Themanturnedandfacedhismaster。Hisaspectofdoggedcivilityhadneverbeenmoreapparent。
“Nowlisten，“Mr。Fentolinwenton。“Iwanttoremindyouofcertainthings，Meekins。Weareamongfriendshere-nosecrecy，youunderstand，oranythingofthatsort。Youneednotbeafraid！
Youknowhowyoucametome？YourememberthatlittleaffairofAnnaJayesinHartlepool？“
Thefaceofthemanwasfilledwithterror。Hebegantotremblewherehestood。Mr。Fentolinplayedforamomentwithhiscollar，asthoughhefoundittight。
“Suchachanceitwas，mydearMeekins，“Mr。Fentolincontinuedcheerfully，“whichbroughtmethatlittlescrapofknowledgeconcerningyou。Ithasboughtmethroughalltheseyearsagooddealoffaithfulservice。Iamnotungrateful，believeme。I
intendtoretainyouformybody-servantandtokeepmylipssealed，foragreatmanyyearstocome。NowrememberwhatIhavesaid。
Whenweleavethisplace，thatlittleepisodewillstealbackintoafarcornerofmymind。Ishall，inshort，forgetit。Ifwearecaughthereandinconveniencefollows，well，Icannotsay。Doyourbest，Meekins。Doalittlebetterthanyourbest。Youhavethereputationofbeingastrongman。Letusseeyoujustifyit。“
Themantookalongbreathandreturnedtohistask。Hisshouldersandarmswereuponthedoor。Hebegantostrain。Hegrewredintheface；theveinsacrosshisforeheadstoodout，blue，liketightly-drawnstring。Hiscomplexionbecamepurple。Throughhisopenmouthhisbreathcameinshortpants。Witheverymuscleofhisbodyandneckhestrainedandstrained。Thewoodworkgavealittle，butitneverevencracked。Withasobhesuddenlyalmostcollapsed。Mr。Fentolinlookedathim，frowning。
“Verygood-verygood，Meekins，“hesaid，“butnotquitegoodenough。Youareatrifleoutofpractice，perhaps。Takeyourbreath，taketime。Rememberthatyouhaveanotberchance。Iamnotangrywithyou，Meekins。Iknowtherearemanyenterprisesuponwhichonedoesnotsucceedthefirsttime。Getyourbreath；
thereisnohurry。Nexttimeyoutry，seethatyousucceed。Itisveryimportant，Meekins，foryouaswellasforus，thatyousucceed。“
Themanturneddoggedlybacktohistask。Theeyesofthethreemenwatchedhim-Mr。Dunsteronthebed；DoctorSarson，paleandgloomy，withsomethingoffearinhisdarkeyes；andMr。Fentolinhimself，whoseexpressionseemedtobeoneofpurelybenevolentandencouraginginterest。Oncemorethefaceofthemanbecamealmostunrecognisable。Therewasagreatcrack，thetrap-doorhadshifted。
Meekins，withalittlecry，reeledandsankbackwards。Mr。Fentolinclappedhishandslightly。
“Really，Meekins，“hedeclared，“IdonotknowwhenIhaveenjoyedanyperformancesomuch。IfeelasifIwerebackinthedaysoftheRomangladiators。Icanseethatyoumeantosucceed。Youwillsucceed。Youdonotmeantoendyourdaysamidobjectionablesurroundings。“
Withtheairofamantemporarilymad，Meekinswentbacktohistask。
Hewassobbingtohimselfnow。Hisclotheshadburstawayfromhim。
Suddenlytherewasacrash，thehingesofthetrap-doorhadparted。
Withthebloodstreamingfromawoundinhisforehead，Meekinsstaggeredbacktohisfeet。Mr。Fentolinnodded。
“Excellent！“hepronounced。“Reallyexcellent。WithalittleassistancefromourfriendMeekins，you，Iamsure，Sarson，willnowbeabletoclimbupandletdownthesteps。“
DoctorSarsonstoodbyMr。Fentolin’schair，andtogethertheylookedupthroughthefragmentsofthetrap-door。Meekinswasstillbreathingheavily。Suddenlytheyheardthesoundofasharpreport，asofadoorabovebeingslammed。
“Someonewasintheboat-housewhenIbrokethetrap-door，“Meekinsmuttered。“Iheardthemmovingabout。“
Mr。Fentolinfrowned。
“Thenletushurry，“hesaid。“Sarson，whataboutyourpatient？“
Mr。Dunsterwaslyinguponhisside，watchingthem。Thedoctorwentovertothebedsideandfelthispulseandhead。
“Hewilldofortwelvehours，“hepronounced。“Ifyouthinkthatotherlittleoperation-“
HebrokeoffandlookedatMr。Fentolinmeaningly。Themanonthebedshrankback，hiseyeslitwithhorror。Mr。Fentolinsmiledpleasantly。
“Ifear，“hesaid，“thatwemustnotstayforthatjustnow。A
littlelateron，perhaps，ifitbecomesnecessary。Letusfirstattendtothebusinessonhand。“
Meekinsoncemoreclamberedontothelittleheapoffurniture。
Thedoctorstoodbyhissideforamoment。Then，withaneffort，hewashoistedupuntilhecouldcatchholdoftheflooroftheouthouse。Meekinsgaveonepush，andhedisappeared。
“Anyoneupthere？“Mr。Fentolinenquired，ashadeofanxietyinhistone。
“Noone，“thedoctorreported。
“Hasanythingbeendisturbed？“
DoctorSarsonwassomelittletimebeforehereplied。
“Yes，“hesaid，“someoneseemstohavebeenrummagingabout。“
“Senddownthestepsquickly，“Mr。Fentolinordered。“Iambeginningtofindtheatmospherehereunpleasant。“
Therewasabriefsilence。Thentheyheardthesoundoftheladderbeingdraggedacrossthefloor，andamomentortwolateritwascarefullyloweredandplacedinposition。Mr。Fentolinpassedtheropethroughthefrontofhiscarriageandwasdrawnup。FromhisbedMr。Dunsterwatchedthemgo。Itwashardtotellwhetherhewasrelievedordisappointed。
“Whohasbeeninhere？“Mr。Fentolindemanded，ashelookedaroundtheplace。
Therewasnoreply。Agreytwilightwasstrugglingnowthroughthehigh，dust-coveredwindows。Meekins，whohadgoneontowardsthedoor，suddenlycalledout:
“Someonehastakenawaythekey！Thedoorislockedontheotherside！“
Mr。Fentolin’sfrownwasmalignevenforhim。
“Ourdearfriend，Mr。Hamel，Isuppose，“hemuttered。“Anotherlittledebtweshallowehim！Trytheotherdoor。“
Meekinsmovedtowardsthepartition。Suddenlyhepaused。Mr。
Fentolin’shandwasoutstretched；he，too，waslistening。Abovethelowthunderoftheseacameanothersound，asoundwhichatthatmomenttheynoneofthemprobablyunderstood。Therewasthesteadycrashingoffeetuponthepebbles，alowmurmurofvoices。
Mr。Fentolinforthefirsttimeshowedsymptomsoffear。
“Trytheotherdoorquickly，“hedirected。
Meekinscameback，shakinghishead。Outside，thenoiseseemedtobeincreasing。Thedoorwassuddenlythrownopen。HannahCoxstoodoutsideinherplainblackdress，herhairwind-tossed，hereyesaflame。Sheheldthekeyinherfingers，andshelookedinuponthem。Herlipsseemedtomove，butshesaidnothing。
“Mygoodwoman，“Mr。Fentolinexclaimed，frowning，“areyouthepersonwhoremovedthatkey？“
Shelaidherhanduponhischair。Shetooknonoticeoftheothertwo。
“Come，“shesaid，“thereissomethinghereIwantyoutolistento。
Come！“
Mr。Fentolin，arrivedoutsideonthestonefrontoftheboat-house，pointedthewheelofhischairtowardstheHall。HannahCox，whokeptbyhisside，however，drewitgentlytowardsthebeach。
“Downhere，“shedirectedsoftly。“Bringyourchairdowntheplank-way，closetothewater’sedge。“
“Mygoodwoman，“Mr。Fentolinexclaimedfuriously，“Iamnotinthehumourforthissortofthing！Lockup，Sarson，atonce；Iaminahurrytogetback。“
“Butyouwillcomejustthislittleway，“shecontinued，speakingwithoutanychangeoftone。“Yousee，theothersarewaiting，too。
Ihavebeendowntothevillageandfetchedthemup。“
Mr。Fentolinfollowedheroutstretchedfingerandgaveasuddenstart。Standingattheedgeoftheseawereadozenortwentyfishermen。Theywereallmutteringtogetherandlookingatthetopoftheboat-house。Asherealisedthedirectionoftheirgaze，Mr。
Fentolin’sfaceunderwentastrangetransformation。Heseemedtoshrinkinhischair。Hewasghastlypaleeventothelips。Slowlyheturnedhishead。Fromaplaceintheroofoftheboat-houseatallsupporthadappeared。Onthetopwasaswingingglobe。
“Whathaveyoutodowiththat？“heaskedinalowtone。
“Ifoundit，“sheanswered。“Ifeltthatitwasthere。Ihavebroughtthemupwithmetoseeit。Ithinkthattheywanttoaskyousomequestions。Butfirst，comeandlisten。“
