“Lockit！“sheimplored。
Heturneddownthelatchanddrewthebolt。Thesoundseemedtogiveheralittlecourage。Herfingerswenttoherthroatforamoment。
“Givemesomewater。“
Hepouredoutsomesoda-water。Shedrankonlyosipandputitdownagain。Hebegantobealarmed。Shehadtheappearanceofonewhohassuddenlylosthersenses。
“Pleasetellmejustwhathashappened？“hebegged。“IfIcanhelpinanyway，youknowIwill。Butyoumusttellme。Doyourealisethatitisthreeo’clock？Ishouldhavebeeninbed，onlyIwenttosleepoverthefirehere。“
“Iknow，“sheanswered。“Itisjustthewindthathastakenawaymybreath。Itwasahardstruggletogethere。Listen-youareourfriend，Mr。Hamel-Esther’sandmine？Swearthatyouareourfriend？“
“Uponmyhonour，Iam，“heassuredher。“Youshouldknowthat。“
“Foreightyears，“shewenton，hervoiceclearenoughnow，althoughitseemedchargedwithacuriousmetallicvibration，“foreightyearswe’veborneit，allthreeofus，slaves，boundhandandfoot，lashedwithhistongue，drivenalongthepathofhisdesires。Wehaveseenevilthings。Wehavebeenonthepointofrebellion，andhe’scomealittlenearerandhe’spointedback。Hehastakenmebythehand，andIhavewalkedbythesideofhischair，loathingit，loathingmyself，outontotheterraceanddownbelow，justwhereithappened。Youknowwhathappenedthere，Mr。Hamel？“
“YoumeanwhereMr。Fentolinmetwithhisaccident。“
“Itwasnoaccident！“shecried，glancingforamomentaroundher。
“Itwasnoaccident！Itwasmyhusbandwhotookhimupandthrewhimovertheterrace，downbelow；myhusbandwhotriedtokillhim；
Esther’sfather-Gerald’sfather！MileswasintheForeignOfficethen，andhedidsomethingdisgraceful。HesoldasecrettoAustria。
Hewasalwaysagreatgambler，andhewasindebt。Seymourfoundoutaboutit。Hefollowedhimdownhere。Theymetupontheterrace。
I-Isawit！“
Hewassilentforamoment。
“Noonehasknownthetruth，“hemurmured。
“Noonehaseverknown，“sheassented，“andourbrokenliveshavebeentheprice。ItwasMileshimselfwhomadethebargain。We-wecan’tgoon，Mr。Hamel。“
“Ibegintounderstand，“Hamelsaidsoftly。“YousuffereverythingfromMilesFentolinbecausehekeptthesecret。Verywell，thatbelongstothepast。Somethinghashappened，somethingto-night，whichhasbroughtyouhere。Tellmeaboutit？“
Oncemorehervoicebegantoshake。
“We’veseen-terriblethings-horriblethings，“shefaltered。
“We’veheldourpeace。Perhapsit’sbeennearlyasbadbefore，butwe’veclosedoureyes；wehaven’twantedtoknow。Now-wecan’thelpit。Mr。Hamel，Estherisn’tatLordSaxthorpe’s。
Sheneverwentthere。Theydidn’taskher。AndDunster-themanDunster-“
“’WhereisEsther？“Hamelinterruptedsuddenly。
“Lockedupawayfromyou，lockedupbecausesherebelled！“
“AndDunster？“
Sheshookherhead。Hereyeswerefilledwithhorror。
“ButhelefttheHall-Isawhim！“
Sheshookherhead。
“Itwasn’tDunster。ItwasthemanMilesmakesuseof-Ryan，thelibrarian。Hewasonceanactor。“
“WhereisDunster，then？“Hamelaskedquickly。“Whathasbecomeofhim？“
Sheopenedherlipsandclosedthemagain，struggledtospeakandfailed。Shesatthere，breathingquickly，butsilent。Thepowerofspeechhadgone。
Hamel，forthenextfewminutes，forgoteverythingelseinhiseffortstorestoretoconsciousnesshisunexpectedvisitor。Herebuiltthefire，heatedsomewateruponhisspiritlamp，andforcedsomehotdrinkbetweenthelipsofthewomanwhowasnowalmostinastateofcollapse。Thenhewrappedherroundinhisownulsteranddrewherclosertothefire。Hetriedduringthosefewmomentstoputawaythememoryofallthatshehadtoldhim。Graduallyshebegantorecover。Sheopenedhereyesanddrewalittlesigh。Shemadenoeffortatspeech，however。Shesimplylayandlookedathimlikesomewoundedanimal。Hecameovertohersideandchafedoneofhercoldhands。
“Come，“hesaidatlast，“youbegintolookmorelikeyourselfnow。
Youarequitesafeinhere，and，forEsther’ssakeaswellasyourown，youknowthatIamyourfriend。“
Shenodded，andherfingersgentlypressedhis。
“Iamsureofit，“shemurmured。
“Nowletusseewhereweare，“hecontinued。“TellmeexactlywhyyouriskedsomuchbyleavingSt。David’sHallto-nightandcomingdownhere。Isn’tthereanychancethathemightfindout？“
“Idon’tknow，“sheanswered。“ItwasLucyPricewhosentme。ShecametomyroomjustasIwasundressing。“
“LucyPrice，“herepeated。“Thesecretary？“
“Yes！Shetoldmethatshehadmeanttocometoyouherself。Shesentmeinstead。Shethoughtitbest。ThismanDunsterisbeingkeptalivebecausethereissomethingMileswantshimtotellhim，andhewon’t。Butto-night，ifheisstillalive，ifhewon’ttell，theymeantomakeawaywithhim。Theyareafraid。“
“MissPricetoldyouthis？“Hamelaskedgravely。
Mrs，Fentolinnodded。
“Yes！Shesaidso。Sheknows-sheknowseverything。Shehasbeenliketherestofus。She，too，hassuffered。She，too，hasreachedthebreakingpoint。Shelovedhimbeforetheaccident。
Shehasbeenhisslaveeversince。Listen！“
Shesuddenlyclutchedhisarm。Theywerebothsilent。Therewasnothingtobeheardbutthewind。Sheleanedalittleclosertohim。
“LucyPricesentmehereto-nightbecauseshewasafraidthatitwasto-nighttheymeanttotakehimfromhishiding-placeandkillhim。ThepolicehaveleftoffsearchingforMr。DunsterinYarmouthandatTheHague。Thereisadetectiveintheneighbourhoodandanotheroneonhiswayhere。Theyareafraidtokeephimaliveanylonger。“
“WherewasMr。Fentolinwhenyouleft？“Hamelasked。
“IaskedLucyPricethat，“shereplied。“Whenshecametomyroom，therewerenosignsofhisleaving。Shetoldmetocomeandtellyoueverything。DoyouknowwhereMr。Dunsteris？“
Hamelshookhishead。
“Withinafewyardsofhere，“shewenton。“Heisintheboat-house，theplacewhereMilestoldyouhekeptamodelofhisinvention。TheybroughthimherethenightbeforetheyputhisclothesonRyanandsenthimoffdisguisedasMr。Dunster，inthecartoYarmouth。“
Hamelstartedup，butsheclutchedathisarmandpulledhimback。
“No，“shecried，“youcan’tbreakin！Therearedoubledoorsandawonderfullock。Theboat-houseisyours；thebuildingisyours。
Inthemorningyoumustdemandthekeys-ifhedoesnotcometo-night！“
“Andhowarewetoknow，“Hamelasked，“ifhecomesto-night？“
“Gooutside，“shewhispered。“LooktowardsSt。David’sHallandtellmehowmanylightsyoucansee。“
Hedrewbackthebolt，unlatchedthedoor，andsteppedoutintothedarkness。Thewindandthedrivingrainbeatagainsthisface。A
cloudofsprayenvelopedandsoakedhim。Likelampshunginthesky，thelightsofSt。David’sHallshoneoutthroughtheblackgulf。Hecountedthemcarefully；thenhesteppedback。
“Thereareseven，“hetoldher，closingthedoorwithaneffort。
Shecounteduponherfingers。
“Imustcomeandsee，“shemuttered。“Imustbesure。Helpme。“
Heliftedhertoherfeet，andtheystaggeredouttogether。
“Look！“shewenton，grippinghisarm。“Youseethatrowoflights？
Ifanythinghappens，ifMr。FentolinleavestheHallto-nighttocomedownhere，alightwillappearontheleftinthefarcorner。
