Hisfacewastroubled。
“MissFentolin，“hesaid，“IwilltellyoufranklythatuptonowIhavenotsucceededinsolvingtheproblemofyouruncle’scharacter。Tomepersonallyhehasbeenmostcourteous。Helivesapparentlyastudiousandanunselfishlife。Ihaveheardhimevenspokenofasaphilanthropist。Andyetyouthree-you，yourmother，andyourbrother，whoarenearesttohim，wholiveinhishouseandunderhisprotection，havetheairofpassingyourdaysinmortalfearofhim。“
“Mr。Hamel，“sheexclaimednervously，“youdon’tbelievethat！Heisalwaysverykind。“
“Apparently，“Hamelobserveddrily。“Andyetyoumustrememberthatyou，too，areafraidofhim。Ineednotremindyouofourconversations，buttherethetruthis。Youpraisehisvirtuesandhischarities，youpityhim，andyetyougoaboutwithaloadoffear，and-forgiveme-ofsecretterrorinyourheart，youandGerald，too。Asforyourmother-“
“Don’t！“sheinterruptedsuddenly。“Whydoyoubringmeheretotalklikethis？Youcannotalterthings。Nothingcanbealtered。“