Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-10-16
III.


 but l heard the low murmUr of voices in the room beyond; so my courage holding out 1 went behind the bar counter, right mp to the open door, and looked in. The shut ters were still closed. but by the light that came in through the bar windows l saw Drigo and Putty sitting face to face al the dirty table, with pipes in their mouths and can of drink between them, playing cards The air was thick with smoke, bat it was clear enough that no one, dead or alive, WAS in he room but those two.
 Without looking at me Putty, sort ing his cards, asked me what wanted, embellish- ing the question with a few foul words His Caimncss astOuishcd me.
 ''I want to see the fair man. said l sud denly.
 Then you'll have to wait till he comes back"
 He ain't gone out, and you know it. aiu't took my eyes of the door since he came in this morning at half past ,.
 Oh, very well. If he isn't gone out, you'd better look about here and find him. Two for his bloomin nob,' he added. a,l- dressing DriGo as he turned up n card.
 On the ground floor there were but those two rooms-the bar and the parlor. To find Tarls l must look in the rooms above. My retreat would be cut of if went up stairs, and if Taras was murdered and lying there
 
 allowed to tell the tale. But l took Putty at his word without hesitation. and pre- parcI! for the worst made my way down the side passage to the stairs, and after as surfing myself that the cupboard under the stairs was empty, save for a little coal piled in one corner, and that the passage itself contained nothing went up to the story above with faltrring step, quaking with the double terror of finding Taras dead and ,EI l.. l,,I, T IL der the pursuing feet of his murderers. passed from room to room, laying my hand against the wall for support, my heart ceas- ing to beat whenever n rotten board Crcaked under my foot.
 The three rooms that composed the flat were absolutely empty; there was nothing above but the Cockloft. To reach that l had to ascend a ladder and creep through the trapdoor. But l did it, though ex- pectcd never to come down again.
 The loft was empty and thick with the unstirrrd dust of years. l descended the ladder and went down stairs too bewild- cred by this mystery to reason upouit. The two men were still playing in the den be- hind the bar; they had not troubled them selves to follow me.
 Well, ha' you found him:" Putty called out, hearing my step.
 He ain't there, answered stupdly.
 "Preaps he's made O glass, as you didn't sec him along of his friends and can't sec him nowhcrrs about the house." II wouldn't give him up snccred Dri- go. Come and sit down with us till he comes back"
 oh, if you're a-goin 10 stay, you ken give the bar bit of n clean up. There's all them pots''- Putty broke of short as f he had received some silent admonition from DriSO.
 went behind the counter and began to put it in order mechanically, for my thoughts were now occupied in solving the mystery of this disappearance. l asked myself if at any time during my watch l had given away to fatigue and duZcd. No; l had sat down only for q few minutes and certainly had not lost consciousness then. 1 felt that il was an impoSsiblity for Taras 1 to have passed me without my pcrcriviug him. Had they thrown his body in the r1ver* No, In the silence of the night >hould have heard the door in FcrrybOat lllcy open :: ssCOld time as had heard it tEc first, uc: could heavy body have been -ITrird down the alley without the scuf- fling of feet being audible Besides, the risk WIS one which Patty, knew, had not the outrage to run. And their com posture now was not persistent with their having done | l dangerous deed, though Drigo might very we'll have CounScled Putty tO assume indif- ference in order 10 avert suspicion which night have led me to communicate with he police
 The most reasonable conjecture l could ,urm was that TaraS had actually left the Joy with his friends and had turned down 0 the water instead of accompanying them nt0 Sweet Apple lane. He might have or tered the waterman to return, and so got tway. If this were really the case, he night return IS Drigo had iutcndrd-not l,at his word was to be taken in earnest; i; | is whole tone was iCunCal and indicative )f double meaning But the hope that { TGras still lived and might return put new ;te into me. and went about my work he hind the bar with such alacrity that thinS ! tho men inside conceived I was trying t. 1 make amends for my mi>hchaviur. At any l rate, after long silence. iu which they cast | furtiVU GlanCcS at me every now and then their suspicion rclaNCd, and they entered 1 heartily into Il dispute over some trick which enc had played with the cauls while the O;hrr wa> not watching. and this led tC their dcvutin., mora attention tn their game
 l had q TOW of washed giI~Nr~ on the bal and was standing iu front of the parlor door wipinG them when my scn~c of hear ing gradually took recognition of sound which did not come from the men at my back. The silence of my occupation al lowed me to listen and yet continue work ing. The sound was very faint Its rc.,u larity attracted my attention. One doe: not notice the single chirp of a sparrow, bu if the chirping is continued perSi~teutly fo any length of time it never fails 10 eNcitl attention. IL was just the same with thi 1 s0umd, which 1 noticed after awhile oc cured in this way. with regular intervals betwccn:
 Tap, tap, tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-tap tap-tap, tap-tap," and so on over and ove again.
 l looked round the bar for an explana tion- l saw no vibrating bottle on tn, shelves such the sound seemed to indi cate. There was no wind to shake the vel low curtain against the front window seemed to come from the old disused bee engine before me, and touched one of th handles to see if it was loose The rattle i made under my hand was answered almos immediately by a similar rattle and thel the engine itself seemed to be whisperin. with human voice.
 The glass nearly slipped from my hand but recovered my presence of mind in al instant and went on polishing the glasse till new dispute arose within over a falls cut. Then touched the handle again, ant again the rattle was echoed by another and as I strained my ears I heard the whis pering sound once more The engine wa articulating words, but so faintly that caught but the last three, and they were:
 flor Gods sake!"
 My hair seemed to crisp up on my hea as I listened. The voice was awful to m ignorant, superstitious mind. l though the dead was speaking to me. Then on sudden my reason suggested n natural e1 planation of the mystery-the voice cam through the pipes from the cellar.
 had not before thought of the cellar, fo the simple reason that I had forgotten it existence. Five years before it had bee closed, for n motive which shall present ly explain, and since that time no one ha