Apparently, my wife feels herself so placed now." Here his eyes again read my face, an ordeal out of which I came triumphant; the satisfaction he evinced rightly indicated his mind.
"Will you accept the position ?" he asked.

"We have one little child.

You will have no charge of her save as you may wish to make use of her in reaching the mother." The hint conveyed in the last phrase gave me courage to say: "You wish me to reach her ?" "With comfort," said he.
"And if in doing so I learn her trouble ?" "You will win my eternal gratitude by telling it to one who would give ten years of his life to assuage it." My head rose.

I began to feel that my next step must strike solid ground.
"In other words to be quite honest--you wish me to learn her trouble if I can." "I believe you can be trusted to do so." "And then to reveal it to you ?" "If your sense of duty permits,--which I think it will." I might have uttered in reply, "A spy's duty ?" but the high-mindedness of his look forbade.

Whatever humiliation his wishes put upon me, there could be no question of the uprightness of his motives regarding his wife.
I ventured one more question.
"How far shall I feel myself at liberty to go in this attempt ?" "As far as your judgment approves and circumstances seem to warrant.