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Page 8
"Yes, you may depend on us, Madam. Is there anything we can do for
you here? Are you alone in the city?"
"No, thank you. There is a friend here who will take care of me.
She will put me on the afternoon express back to G--."
"It is very likely that I will take that train myself," said Muller.
"If there is anything that you need on the journey, call on me."
"Oh, thank you, I will indeed! Thank you both, gentlemen. And now
good-bye, and God bless you!"
The commissioner bowed and Muller held the door open for Miss
Graumann to pass out. There was silence in the room, as the two men
looked after the quaint little figure slowly descending the stairs.
"A brave little woman," murmured the commissioner.
"It is not only the mother in the flesh who knows what a mother's
love is," added Muller.
Next morning Joseph Muller stood in the cell of the prison in G--
confronting Albert Graumann, accused of the murder of John Siders.
The detective had just come from a rather difficult interview with
Commissioner Lange. But the latter, though not a brilliant man, was
at least good-natured. He acknowledged the right of the accused and
his family to ask for outside assistance, and agreed with Muller
that it was better to have some one in the official service brought
in, rather than a private detective whose work, in its eventual
results, might bring shame on the police. Muller explained that
Miss Graumann did not want her nephew to know that it was she who
had asked for aid in his behalf, and that it could only redound to
his, Lange's, credit if it were understood that he had sent to
Vienna for expert assistance in this case. It would be a proof of
his conscientious attention to duty, and would insure praise for
him, whichever way the case turned out. Commissioner Lange saw the
force of this argument, and finally gave Muller permission to handle
the case as he thought best, rather relieved than otherwise for his
own part. The detective's next errand was to the prison, where he
now stood looking up into the deep-set, dark eyes of a tall,
broad-shouldered, black-bearded man, who had arisen from the cot at
his entrance. Albert Graumann had a strong, self-reliant face and
bearing. His natural expression was somewhat hard and stern, but it
was the expression of a man of integrity and responsibility. Muller
had already made some inquiries as to the prisoner's reputation and
business standing in the community, and all that he had heard was
favourable. A certain hardness and lack of amiability in Graumann's
nature made it difficult for him to win the hearts of others, but
although he was not generally loved, he was universally respected.
Through the signs of nagging fear, sorrow, and ill-health, printed
clearly on the face before him, Muller's keen eyes looked down into
the soul of a man who might be overbearing, pitiless even, if
occasion demanded, but who would not murder--at least not for the
sake of gain. This last possibility Muller had dismissed from
his mind, even before he saw the prisoner. The man's reputation
was sufficient to make the thought ridiculous. But he had not made
up his mind whether it might not be a case of a murder after a
quarrel. Now he began to doubt even this when he looked into the
intelligent, harsh-featured face of the man in the cell. But Muller
had the gift of putting aside his own convictions, when he wanted
his mind clear to consider evidence before him.
Graumann had risen from his sitting position when he saw a stranger.
His heavy brows drew down over his, eyes, but he waited for the
other to speak.
"I am Detective Joseph Muller, from Vienna," began the newcomer,
when he had seen that the prisoner did not intend to start the
conversation.
"Have you come to question me again?" asked Graumann wearily. "I
can say no more than I have already said to the Police Commissioner.
And no amount of cross-examination can make me confess a crime of
which I am not guilty--no matter what evidence there may be against
me." The prisoner's voice was hard and determined in spite of its
note of physical and mental weariness.
"I have not come to extort a confession from you, Mr. Graumann,"
Muller replied gently, "but to help you establish your innocence,
if it be possible."
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