Sheisastrange，tired-lookingwomanwhoseemstostandinmortalfearofMr。Fentolin。Sheisalwaysoverdressedandnevernatural，butitseemstomethatnearlyeverythingshedoesisdonetosuithiswhims，orathisinstigation。“
Kinsleynoddedthoughtfully。
“IrememberSeymourFentolinhesaid；“areallyfinefellowhewas。
Well，whoelse？“
“Justthenephewandniece。Theboyishalfsullen，halfdiscontented，yethe，too，seemstoobeyhisuncleblindly。Thethreeofthemseemtobehisslaves。It’sathingyoucan’tliveinthehousewithoutnoticing。“
“Itseemstobeacheerfulsortofhousehold，“Kinsleyobserved。
“Youreadthepapers，Isuppose，Dick？“heasked，afteramoment’spause。
“Onandoff，thelastfewdays。Iseemtohavebeenbusydoingallsortsofthings。“
“Well，I’lltellyousomething，“Kinsleycontinued。“ThewholeofouravailablefleetisengagedincarryingoutwhattheycallademonstrationintheNorthSea。Theyhavepatrolboatsoutineverydirection，andonlytheshortdistancewirelesssignalsarebeingused。Everything，ofcourse，isincode，yetweknowthisforafact:agooddealofprivateinformationpassingbetweentheAdmiralandhiscommanderswasknowninGermanythreehoursafterthesignalsthemselveshadbeengiven。Itissuspected-morethansuspected，infact-thatthesemessageswerepickedupbyMr。Fentolin’swirelessinstallation。“
“Idon’tsupposehecouldhelpreceivingthem，“Hamelremarked。
“HecouldhelpdecodingthemandsendingthemthroughtoGermany，though，“Kinsleyretortedgrimly。“Theworstofitis，hehasaprivatetelephonewireinhishousetoLondon。Ifheisn’tuptomischief，whatdoesheneedallthesethingsfor-privatetelegraphline，privatetelephone，privatewireless？Wehavegiventhepostmasterahinttohavethetelegraphofficemoveddownintothevillage，butIdon’tknowthatthatwillhelpusmuch。“
“Sofarasregardsthewireless，“Hamelsaid，“Iratherbelievethatitistemporarilydismantled。Wehadasailor-manover，themorningbeforeyesterday，tocomplainofhismessageshavingbeenpickedup。Mr。Fentolinpromisedatoncetoputhisinstallationoutofworkforatime。“
“Hehasdoneplentyofmischiefwithitalready，“Kinsleygroaned。
“However，itwasDunsterIcamedowntomakeenquiriesabout。I
couldn’thelphopingthatyoumighthavebeenabletoputusontherighttrack。“
Hamelsighed。
“IknownothingbeyondwhatIhavetoldyou。“
“Howdidhelookwhenhewentaway？“
“Veryillindeed，“Hameldeclared。“Iafterwardssawthenursewhohadbeenattendinghim，andsheadmittedthathewasnotfittotravel。Ishouldsaytheprobabilitiesarethatheislaidupagainsomewhere。“
“Didyouactuallyspeaktohim？“
“Justawordortwo。“
“Andyousawhimgooffinthecar？“
“GeraldFentolinandIbothsawhimandwishedhimgood-by。“
Kinsleyglancedattheclockandrosetohisfeet。“Walkdowntothestationwithme，“hesuggested。“Ineedn’ttellyou，Iamsure，“
hewenton，astheyleftthehotelafewminuteslater，“thatifanythingdoesturnup，orifyougettheglimmeringofanidea，you’llletmeknow？We’veasmallarmylookingforthefellow，butitdoesseemasthoughhehaddisappearedoffthefaceoftheearth。
Ifhedoesn’tturnupbeforetheendoftheConference，wearedone。“
“Tellme，“Hamelasked，aftertheyhadwalkedforsomedistanceinsilence，“exactlywhyisourfleetdemonstratingtosuchanextent？“
“ThatConferenceIhavespokenof，“Kinsleyreplied，“whichisbeingheldatTheHague，isbeingheld，weknow，purposelytodiscusscertainmattersinwhichweareinterested。Itismeetingfortheirdiscussionwithoutanyinvitationhavingbeensenttothiscountry。
Thereisonlyonereplypossibletosuchacourse。ItisthereintheNorthSea。Butunfortunately-“
Kinsleypaused。Histoneandhisexpressionhadalikebecomegloomier。
“Goon，“Hamelbegged。
“Ourreply，afterall，isamiserableaffair，“Kinsleyconcluded。
“YouremembertheoutcryoverthewithdrawalofourMediterraneanFleet？Nowyouseeitssequel。Wehaven’tashipworthasnapofthefingersfromGibraltartoSuez。IfFrancedesertsus，it’sgood-bytoMalta，good-bytoEgypt，good-bytoIndia。It’sthedisruptionoftheBritishEmpire。Andallthis，“hewoundup，ashepausedbeforetakinghisseatintherailwaycarriage，“allthismightevennowbeavoidedifonlywecouldlayourhandsuponthemessagewhichthatmanDunsterwasbringingfromNewYork！“
OncemoreHameldescendedfromthelittletrain，and，turningawayfromSt。David’sHall，madehiswayacrossthemarshes，seawards。
Thesunshineofthelastfewdayshaddeparted。Thetwilightwasmadegloomybyafloatingveilofwhitemist，whichhungaboutinwetpatches。Hamelturneduphiscoatcollarashewalkedandshiveredalittle。Thethoughtofhissolitarynightanduncomfortablesurroundings，afteralltheluxuryofSt。David’sHall，wasscarcelyinspiring。Yet，onthewhole，hewassplendidlycheerful。Theglamourofahostofnewsensationswasuponhim。
Therewasanewloveoflivinginhisheart。Heforgotthecoldeastwindwhichblewinhisface，bringingwithitlittlepuffsofdampgreymist。Heforgotthecheerlessnesswhichhewasabouttoface，thelonelynightbeforehim。Forthefirsttimeinhislifeawomanreignedinhisthoughts。
ItwasnotuntilheactuallyreachedtheverysideoftheTowerthathecamebacktoearth。Asheopenedthedoor，hefoundasurpriseinstoreforhim。Afirewasburninginthesitting-room，smokewasascendingfromthekitchenchimney。Thelittleroundtablewaslaidwithawhitecloth。Therewasafaintodourofcookingfromthebackpremises。Hislampwaslit，therewerelogshissingandcracklinguponthefire。Ashestoodtherelookingwonderinglyabouthim，thedoorfromthebackwasopened。HannahCoxcamequietlyintotheroom。
“Whattimewouldyoulikeyourdinner，sir？“sheenquired。
Hamelstaredather。
“Why，areyougoingtokeephouseforme，Mrs。Cox？“heasked。
“Ifyouplease，sir。Iheardthatyouhadbeeninthevillage，lookingforsomeone。IamsorrythatIwasaway。Thereisnooneelsewhowouldcometoyou。“
“SoIdiscovered，“heremarked，alittlegrimly。
“Nooneelse，“shewenton，“wouldcometoyoubecauseofMr。
Fentolin。Hedoesnotwishtohaveyouhere。Theylovehimsomuchinthevillagethathehadonlytobreathetheword。Itwasenough。“
“Yetyouarehere，“heremindedher。
“Idonotcount，“sheanswered。“Iamoutsideallthesethings。“
Hamelgavealittlesighofsatisfaction。
“Well，Iamgladyoucouldcome，anyhow。Ifyouhavesomethingfordinner，Ishouldlikeitinabouthalfanhour。“
Heclimbedthenarrowstairswhichledtohisbedroom。Tohissurprise，thereweremanythingsthereforhiscomfortwhichhehadforgottentoorder-cleanbed-linen，towels，evenacurtainuponthewindow。
“Wheredidyougetallthelinenup-stairsfrom，Mrs。Cox？“heaskedher，whenhedescended。“Theroomwasalmostemptyyesterday，andIforgotnearlyallthethingsImeanttobringhomefromNorwich。“
“Mrs。SeymoreFentolinsentdownahamperforyou，“thewomanreplied，“withamessagefromMr。Fentolin。Hesaidthatnothingamongtheoddmentsleftbyyourfatherhadbeenpreserved，butthatyouwerewelcometoanythingyoudesired，ifyouwouldletthemknowattheHall。“
“Itisverykindofbothofthem，“Hamelsaidthoughtfully。
Thewomanstoodstillforamoment，lookingathim。Thenshedrewastepnearer。
“HasMr。Fentolingivenyouthekeyoftheshed？“sheasked，veryquietly。
Hamelshookhishead。
“Wedon’tneedtheplace，dowe？“
“Hedidnotgiveyouthekey？“shepersisted。
“Mr。Fentolinsaidthathehadsomethingsintherewhichhewishedtokeeplockedup，“heexplained。
Sheremainedthoughtfulforseveralmoments。Thensheturnedaway。
“No，“shesaid，“itwasnotlikelyhewouldnotgiveyouthatkey！“
Hameldinedsimplybutcomfortably。Mrs。Coxclearedawaythethings，broughthimhiscoffee，andappearedafewminuteslater，hershawlwrappedaroundher，readyfordeparture。
“Ishallbehereatseveno’clockinthemorning，sir，“sheannounced。
