because kellar was able to see the inestimable value in kiel , the irreplaceable worth of a strong human spirit ; kiel literally had nothinghe was poor , anyone could tell from the lack of personal decoration on his uniform , his training haphazard and unfocused , his emotions equally abstract and misdirected , his senses ever-alert , suspicious kiel was tense as a cord on a musical instrument that had been severed through but for one fine-grained filament holding it together , a filament that seemed fashioned out of steel .