Mr。Fentolinshookheroff。HelookedaroundforMeekins。
“Meekins，standbymychair，“heorderedsharply。“Turnround；I
wishtogototheHall。Drivethiswomanaway。“
Meekinscamehurryingup，butalmostatthesamemomenthalfadozenofthebrownjerseyedfishermendetachedthemselvesfromtheothers。
Theyformedalittlebodyguardaroundthebath-chair。
“Whatisthemeaningofthis？“Mr。Fentolindemanded，hisvoiceshrillwithanger。“Didn’tyouhearwhatIsaid？Thiswomanannoysme。Sendheraway。“
Notoneofthefishermenansweredawordormadetheslightestmovementtoobeyhim。Oneofthem，agrey-beardedveteran，drewthechairalittlefurtherdowntheplankedwayacrossthepebbles。
HannahCoxkeptclosetoitsside。Theycametoastandstillonlyafewyardsfromwherethewaveswerebreaking。Sheliftedherhand。
“Listen！“shecried。“Listen！“
Mr。Fentolinturnedhelplesslyaround。ThelittlegroupoffishermenhadclosedinuponSarsonandMeekins。Thewoman’shandwasuponhisshoulder；shepointedseawardtowhereahissinglineofwhitefoammarkedthespotwherethetopmostoftherockswerevisible。
“YouwonderedwhyIhavespentsomuchofmytimeouthere，“shesaidquietly。“Nowyouwillknow。IfyoulistenasIamlistening，asIhavelistenedforsomanywearyhours，somanywearyyears，youwillhearthemcallingtome，DavidandJohnandStephen。
’Thelight！’Doyouhearwhattheyarecrying？’Thelight！
Fentolin’slight！’Look！“
Sheforcedhimtolookoncemoreatthetopoftheboat-house。
“Theywereright！“sheproclaimed，hervoicegaininginstrengthandintensity。“Theywereneitherdrunknorreckless。Theysteeredasstraightashumanhandcouldguideatiller，forFentolin’slight！Andtheretheyare，callingandcallingatthebottomofthesea-mythreeboysandmyman。Doyouknowforwhomtheycall？“
Mr。Fentolinshrankbackinhischair。
“Takethiswomanaway！“heorderedthefishermen。“Doyouhear？
Takeheraway；sheismad！“
Theylookedtowardshim，butnotoneofthemmoved。Mr。Fentolinraisedhiswhistletohislips，andblewit。
“Meekins！“hecried。“Whereareyou，Meekins？“
HeturnedhisheadandsawatoncethatMeekinswaspowerless。
Fiveorsixofthefishermenhadgatheredaroundhim。Therewereatleastthirtyofthemabout，sinewy，powerfulmen。TheonlypersonwhomovedtowardsMr。Fentolin’scarriagewasJacob，thecoastguardsman。
“Mr。Fentolin，sir，“hesaid，“theladshavegotyourbullysafe。
It’sayearandmorethatHannahCoxhasbeenaboutthevillagewithsomestoryabouttwolightsonastormynight。It’struewhatshesays-thathermanandboysliedrowned。There’sWilliamGreen，besides，andanephewofmyown-JohnKallender。AndPhilipGreen-hewassaved。Hesworebyallthatwasholythathesteeredstraightforthelightwhenhisboatstruck，andthatasheswamforshore，fiveminuteslater，hesawthelightreappearinanotherplace。It’sastrangestory。Whathaveyoutosay，sir，aboutthat？“
Hepointedstraighttothewire-encircledglobewhichtoweredonitsslendersupportabovetheboat-house。Mr。Fentolinlookedatitandlookedbackatthecoastguardsman。ThebrainofaMachiavellicouldscarcelyhaveinventedaplausiblereply。
“Thelightwasneverlitthere，“hesaid。“Itwassimplytohelpmeinsomeelectricalexperiments。“
Then，forthefirsttimeintheirlives，thosewhowerelookingonsawMr。Fentolinapartfromhiscarriage。Withoutanyhastebutwithamazingstrength，HannahCoxleanedover，and，withherarmsaroundhismiddle，liftedhimsheerupintotheair。Shecarriedhim，claspedinherarms，aweird，strugglingobject，totheclumsyboatthatlayalwaysatthetopofthebeach。Shedroppedhimintothebottom，tookherseat，andunshippedtheoars。Foronemomentthecoastguardsmanhesitated；thenheobeyedherlook。Hegavetheboatapushwhichsentitgrindingdownthepebblesintothesea。Thewomanbegantoworkattheoars。Everynowandthenshelookedoverhershoulderatthatthinlineofwhitesurfwhichtheywereallthetimeapproaching。
“Whatareyoudoing，woman？“Mr。Fentolindemandedhoarsely。
“Listen！Itwasanaccidentthatyourpeopleweredrowned。I’llgiveyouanannuity。I’llmakeyourichforlife-rich！Doyouunderstandwhatthatmeans？“
“Aye！“sheanswered，lookingdownuponhimashelaydoubledupatthebottomoftheboat。“Iknowwhatitmeanstoberich-betterthanyou，maybe。Nottoletthegoldandsilverpiecesfallthroughyourfingers，ortoliveinagreathouseandbewaiteduponbyservantswhodesertyouinthehourofneed。Thatisn’tbeingrich。
It’srichtofeelthetouchoftheoneyoulove，toseethefacesaroundofthoseyou’vegivenbirthto，tomoveonthroughthedaysandnightstowardstheend，withthemaround；nottoknowthechilllonelinessofanemptylife。Iamapoorwoman，Mr。Fentolin，andit’syourhandthatmademeso，andnotallthemiraclesthattheBibleevertoldofcanmakemerichagain。“
“Youareafool！“heshrieked。“Youcanbuyforgetfulness！Thememoryofeverythingpasses。“
“Imaybeafool，“sheretortedgrimly，“andyouthewiseman；butthisdaywe’llbothknowthetruth。“
Therewasalittlemurmurfromtheshore，wherethefishermenstoodinalongline。
“Bringhimback，missus，“Jacobcalledout。“You’vescaredhimenough。Bringhimback。We’llleavehimtothelaw。“
Theywereclosetothelineofsurfnow；theyhadpassedit，indeed，alittleontheleft，andtheboatwasdrifting。Shestoodup，straightandstern，andherface，asshelookedtowardstheland，waslitwiththefireoftheprophetess。
“Aye，“shecried，“we’llleavehimtothelaw-tothelawofGod！“
Thentheysawherstoopdown，andoncemorewiththatalmostsuperhumanstrengthwhichseemedtobelongtoherforthosefewmoments，sheliftedthestrangeobjectwholaycoweringthere，highaboveherhead。Fromtheshoretheyrealisedwhatwasgoingtohappen，andagreatshoutarose。Shestoodonthesideoftheboatandjumped，holdingherburdentightlyinherarms。Sotheywentdownanddisappeared。
Halfadozenoftheyoungerfishermenwereinthewaterevenbeforethegrimspectaclewasended；anotherranforaboatthatwasmooredalittlewaydownthebeach。Butfromthefirstthesearchwasuseless。OnlyJacob，whowasapersonafflictedwithmanysuperstitions，wipedthesweatfromhisforeheadasheleanedoverthebowofhisboatandlookeddownintothatfathomlessspace。
“Iheardhersinging，herorherwraith，“hesworeafterwards。
“I’llneverforgetthemomentIlookeddownanddown，andthewaterseemedtogrowclearer，andIsawherwalkingthereatthebottomamongtherocks，withhimoverherback，singingasshewent，lookingeverywhereforGeorgeandtheboys！“
Butifindeedhiseyesweretouchedwithfireatthatmoment，nooneelseintheworldsawanythingmoreofMilesFentolin。
Mr。JohnP。Dunsterremovedthecigarfromhisteethandgazedatthelongwhiteashwiththeairofaconnoisseur。Hewasstretchedinalongchair，highupintheterracedgardensbehindtheHall。
Athisfeetweregoldenmatsofyellowcrocuses；longbordersofhyacinths-pinkandpurple；bedsofviolets；agreatlilactree，withpatchesofblossomhereandthereforcingtheirwayintoasunlitworld。Theseawasblue；theshelteredairwheretheysatwaswarmandperfumed。Mr。Dunster，whowasoccupyingthepositionofafavouredguest，wasfeelingverymuchathome。
“Thereisonething，“heremarkedmeditatively，“whichIcan’thelpthinkingaboutyouBritishers。Youmaydeserveitoryoumaynot，butyoudohavethemostalmightyluck。“
“Sheerenvy，“Hamelmurmured。“Weescapefromourtightcornersbyforethought。“
“Notonyourlife，sir，“Mr。Dunsterdeclaredvigorously。“AyearorlessagoyougotaNorthSeascare，andonthestrengthofamerelyhonourableunderstandingwithyourneighbour，youriskyourcountry’sveryexistenceforthesakeofaddinghalfadozenbattleshipstoyourNorthSeaSquadron。ThedaythelastofthosebattleshipspassedthroughtheStraitsofGibraltar，thislittleConferencewasplotted。Itellyoutheymeanttomakehistorythere。
Therewasenoughforeverybody-IndiaforRussia，atime-honoureddream，butwhynot？Alsace-LorraineandperhapsEgypt，forFrance；
AustraliaforJapan；ChinaandSouthAfricaforGermany。Whynot？
YoumaylaughatitonpaperbutIsayagain-whynot？“
“Itdidn’tquitecomeoff，sir，“Geraldobserved。
“Itdidn’t，“Mr。Dunsteradmitted，“partlyowingtoyou。Therewereonlytwothingsneeded:Francetoconsiderherownbiginterestsandtoignoreanententefromwhichshegainsnothingthatwasnotassuredtoherunderthenewagreement，andthemoney。Strange，“
Mr。Dunstercontinued，“howpeopleforgetthatfactor，andyetthemanwhowasresponsibleforTheHagueConferenceknewit。WeintheStatesarerightoutsidealltheselittlejealousiesandwranglesthatbringEurope，everynowandthen，rightuptothegatesofwar，butI’mhangedifthereisoneofyoudarepassthroughthosegateswithoutahandonourmoneymarkets。It’sanewwordinhistory，thatlittledocument，newsofwhichMr。GeraldheretooktoTheHague，thewordofthemoneykingsoftheworld。Thereissomethingthatalmostnipsyourbreathintheideathatadozenmen，descendedfromtheLordknowswhom，stoppedawarwhichwouldhavealteredthewholefaceofhistory。“
“Therewasneveranyproof，“Hamelremarked，“thatFrancewouldnothaveremainedstaunchtous。“
“Verylikelynot，“Mr。Dunsteragreed，“but，ontheotherhand，yourcountryhadnevertherighttoputsuchaburdenuponherhonour。
Rememberthatsidebysidewiththoseotherconsiderations，agreatstatesman’sfirstdutyistothepeopleoverwhomhewatches，nottostudytheinterestsofotherlands。However，it’sfinished。TheHagueConferenceisbrokenup。Theofficialorgansoftheworldalludetoit，ifatall，asanunimportantgatheringcalledtogethertodiscusscertainfrontierquestionswithwhichEnglandhadnothingtodo。Butthememoryofitwilllive。Agoodcolddoucheforyoupeople，Ishouldsay，andIhopeyou’lltakewarningbyit。WhatevertheattitudeofAmericaasanationmaybetothesematters，theAmericanpeopledon’twanttoseetheoldcountryintrouble。Geewhiz！What’sthat？“
Therewasalittlecryfromallofthem。OnlyHamelstoodwithoutsignofsurprise，gazingdownwardwithgrim，setface。Adullroar，liketheboomingofagun，flashesoffire，andacolumnofsmoke-andallthatwasleftofSt。David’sTowerwasonetotteringwallandascatteredmassofmasonry。
“Ihadanidea，“Hamelsaidquietly，“thatSt。David’sTowerwasgoingtospoilthelandscapeforagoodmanyyears。Myproperty，youknow，andthere’stheendofit。Iamsickofseeingpeopleforthelastfewdayscomedownandtakephotographsofitforeverylittleragthatgoestopress。“
Mr。Dunsterpointedouttothelineofsurfbeyond。“Ifonlysomehand，“heremarked，“couldplantdynamitebelowthatstreakofwhite，sothattheseacoulddisgorgeitsdead！Theytellmethere’saSpanishgalleonthere，andaDutchwarship，besidesascoreormoreoffishing-boats。“
Mrs。Fentolinshiveredalittle。Shedrewhercloakaroundher。
Gerald，whohadbeenwatchingher，sprangtohisfeet。
“Come，“heexclaimed，“wechosethegardensforourlastafternoonhere，tobeoutofthewayoftheseplaces！We’llgoroundthehill。“
Mrs。Fentolinshookherheadoncemore。Herfacehadrecovereditsserenity。Shelookeddownwardgravelybutwithnosignoffear。
“Thereisnothingtoterrifyusthere，Gerald，“shedeclared。“Theseahasgathered，andtheseawillholditsown。“
HamelheldouthishandtoEsther。
“IhavedestroyedtheonlyhouseintheworldwhichIpossess，“hesaid。“Comeandlookforvioletswithmeinthespinney，andletustalkofthehouseswearegoingtobuild，andthedreamsweshalldreaminthem。“
End
