Sax Rohmer

“ Michael," said Doctor Weissler. He swiftly touched a bell upon the table beside him. "One thing I do not appreciate in a gentleman such as yourself, I refer to your silence respecting the contents of the crucible. It was these contents which led to your sudden resolve, your sudden change of opinion respecting my motives. Oh! you have admitted it yourself. I ask you, Mr. Michael, what have you done with that which you found?" ”

“ Michael."
That the other was touched by this appeal became immediately evident. He conquered that strange retrospective mood which seemed frequently to claim him and fixed his imperious gaze upon Doctor Weissler.
"You are right," he replied. "But when I accepted your offer of employment I did not appreciate the nature of your experiments. What I have done, I have done from no personal motive. You have only to assure me that you aim not at individual gain or profit, but that a passion for science alone has inspired you, and your secret will be safe in my hands. ”

“ It will bring ruin to thousands. You have bought my silence, but I insist upon retiring from your establishment. The fact that I have been kept so much in the dark alone is suspicious. If you had worked for science, you would have allowed me to share your ideals."
The speaker, from being the defendant, had become the accuser. He seemed to tower over Doctor Weissler majestically. For a few moments there was silence in the room. Michael did not relapse into his mood of abstraction, but fearlessly met the gaze of the greenish-brown eyes. ”