Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-03-07
81 am with YOU" said Morton. and we

| w men Q1SCndTSeu the CAP we found
ourselves opposite the door of house
divided into chambers, with the names
of the owners written up in the passage.
First floor and ground floor, Mr.. Pere-
grine," l read out from this list; ''that's
DUR man"
"Peregrine?" said Morton. Haven't
seen his name in connection with pri-
vate inquiry Officer"
Eyes, l replied, ''but not a private in
quiry OF an ordinary kind. as you will
FIND out. He is an old friend of mine
and somewhat remarkable person.
Quite young still; has travelled a good
deal, knows many languages, is very
agreeable, and takes great interest in
magic, which he studied in the East"
"Come, come, Darsie," said Morton,
'tyour taking all the Grey Towers stories
so quietly was odd enough, but thought
it was explained when l saw that this
| Peregrine was a kind of a head Of a de-
/ tective Office"
$50 he is" replied.
"But now you say he's a sort of ma
gician."
$50 he is" I repeated. "But instead
Of specializing about him, let us come up
and see him. think ne may be able to
help you, but cannot be sure"
"Very WELL" said Morton, Struggling
his shoulders, and we assembled to Pere-
grimes office. This was like most offices
in that it had an office chair and table,
but unlike most in having walls hung
with good pictures and little tables COW
cred with articles of bijoutry and vertu.
In the Office chair, with the mouths of
various speaking tubes within his reach,
sat Peregrine himself-a slight, tallish
- o+ Il
and with curiously Oriental cast of
face. He rose and came forward to
shake hands with me, and then / intro
duced Morton, whom he received with
pleasant, if elaborate courtesy. We
talked awhile de omnibus rebuS, and then
Morton proceeded to tell Peregrine what
it was that troubled him, making the
narrative as concise as possible, but not
forgetting any of the points that he had
told me. Peregrine sat listening with a
| notebook in front of him, but, so far as
could judge, confined himself to enter
ing each variety of Myterious Appear
ances as Morton detailed it. When Nor
ton had finished his story Peregrine con-
sidered for moment and then said:
"You have not told me how long the
house had been empty before you took
it. Do you know?'
eyes," replied Morton; give years."
Sand do you happen to know if it had
any reputation for being-well, let us say
strange before them"
81 have made all possible inquiries"
answered Morton again, "and l cannot
find that six years ago there was supposed
to be anything more odd about it than
vague tradition of the figure of priest
being sometimes seen in the Priests
Room"
"Ahi common enough" reioined Pere-
CRIME, in dry, business like tone. Give
years ago. Let me see." With this he
gave turn to a revolving book-stand
that stood at his elbow, and took from
one of its shelves thick manuscript vol
ume, the leaves of which he turned over
with deliberate swiftness. Give years
ago." he continued, half to himself, as he
looked at page after page; sit fits exactly.
Black Abbey burnt down, Grange Mount
rebuilt, the room at DrippingweQ Hall
stripped to the stone walls and new pam
elled, the Convent Walk at st. Jude's
unturfed and graveled, and-yes, here's
another-of course that is it. AS for the
practical jokes, they're not worth tracing.
Might happen anywhere. Kuhleborn-
piece of impertinence, but. not ILL
meant. Well. we'll" All this Peregrine
said with his face bent down toward his
manuscript book, while Morton looked
at me in much surprise, raising his eye
brows as if to question whether Pere-
CRIME was playing the fool, or was, in
deed, something more than fool. Sud-
denly Peregrine looked up.
ANY old women about the passages"
he asked in sharp tone, as doctor
might say, 'Any pains in the head?"
NO" said Morton, still astonished;
'tnone that I know Of"
''No ladies in purple or gray, or any
other color. that come to meet you and
suddenly vanish, eh?''
"No," said Morton again; "none that I
know of"
'Back woman against the lot" said
Peregrine, again dropping into his half
aside tone, and then resumed his direct
address to Morton, by saying, ''Sooner or
later think | can set this all right for
you. May be able to put things in train
at once. Will you allow me?'
So saying. he whistled into speaking
tube, and, having heard an answering
whistle, called down it, "Is the Green
Lady at homer
''Tll see, SIR" came the answer, quick
ly followed by an assurance that the
Green Lady was at home.
"Ask her to speak to me for moment"
said Peregrine, and immediately after
ward whistled down the tube again.
Again came an answering whistle, but
one quite different from that which had
previously been heard. The one, though
not so loud, was of so strange a quality
! that both Morton and 1 involuntarily
| started, while Peregrine looked at us
with quiet, benevolent smile. The
sound seemed to carry more with it than
any whistle, low or loud, ought to carry;
1t had some far-of kinship with the whis-
tie which Signor Bolto gives to his Me-
| fSt0fele, and yet it was not like that.
Indeed, it was not like anything one had
heard before, but had a strangeness all
| its own, and seemed charged not so much
with terror as with the peculiar sense of
uneasiness and disduiet that goes before
thunderstorm. Peregrine smiled again,
and again spoke down the tube in Ian
guage which sounded Oriental, but with
which neither Morton nor ] was ac-
/ quainted. Only here and there we caught
| the name Grey Towers. An answer
came up through the tube, seemingly in
the same language which Peregrine had
/ employed, and in a tone of which the eff
! feet corresponded closely enough to that
produced by the whistle. Peregrine
looked over at US with an expression of
amused content, and spoke down the
tube again, this time in English, and, as
thought, for the express purpose of
puzzling us.
Thank you, my DEAR" he said. "You
.an start as soon as you like, and If you
IAN engage one or two of the well-be-
! haved ones so much the better. You
know the terms and the commission.
ONLY. mind, the place must be cleared in