“That was my idea,” Hamel confessed.  “I only came back from Mexico last month, and I very soon got fed up with life in town.  I am going abroad again next year.  Till then, I am rather at a loose end.  My father was always very keen indeed about this place, and very anxious that I should come and stay here for a little time, so I made up my mind to run down.  I’ve got some things waiting at Norwich.  I thought I might hire a woman to look after me and spend a few weeks here.  They tell me that the early spring is almost the best time for this coast.”

Mr. Fentolin nodded slowly.  He moistened his lips for a moment.  One might have imagined that he was anxious.

“Mr. Hamel,” he said softly, “you are quite right.  It is the best time to visit this coast.  But why make a hermit of yourself?  You are a family friend.  Come and stay with us at the Hall for as long as you like.  It will give me the utmost pleasure to welcome you there,” he went on earnestly, “and as for this little place, of what use is it to you?  Let me buy it from you.  You are a man of the world, I can see.  You may be rich, yet money has a definite value.  To me it has none.  That little place, as it stands, is probably worth—­say a hundred pounds.  Your father gave, if I remember rightly, a five pound note for it.  I will give you a thousand for it sooner than be disturbed.”

Hamel frowned slightly.

“I could not possibly think,” he said, “of selling what was practically a gift to my father.  You are welcome to occupy the place during my absence in any way you wish.  On the other hand, I do not think that I care to part with it altogether, and I should really like to spend just a day or so here.  I am used to roughing it under all sorts of conditions—­much more used to roughing it than I am to staying at country houses.”

Mr. Fentolin leaned a little out of his carriage.  He reached the younger man’s shoulder with his hand.

“Ah!  Mr. Hamel,” he pleaded, “don’t make up your mind too suddenly.  Am I a little spoilt, I wonder?  Well, you see what sort of a creature I am.  I have to go through life as best I may, and people are kind to me.  It is very seldom I am crossed.  It is quite astonishing how often people let me have my own way.  Do not make up your mind too suddenly.  I have a niece and a nephew whom you must meet.  There are some treasures, too, at St. David’s Hall.  Look at it.  There isn’t another house quite like it in England.  It is worth looking over.”

“It is most impressive,” Hamel agreed, “and wonderfully beautiful.  It seems odd,” he added, with a laugh, “that you should care about this little shanty here, with all the beautiful rooms you must have of your own.”