"What is there that interests you so about me?" he asked in a tone
that was an attempt at a joke.
"The ring, the ring on your watch chain,"
murmured Muller. "It belonged to my dead wife. I have worn it since
she left me," answered the unhappy man with the same iron calm with
which he had, all these past days, been emphasizing his love for the
woman
he had lost. Yet the question touched him unpleasantly and he looked
more sharply at the
strange man over in the corner. He saw the latter's face turn pale
and a shiver
run through his form. A feeling of sympathy came over Kniepp and he
asked warmly: "Won't
you take a glass of this wine? If you have been
out in the cold it will be good for you." His tone was gentle,
almost cordial, but the man to
whom he offered the refreshment turned from
him with a gesture that was almost one of terror. The Councillor rose
suddenly
from his chair. "Who are you? What news is it you bring?" he asked
with a voice that began to tremble. Muller raised his head sharply as
if his decision had been made, and his
kind intelligent eyes grew soft as they rested
on the pale
face of the stately man before him. "I belong to the Secret Police
and I am compelled to find out the secrets of others--not becaus
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