“Mostingeniousand，Imustconfess，mostsuccessful，myyoungfriend！“heexclaimedpleasantly。“Whenyouhavemadetheladderquitesecure，perhapsyouwillbesogoodastodiscussthislittlematterwithus？“
Therewasnoimmediatereply。Theeyesofallfourmenwereturnednowuponthatemptyspacethroughwhichtheladderhadfinallydisappeared。Mr。Fentolin’sfingersdisappearedwithinthepocketofhiscoat。Somethingverybrightwasglisteninginhishandwhenhewithdrewit。
“Comeandparleywithus，Mr。Hamel，“hebegged。“Youwillnotfindusunreasonable。“
Hamel’svoicecamebackinreply，butHamelhimselfkeptwellawayfromtheopening。
“Theconditions，“hesaid，“areunpropitious。Alittletimeforreflectionwilldoyounoharm。“
Thetrap-doorsweresuddenlyclosed。Mr。Fentolin’sface，ashelookedup，becamediabolic。
“Wearetrapped！“hemuttered；“caughtlikeratsinahole！“
AgleamofdaywasintheskyasHamel，withMrs。Fentolinbyhisside，passedalongthepathwhichledfromtheTowertoSt。David’sHall。Lightswerestillburningfromitswindows；theoutlineofthebuildingitselfwasfaintlydefinedagainstthesky。Behindhim，acrossthesea，wasthatonestraightlineofgreymergingintosilver。Therainhadceasedandthewindhaddropped。Oneithersideofthemstretchedthebrimmingcreeks。
“Canwegetintothehousewithoutwakinganyone？“heasked。
“Quiteeasily，“sheassuredhim。“Thefrontdoorisneverbarred。“
Shewalkedbyhisside，swiftlyandwithsurprisingvigour。Inthestill，greylight，herfacewasmoreghastlythanever，buttherewasanewfirmnessabouthermouth，anewdecisioninhertone。
TheyreachedtheHallwithoutfurtherspeech，andsheledthewaytoasmalldoorontheeasternside，throughwhichtheyenterednoiselesslyandpassedalongalittlepassageoutintothehall。
Acoupleoflightswerestillburning。Theplaceseemedfullofshadows。
“Whatareyougoingtodonow？“shewhispered。
“IwanttoringupLondononthetelephone，“hereplied。“Iknowthatthereisadetectiveeitherintheneighbourhoodoronhiswayhere，butIshalltellmyfriendthathehadbettercomedownhimself。“
Shenodded。
“IamgoingtoreleaseEsther，“shesaid。“Sheislockedinherroom。Thetelephoneisinthestudy。Iwillcomedowntheretoyou。“
Shepassedsilentlyupthebroadstaircase。Hamelgropedhiswayacrossthehailintothelibrary。Heturnedonthesmallelectricreading-lampanddrewupachairtothesideofthetelephone。Evenasheliftedthereceivertohisear，helookedaroundhimhalfapprehensively。ItseemedasthougheverymomenthewouldheartheclickofMr。Fentolin’schair。
HegottheexchangeatNorwichwithoutdifficulty，andafewminuteslaterasleepyreplycamefromthenumberhehadrungupinLondon。
ItwasKinsley’sservantwhoanswered。
“IwanttospeaktoMr。Kinsleyatonceuponmostimportantbusiness，“Hamelannounced。
“Verysorry，sir，“themanreplled。“Mr。Kinsleylefttownlastnightforthecountry。“
“Wherehashegone？“Hameldemandedquickly。“Youcantellme。
YouknowwhoIam；IamMr。Hamel。“
“IntoNorfolksomewhere，sir。Hewentwithseveralothergentlemen。“
“IsthatBullen？“Hamelasked。
Themanadmittedthefact。
“CanyoutellmeifanyofthepeoplewithwhomMr。KinsleyleftLondonwereconnectedwiththepolice？“heinquired。
Themanhesitated。
“Ibelieveso，sir，“headmitted。“Thegentlemenstartedinamotor-carandweregoingtodriveallnight。“
Hamellaiddownthereceiver。Atanyrate，hewouldnotbeleftlongwiththisresponsibilityuponhim。Hewalkedoutintothehall。
Thehousewasstillwrappedindeepsilence。Then，fromsomewhereabovehim，comingdownthestairs，heheardtherustleofawoman’sgown。Helookedup，andsawMissPrice，fullydressed，comingslowlytowardshim。Sheheldupherfingerandledthewaybackintothelibrary。Shewasdressedasneatlyasever，buttherewasaqueerlightinhereyes。
“IhaveseenMrs。SeymourFentolin，“shesaid。“ShetellsmethatyouhaveleftMr。FentolinandtheothersinthesubterraneanroomoftheTower。“
Hamelnodded。
“TheyhaveDunsterdownthere，“hetoldher。“Ifollowedthemin；
itseemedthebestthingtodo。IhaveafriendfromLondonwhoisonhiswaydownherenowwithsomedetectiveofficers，toenquireintothematterofDunster’sdisappearance。“
“Areyougoingtoleavethemwheretheyareuntilthesepeoplearrive？“sheasked。
“Ithinkso，“hereplied，afteramoment’shesitation。“Idon’tseemtohavehadtimetoconsiderevenwhattodo。Theopportunitycame，andIembracedit。Theretheyare，andtheywon’tdaretodoanyfurtherharmtoDunsternow。Mrs。Fentolinwasdowninmyroom，andIthoughtitbesttobringherbackfirstbeforeIevenparleyedwiththemagain。
“Youmustbecareful，“sheadvisedslowly。ThemanDunsterhasbeendrugged，hehaslostsomeofhiswill；hemayhavelostsomeofhismentalbalance。Mr。Fentolinisclever。Hewillfindadozenwaystowriggleoutofanychargethatcanbebroughtagainsthim。Youknowwhathehasreallydone？“
“Icanguess。“
“HehaskeptbackadocumentsignedbythetwelvemeninAmericawhocontrolthewholeofWallStreet，whocontrolpracticallythemoneymarketsoftheworld。ThatdocumentisawarningtoGermanythattheywillhavenowaragainstEngland。OwingtoMr。Fentolin，ithasnotbeendelivered，andtheConferenceissittingnow。Warmaybedeclaredatanymoment。“
“Butasamatterofcommonsense，“Hamelasked，“whydoesMr。
Fentolindesirewar？“
“YoudonotunderstandMr。Fentolin，“shetoldhimquietly。“Heisnotlikeothermen。Therearesomewholivealmostentirelyforthesakeofmakingothershappy，whofindjoyinseeingpeoplecontentandsatisfied。Mr。Fentolinisthereverseofthis。Hehasbutonecravinginlife:toseepaininothers。Toseeahumanbeingsufferistohimadebauchofhappiness。Awarwhichlaidthiscountrywastewouldfillhimwithadelightwhichyoucouldneverunderstand。Therearenonormalhumanbeingslikethis。Itisadiseaseintheman，adiseasewhichcameuponhimafterhisaccident。“
“Yetyouhaveallbeenhisslaves，“Hamelsaidcuriously。
“Wehaveallbeenhisslaves，“sheadmitted，“fordifferentreasons。
Beforehisaccidentcame，Mr。Fentolinwasmymasterandtheonlymanintheworldforme。Afterhisaccident，Ithinkmyfeelingsforhim，ifanything，grewstronger。Ibecamehisslave。Isoldmyconscience，myself-respect，everythinginlifeworthhaving，tobringasmiletohislips，tohelphimthroughasinglemomentofhismisery。Andjustlatelythereactionhascome。Hehasplayedwithmejustashewouldsitandpullthelegsoutofaspidertowatchitsagony。Ihavebeenoneofhisfavouriteamusements。Andevennow，ifhecameintothisroomIthinkthatIshouldbehelpless。Ishouldprobablyfallathisfeetandprayforforgiveness。“
Hamellookedatherwonderingly。
“Ihavecomedowntowarnyou，“shewenton。“Itispossiblethatthisisthebeginningoftheend，thathiswonderfulfortunewilldeserthim，thathisstarhasgonedown。Butrememberthathehasthebrainsandcourageofgenius。Youthinkthatyouhavehiminatrap。Don’tbesurprised，whenyougoback，tofindthathehasturnedthetablesuponyou。“
“Impossible！“Hameldeclared。“Ilookedallroundtheplace。Thereisn’tawindoworopeninganywhere。Thetrap-doorisinthemiddleoftheceilinganditisfifteenfeetfromthefloor。Itshutswithaspring。“
“Itmaybeasyousay，“sheobserved。“Itmaybethatheissafe。
Remember，though，ifyougonearhim，thatheisdesperate。“
“DoyouknowwhereMissFentolinis？“heinterrupted。
“Sheiswithhermother，“thewomanreplied，impatiently。“Sheiscomingdown。Tellme，whatareyougoingtodowithMr。Fentolin？
Nothingelsematters。“
