Kestner stood for a moment studying the other man. But his vague look of pity did not desert him.
"I'm sorry for you, Diehms! Truly sorry! Because you've been made a tool of—more than a tool of!"
Diehms swung suddenly about. He caught the other man in a grip as fixed and frantic as the last grip of the drowning.
"By God, you'll not say that!" was his passionate cry.
Kestner had no chance to reply to that cry, for Wilsnach, reluctant to wait longer, stepped quickly up to him.
"Something's happened," announced the newcomer, at a loss as to how he should proceed.
"I know it," quietly acknowledged Kestner.
"But I must speak to you alone!"
"On the contrary. Lieutenant Diehms will be equally interested in the occurrence," coolly declared the older man. "So you needn't hesitate to speak out."
But still Wilsnach hesitated.
"Then I'll do it for you," explained the calm-eyed Kestner. "You were about to announce that Ma-
