"I understood from Mrs. Clark that you wished to talk to me on a private matter and I have one of my orderlies stationed at the door. There is no chance of being overheard. As for continuing to feel suspicion of the enemy, while the American army is policing the Rhine it is our business to take every precaution against treachery. At present I wish I could be more certain that the state of mind among the inhabitants of Coblenz is what it appears upon the surface. Tell me what information you have and how you have acquired it. There is a possibility that I may not be so much in the dark as you at present suspect, Miss Jamison." "If you don't mind, may I take off my hat while I talk?" Nora Jamison asked. "It is boyish of me, I suspect, but I can talk better with my hat off. Do you happen to know, Colonel Winfield, that there are persons in Germany who are friendly to the Kaiser in spite of all that he has made them endure? Actually they do not seem to realize that he is chiefly responsible for the tragedy of their country and her present position as an outcast among the nations." "Yes, I quite understand that fact," Colonel Winfield returned drily. "Then do you also know, Colonel, that there are men and women in Germany today who are anxious to rescue the Kaiser from his fate. They would make any possible sacrifice to save him from being tried by an international court in case the Allies decide upon this course. But perhaps I had best tell my story from the beginning and you must forgive me if some of it appears confused." At this instant, clasping her hands together in her lap, Nora Jamison sat staring straight ahead, but looking at nothing in the room, rather at some mental picture. "When I came to Europe I hoped to be of service as a Red Cross nurse, but by the time I arrived the war was over and the armistice about to be signed. Still I hoped I had not come altogether in vain and persuaded Dr. Clark to bring me with him as a member of his Red Cross staff who were to serve with the American Army of Occupation in Coblenz. "I felt a good deal of bitterness in coming into Germany. The young man to whom I was engaged was killed by the Germans near Chateau-Thierry. I know it was wrong and yet I felt as if I would like to revenge myself upon them for all I have suffered. I must apologize for telling you this, but you will see that it does bear upon my story.