第19章

“Amagnificentprofession，“hemurmured。“Ahealthyone，too，I

shouldjudgefromyourappearance。Youareastrongman，Mr。Hamel。“

“Ihavehadreasontobe，“Hamelrejoined。“DuringnearlythewholeofthetimeIhavebeenabroad，Ihavebeenpracticallypioneering。

BuildingrailwaysinthefarWest，withgangsofChineseandItaliansandHungariansandscarcelyaforemanwhoisn’tterrifiedofhisjob，isn’texactlydrawing-roomwork。“

“Youaregoingbackthere？“Mr。Fentolinasked，withinterest。

Hamelshookhishead。

“Ihavenoplans，“hedeclared。“Ihavebeenfortunateenough，orshallIsomedaysayunfortunateenough，Iwonder，tohaveinheritedalargelegacy。“

Mr。Fentolinsmiled。

“Don’teverdoubtyourgoodfortune，“hesaidearnestly。“ThelongerIlive-andinmylimitedwayIdoseeagooddealoflife-themoreIappreciatethefactthatthereisn’tanythinginthisworldthatcompareswiththepowerofmoney。Idistrustapoorman。

Hemaymeantobehonest，butheisatalltimessubjecttotemptation。Ah！hereismyniece。

Mr。Fentolinturnedtowardsthedoor。Hamelroseatoncetohisfeet。Hissurmise，then，hadbeencorrect。Shewascomingtowardsthemveryquietly。Inhersoftgreydinner-gown，herbrownhairsmoothlybrushedback，apearlnecklacearoundherlong，delicateneck，sheseemedtohimaveryexquisiteembodimentofthosememorieswhichhehadbeencarryingaboutthroughouttheafternoon。

“Here，Mr。Hamel，“hishostsaid，“isamemberofmyfamilywhohasbeenadeserterforashorttime。ThisisMr。RichardHamel，Esther；myniece，MissEstherFentolin。“

Sheheldoutherhandwiththefaintestpossiblesmile，whichmighthavebeenofgreetingorrecognition。

“ItravelledforsomedistanceinthetrainwithMr。Hamelthisafternoon，Ithink，“sheremarked。

“Indeed？“Mr。Fentolinexclaimed。“Dearme，thatisveryinteresting-veryinteresting，indeed！Mr。Hamel，Iamsure，didnottellyouofhisdestination？“

Hewatchedthemkeenly。Hamel，thoughhescareelyunderstood，wasquicktoappreciatethepossiblesignificanceofthattentativequestion。

“Wedidnotexchangeconfidences，“heobserved。“MissFentolinonlychangedintomycarriageduringthelastfewminutesofherjourney。Besides，“hecontinued，“totellyouthetruth，myideasastomydestinationwerealittlehazy。Tocomeandlookforsomequeersortofbuildingbythesideofthesea，whichhasbeenunoccupiedforadozenyearsorso，scarcelyseemsareasonablequest，doesit？“

“Scarcely，indeed，“Mr。Fentolinassented。“Youmaythankme，Mr。

Hamel，forthefactthattheplaceisnotinruins。Myblatanttrespassinghassavedyoufromthat，atleast。AfterdinnerwemusttalkfurtherabouttheTower。Totellyouthetruth，Ihavegrownaccustomedtotheuseofthelittleplace。“

Thesoundofthedinnergongboomedthroughthehouse。AmomentlaterGeraldentered，followedbyabutlerannouncingdinner。

“Theonlyremainingmemberofmyfamily，“Mr。Fentolinremarked，indicatinghisnephew。“Gerald，youwillbepleased，Iknow，tomeetMr。Hamel。Mr。Hamelhasbeenagreattraveller。Longbeforeyoucanremember，hisfatherusedtopaintwonderfulpicturesofthiscoast。“

Geraldshookhandswithhisvisitor。Hisface，foramoment，lightedup。Hewaslookingpale，though，andsingularlysullenanddejected。

“Therearetwoofyourfather’spicturesinthemodernsideofthegalleryup-stairs，“heremarked，alittlediffidently。“Theyaregreatfavouriteswitheverybodyhere。“

Theyallwentintodinnertogether。Meekins，whohadappearedsilently，hadglidedunnoticedbehindhismaster’schairandwheeleditacrossthehall。

“Apartiecarreeto-night，“Mr。Fentolindeclared。“Ihavearesidentdoctorhere，averydelightfulperson，whooftendineswithus，butto-nightIthoughtnot。Fiveisanawkwardnumber。

Iwanttogettoknowyoubetter，Mr。Hamel，andquickly。I

wantyou，too，tomakefriendswithmynieceandnephew。Mr。

Hamel’sfather，“hewenton，addressingthetwolatter，“andyourfatherweregreatfriends。By-the-by，haveItoldyoubothexactlywhyMr。Hamelisaguesthereto-night-whyhecametothesepartsatall？No？Listen，then。HecametotakepossessionoftheTower。Theworstofitisthatitbelongstohim，too。Hisfatherboughtitfromyourfathermoreyearsagothanweshouldcaretotalkabout。Ihavereallybeenatrespasserallthistime。“

Theytooktheirplacesatasmallroundtableinthemiddleofthedining-room。Theshadedlightsthrowndownwardsuponthetableseemedtoleavemostoftherestoftheapartmentinsemi-darkness。

Thegloomyfacesofthemenandwomenwhosepictureshunguponthewallswerealmostinvisible。Theservantsthemselves，standingalittleoutsidethehalooflight，werelikeshadowspassingswiftlyandnoiselesslybackandforth。Atthefarendoftheroomwasanorgan，andtotheleftalittlebalcony，builtoutasthoughforanorchestra。Hamellookedabouthimalmostinwonderment。Therewassomethingcuriouslyimpressiveinthesizeoftheapartmentanditsemptiness。

“Atrespasser，“Mr。Fentolincontinued，ashetookupthemenuandcriticiseditthroughhishorn-rimmedeyeglass，“thatiswhatI

havebeen，withoutadoubt。“

“Butforyourinterestandconsequenttrespass，“Hamelremarked，“I

shouldprobablyhavefoundtheroofoffandthewholeplaceinruins。“

“Insteadofwhichyoufoundthedoorlockedagainstyou，“Mr。

Fentolinpointedout。“Well，weshallsee。Imight，atanyrate，havelosttheopportunityofentertainingyouherethisevening。

Iamparticularlygladtohaveanopportunityofmakingyouknowntomynieceandnephew。Ithinkyouwillagreewithmethatherearetwoyoungpeoplewhoarehighlytobecommended。Icannotofferthemacheerfullifehere。Thereislittlesociety，nogaiety，nosortofexcitement。Yettheyneverleaveme。Theyseemtohavenootherinterestinlifebuttobealwaysatmybeckandcall。Acase，Mr。Hamel，ofreallytouchingdevotion。Ifanythingcouldreconcilemetomymiserablecondition，itwouldhethekindnessandconsiderationofthosebywhomIamsurrounded。“

Hamelmurmuredafewwordsofcordialagreement。Yethefoundhimself，inasense，embarrassed。Geraldwaslookingdownuponhisplateandhisfacewashidden。Esther’sfeatureshadsuddenlybecomestonyandexpressionless。Hamelfeltinstinctivelythatsomethingwaswrong。

“Therearecompensations，“Mr。Fentolincontinued，withtheairofoneenjoyingspeech，“whichfindtheirwayintoeventhegloomiestoflives。AsIlieonmyback，hourafterhour，Ifeelallthemoreconsciousofthis。Theworldisaschoolofcompensations，Mr。Hamel。

Theinterests-thementalinterests，Imean-ofunfortunatepeoplelikemyself，cometopossessintimeapeculiarsignificanceandtoyieldapeculiarpleasure。Ihavehobbies，Mr。Hamel。Ifranklyadmitit。Withoutmyhobbies，Ishuddertothinkwhatmightbecomeofme。Imightbecomeaselfish，cruel，misanthropicalperson。

Hobbiesareindeedagreatthing。“

Thebrotherandsistersatstillinstonysilence。Hamel，lookingacrossthelittletablewithitsglitteringloadofcutglassandsilverandscarletflowers，caughtsomethinginEsther’seyes，sorarelyexpressiveofanyemotionwhatever，whichpuzzledhim。Helookedswiftlybackathishost。Mr。Fentolin’sface，atthatmoment，waslikeabeautifulcameo。Hisexpressionwasoneofgentlebenevolence。

“Letmebequitefrankwithyou，“Mr。Fentolinmurmured。“MyoccupationoftheTowerisoneofthesehobbies。Ilovetosittherewithinafewyardsoftheseaandwatchthetidecomein。

Icatchsomethingofthespirit，Ithink，whichcaughtyourfather，Mr。Hamel，andkepthimaprisonerhere。InmysmallwayI，too，paintwhileIamdownthere，paintanddream。Thesethingsmaynotappealtoyou，butyoumustrememberthattherearefewthingslefttomeinlife，andthatthose，therefore，whichIcanmakeuseof，aredeartome。Gerald，youaresilentto-night。Howisitthatyousaynothing？“

“Iamtired，sir，“theboyansweredquietly。

Mr。Fentolinnoddedgravely。

“Itisinexcusableofme，“hedeclaredsmoothly，“tohaveforgottenevenforamoment。Mynephew，Mr。Hamel，“hewenton，“hadquiteanexcitingexperiencelastnight-orratheraseriesofexperiences。Hewasfirstofallinarailwayaccident，andthen，forthesakeofapoorfellowwhowaswithhimandwhowasbadlyhurt，hemotoredbackhereinthegreyhoursofthemorningandran，theytellme，considerableriskofbeingdrownedonthemarshes。

Averywonderfulandpraiseworthyadventure，Iconsiderit。Itrustthatourfriendup-stairs，whenherecovers，willbeproperlygrateful。“

Geraldrosetohisfeetprecipitately。Theserviceofdinnerwasalmostconcluded，andhemutteredsomethingwhichsoundedlikeanexcuse。Mr。Fentolin，however，stretchedouthisbandandmotionedhimtoresumehisseat。