wanttodiscusswithyou。“
“Anotherevening，ifyoudon’tmind，“Hamelbegged。“To-nightI
mustaskyoutoexcusemyhurryingaway。“
Mr。Fentolinlookedupfromunderneathhiseyelids。Hisglancewasquickandpenetrating。
“Whythishaste？“
Hamelshruggedhisshoulders。
“Totellyouthetruth，“headmitted，“IhadanideawhileIwasreadinganarticleoncantileverbridgesthismorning。Iwanttoworkitout。“
Mr。Fentolinglancedbehindhim。Thedoorofthedining-roomwasclosed。Theservantshaddisappeared。Meekinsalone，lookingmorelikeaprizefighterthaneverinhissombereveningclothes，hadtakentheplaceofthebutlerbehindhismaster’schair。
“Weshallsee，“Mr。Fentolinsaidquietly。
Mr。Fentolinpointedtothelittlepileofbooksuponthetable，thedeepeasy-chair，thegreen-shadedlamps，thedecanterofwine。
Hehadinsisteduponavisit，howeverbrief，tothelibrary。
“Itisastudent’sappealwhichImaketoyou，Mr。Hamel，“hesaid，withawhimsicalsmile。“Hereweareinmystudy，withthedoorclosed，secureagainstinterruption，abrightfireinthegrate，abowlingandever-increasingwindoutside。LetusgotogetheroverthegroundofyourlastwonderfulexpeditionovertheAndes。YouwillfindthatIamnotaltogetherignorantofyourprofession，orofthoseveryinterestinggeologicalproblemswhichyouspokeofinconnectionwiththatmarvellousrailwayscheme。Wewilldiscussthemsidebysideassybarites，hangourselvesaroundwithcigarettesmoke，drinkwine，andpresentlycoffee。Itisnecessary，isitnot，formanyreasons，thatwebecomebetteracquainted？Yourealisethat，Iamsure，andyouwillnotpersistinreturningtoyourselfishsolitude。“
Hamel’seyeswerefixedalittlelonginglyuponsomeofthevolumeswithwhichthetablewascovered。
“Youmustnotthinkmeungratefulorchurlish，Mr。Fentolin，“hebegged。“IhaveahabitofkeepingpromiseswhichImaketomyself，andto-nightIhavemademyselfapromisethatIwillbebackattheTowerbyteno’clock。“
“Youareobdurate？“Mr。Fentolinaskedsoftly。
“IamafraidIam。“
Mr。Fentolinbusiedhimselfwiththehandleofhischair。
“Tellme，“heinsisted，“isthereanyotherpersonsaveyourselftowhomyouhavegiventhismysteriouspromise？“
“Noone，“Hamelrepliedpromptly。
“Iamapersonverysensitivetoatmosphere，“Mr。Fentolincontinuedslowly。“SincetheunfortunatevisitofthismanDunster，Iseemtohavebeenconsciousofacertainsuspicion，alittlecloudofsuspicionunderwhichIseemtoliveandmove，evenamongthemembersofmyownhousehold。Mysister-in-lawisnervousandhysterical；
Geraldhasbeensullenanddisobedient；Estherhasavoidedme。Andnow-well，Ifindevenyourattitudealittledifficulttounderstand。Whatdoesitmean，Mr。Hamel？“
Hamelshookhishead。
“Iamnotintheconfidenceofthedifferentmembersofyourfamily，“
heanswered。“SofarasI，personally，amconcerned-“
“Itpleasesmesometimes，“Mr。Fentolininterrupted，“tointerferetosomeextentintheaffairsoftheoutsideworld。IfIdoso，thatismybusiness。Idoitformyownamusement。ItisatnotimeaseriouspositionwhichItakeup。HaveIbyanychance，Mr。
Hamel，becomeanobjectofsuspiciontoyou？“
“Therearemattersinwhichyouareconcerned，“Hameladmitted，“whichIdonotunderstand，butIseenopurposeindiscussingthem。“
Mr。Fentolinwheeledhischairroundinasemicircle。HewasnowbetweenthedoorandHamel。
“WeakermortalsthanI，Mr。Hamel，“hesaidcalmly，“havewieldedbeforenowthepowersoflifeanddeath。FrommychairIcanmakethelightningsbite。Sciencehasdoneawaywiththetriumphofmuscularity。Evenasweareheretogetheratthismoment，Mr。Hamel，ifweshoulddisagree，itisIwhoamthepreordainedvictor。“
Hamelsawtheglitterinhishand。Thiswassoend，then，ofalldoubt！Heremainedsilent。
“Suspicionswhichare，inasense，absurd，“Mr。Fentolincontinued，“havegrownuntilIfindthemobtrusiveandobnoxious。WhathaveI
todowithMr。JohnP。Dunster？Isenthimoutfrommyhouse。Ifheislostorill，theaffairisnotmine。Yetonebyonethosearoundmearefallingaway。ItoldyouanhouragothatGeraldwasatBrancaster。Itisalie。Hehasleftthishouse，butnosoulinitknowshisdestination。“
Hamelstarted。
“Youmeanthathehasrunaway？“
Mr。Fentolinnodded。
“AllthatIcansurmiseisthathehasfollowedDunster，“heproceeded。“HehasanideathatinsomewayIrobbedorinjuredtheman。Hehasbrokenthebondofrelationshipbetweenus。Hehasbrokenhissolemnvow。Hehasrunagraveandterriblerisk。“
“WhatofMissEsther？“Hamelaskedquickly。
“Ihavesentheraway，“Mr。Fentolinreplied，“untilwecometoaclearunderstanding，youandI。Youseemtobeaharmlessenoughperson，Mr。Hamelbutappearancesaresometimesdeceptive。Ithasbeensuggestedtomethatyouareaspy。“
“Bywhom？“Hameldemanded。
“BythoseinwhomItrust，“Mr。Fentolintoldhimsternly。“YouareafriendofReginaldKinsley。YoumethiminNorwichtheotherday-secretly。Kinsley’schiefisamemberoftheGovernment。HeisoneofthosewhowillfindeternalobloquyifTheHagueConferencecomestoasuccessfultermination。Forsomestrangereason，IamsupposedtohaverobbedorharmedtheonemanintheworldwhosemessagemightbringtonoughtthatConference。Areyouheretowatchme，Mr。Hamel？AreyouoneofthosewhobelievethatIameitherinthepayofaforeigncountry，orthatmyharmlesseffortstointerestmyselfingreatthingsareeffortsinimicaltothiscountry；thatIam，inshort，atraitor？“
“Youmustadmitthatmanyofyouractionsareincomprehensible，“
Hamelrepliedslowly。“TherearethingsherewhichIdonotunderstand-whichcertainlyrequireexplanation。“
“Still，whydoyoumakethemyourbusiness？“Mr。Fentolinpersisted。“IfindeedthecoursewhichIsteerisaharmlessone，“
hecontinued，withastrangenewglitterinhiseyes，“thenyouareanimpertinentstrangertowhommydoorscannotanylongerbeopen。
Ifyouhavetakenadvantageofmyhospitalitytospyuponmeandmyactions，ifindeedyouhaveamissionhere，thenyoucancarryitwithyoudownintohell！“
“Iunderstandthatyouarethreateningme？“Hamelmurmured。
Mr。Fentolinsmiled。
“Scarcelythat，myyoungfriend。Iamnotquitetheobvioussortofvillainwhoflourishesrevolversandlureshisvictimsintosecretchambers。Thesewordstoyouaresimplywordsofwarning。
Iamnotlikeothermen，neitheramIusedtobeingcrossed。WhenIamcrossed，Iamdangerous。Leavehere，ifyouwill，insafety，andmindyourownaffairs；butifyoushowoneparticleofcuriosityastomine，ifyouinterfereinmatterswhichconcernmeandmeonly，rememberthatyouareencircledbypowerswhichareentirelyruthless，absolutelyomnipotent。YoucanwalkbacktotheTowerto-nightandrememberthatthereisn’tastepyoutakewhichmightnotbeyourlastifIwilledit，andneverasoulthewiser。
There’saveryhungrylittlemotherherewhotakeshervictimsandholdsthemtight。Youcanhearhercallingtoyounow。Listen！“
Hehelduphisfinger。Thetidehadturned，andthroughthehalf-openwindowcamethelowthunderofthewaves。
“Youdeclinetosharemyevening，“Mr。Fentolinconcluded。“Letitbeso。Goyourownway，Hamel，onlytakecarethatyourwaydoesnotcrossmine。“
Hebackedhischairslowlyandpressedthebell。Hamelfelthimselfdismissed。Hepassedoutintothehall。Thedoorofthedrawing-roomstoodopen，andheheardthesoundofMrs，Fentolin’sthinvoicesingingsomelittleFrenchsong。Hehesitatedandthensteppedin。Withonehandshebeckonedhimtoher，continuingtoplayallthetime。Hesteppedovertoherside。
“Icometomakemyadieux，“hewhispered，withaglancetowardsthedoor。
“Youareleaving，then？“sheaskedquickly。
Henodded。
