Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: approached the bed and confronted Fisher and Fisher's patient. What is all this? he angrily demanded. Without waiting for a reply he laid his hand rudely upon Fisher's arm and pulled him away from the Baron. Fisher, more and more astonished, made no resistance, but suffered himself to be led, or pushed, toward the door. Dr. Rapper- schwyll opened the door wide enough to give the American exit, and then closed it with a vicious slam. A quick click informed Fisher that the key had been turned in the lock. The next morning Fisher met Savitch coming from the Trinkhalle. The Baron bowed with cold politeness and passed on. Later in the day a valet de place handed to Fisher a small parcel, with the message: Dr. Rapperschwyll supposes that this will be sufficient. The parcel contained two gold pieces of twenty marks. Fisher gritted his teeth. He shall have back his forty marks, he muttered to himself, but I will have his confounded secret in return. Then Fisher discovered that even a Polish countess has her uses in the social economy. Mrs. Fisher's table d'h6te friend was amiability itself, when approached by Fisher (through Fisher's wife) on the subject of the Baron Savitch of Moscow. Know anything about the Baron Savitch ? Of course she did, and about everybody else worth knowing in Europe. Would she kindly communicate her knowledge ? Of course she would, and be enchanted to gratify in the slightest degree the charming curiosity of her Americaine. It was quite refreshing for a blasee old woman, who had long since ceased to feel much interest in contemporary men, women, things and events, to encounter one so recently from the boundless prairies of the new world as to cherish a piquant inquisi- tiveness about the affairs of the grand monde. Ah yes, she would v...