Do your
work well, and they will be on their knees begging us for peace."
"God helping me," said Frederic, "I will not fail in my duty to my
country."
There was something magnificent in his manner as he spoke, something
almost regal, and Fleck regarded him with a puzzled air. Who was he,
this man who had been sent out from Germany on this mission--this man to
whom even old Otto paid deference? Despite the assurance with which he
had spoken Fleck had observed in Frederic an uneasiness, a watchfulness,
that none of the others seemed to exhibit. He had the appearance of
alertly listening, listening, for what? Fleck's first thought was that
he might have overheard the little cry that Jane had inadvertently
given, but he quickly dismissed this theory. If Frederic had heard that
sound it would have alarmed him, and the look in his eyes now was one of
expectancy rather than of fear.
Jane, too, was puzzled and distressed. With trembling hands she clutched
at the sill of the window for support as she heard Frederic assent to
old Otto's plans for him. Her estimate of his character made it seem
incredible that he would willingly lend himself to this work of
wholesale murder, yet she could no longer doubt the evidence of her own
ears. With overwhelming force it came to her that this man who so
readily agreed to such bloody, dastardly work as this, must undoubtedly
be also the murderer of that K-19 whose body had been found just around
the corner from her home.
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