooked，forthemoment，scarcelyathisease。
“Oh，Idon’tknow，“hereplied。“TheoldmanwasveryanxiousI
shouldfindout。Yousee，alotofinformationseemstohavegotoverontheotherside，andwecouldn’tthinkwhereithadleakedout，exceptthroughyourwireless。However，thatisn’tlikely，ofcourse，unlessyou’vegotoneofthesebeastlyGermansinyourreceiving-room。NowifIcanborrowacigarette，acigar，orapipeoftobacco-anymortalthingtosmoke-I’llbeoff，ifImay。
Theoldmanturnedmeoutatanunearthlyhourthismorning，andinSheringhamalltheshopswereclosed。Steadyon，youngfellow，“helaughed，asGeraldfilledhispocketswithcigarettes。“Well，here’sgoodmorningtoyou，MissFentolin。Goodmorning，sir。HowlongoughtittotakemetogettoSheringham？“
“Aboutfortyminutes，“Geraldtoldhim，“ifyourcar’sanygoodatall。“
“Itisn’tmuch，“wasthesomewhatdubiousreply。“However，we’llshovealong。YouintheService？“heenquired，astheywalkeddownthehalltogether。
“HopeIshallbebeforelong，“Geraldanswered。I’mgoingintothearmy，though。“
“Havetohurryup，won’tyou？“
Geraldsighed。
“It’salittledifficultforme。Here’syourcar。Goodlucktoyou！“
“MyexcusestoMr。Fentolin，“LieutenantGodfreyshouted，“andmanythanks。“
Hejumpedintotheautomobileandwassoononhiswayback。Geraldwatchedhimuntilhewasnearlyoutofsight。Ontheknoll，twoofthewirelessoperatorswerealreadyatwork。Mr。Fentolinsatinhischairbelow，watching。Thebluesparkswereflashing。Amessagewasjustbeingdelivered。PresentlyMr。Fentolinturnedhischair，andwithMeekinsbyhisside，madehiswaybacktothehouse。Hepassedalongtheballandintohisstudy。Gerald，whowasonhiswaytothedining-room，heardtheringofthetelephonebellandthecallforthetrunkspecialline。Hehesitatedforamoment。Thenhemadehiswayslowlydowntowardsthestudyandstoodoutsidethedoor，listening。InamomentheheardMr。Fentolin’sclearvoice，verylowyetverypenetrating。
“TheMediterraneanFleetwillbeforty-sevenhoursbeforeitcomestogether，“wasthemessageheheard。“TheChannelFleetwillmanoeuvreoffSheerness，waitingforit。TheNorthSeaFleetisseventeenunitsundernominalstrength。“
Geraldturnedthehandleofthedoorslowlyandentered。Mr。
Fentolinwasjustreplacingthereceiveronitsstand。Helookedupathisnephew，andhiseyebrowscametogether。
“Whatdoyoumeanbythis？“hedemanded。“Don’tyouknowthatI
allownooneinherewhenIamtelephoningontheprivatewire？“
Geraldclosedthedoorbehindhimandsummonedupallhiscourage。
“ItisbecauseIhaveheardwhatyouweresayingoverthetelephonethatIamhere，“hedeclared。“Iwanttoknowtowhomyouweresendingthatmessagewhichyouhaveinterceptedoutside。“
