a
gentle smile spread over the face before him. It brightened and
changed the coarse rough face and gave it for a moment a look of almost
child-like innocence. Somewhere within the coarsened soul there must be
a spot of brightness from which such a smile could come.

But the face grew ugly again as Knoll opened his eyes and looked up. He
shook off the clouds of slumber as he felt Muller's hand on his shoulder
and raised himself to a sitting position, grumbling: "Can't I have any
rest? Are they going to question me again? I'm getting tired of this.
I've said everything I know anyhow."

"Perhaps not everything. Perhaps you will answer a few of my questions
when I tell you that I believe the story you told us yesterday, and that
I want to be your friend and help you."

Knoll's little eyes glanced up without embarrassment at the man
who spoke to him. They were sharp eyes and had a certain spark of
intelligence in them. Muller had noticed that yesterday, and he saw
it again now. But he saw also the gleam of distrust in these eyes, a
distrust which found expression in Knoll's next words. "You think you
can catch me with your good words, but you're makin' a mistake. I've got
nothin' new to say. And you needn't think that you can blind me, I know
you're one of the police, and I'm not going to say anything at all."

"Just as you like. I was trying to help you, I believe I really could
help you. I have just come from Hietzing--but of course if you don't
want to talk to me--" Muller shrugged his shoulders and turned toward
the door.

But before he reached it Knoll stood at his side. "You really mean to
help me?" he gasped.

"I do," said the detective calmly.

"Then swear, on your mother's soul--or is your mother still alive?"

"No, she has been dead some time."

"Well, then, will you swear it?"

"Would you believe an oath like that?"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"With the life you've been leading?"

"My life's no worse than a lot of others. Stealing those things on
Monday was the worst thing I've done yet. Will you swear?"

"Is it something so very important you have to tell me?"

"No, I ain't got nothin' at all new to tell you. But I'd just like
to know--in this black hole I've got into--I'd just like to know that
there's one human being who means well with me--I'd like to know
that there's one man in the world who don't think I'm quite
good-for-nothin'."

The tramp covered his face with his hands and gave a heart-r