Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1922-10-21

The
Loose String
By HUBERT RAY

A"O G4eA uLCA tHAVusA k4ii~ -AslAN "
ment? ="
I'VE don't know that. They we're
found lying dead, apparently OF apo
plexy, with this instrument at their
feet"
They'd taken it down from the
waHY"
Evidently"
"What is it,"
The sacred lutte Of Tama. the In
dian goddess Of death old Major
kitchener took it fronl an Indian tenn
pie. lie brought il home with him
md died FIVE months later"
And his nephew, George kitchener.
how long had he been in possession Of
the placer
Two months. He was only thirty.
one doesn't expect to die Of apoplexy
at thirty"
NO chance of p0is0n?'
Absolutely none, Poison was sus-
pected at first, but the bodies and the
instrument We're submitted to the
most careful analysis"
yet there is a legend that posses
sion of this lutte means death:"
1t was once taken from the tenn
pie, centuries ago, by the conquereg
Babur. His player died. His second
player died His favorite wife died-all
playing the instrument Then it was
returned to the temple"
Old Falconer mused He knew
good deal about Indian mythology, and
he was trying TO recall something he
had once read. He examined the Lutte
for the twentieth time 1t had four
strings. Three Of them were tuned,
the fourth, when plucked gave out no
sound at all. 1t was quite loose-yet
it was meant to be loose, for il was
fitted in its grooves in such a way
thar il was impossible to adjust 1t.
'YeS, that string was meant to be
loose, said the younger man mo
one knows why. It's something con-
nected with the worship of Tama."
"a deadly poison that is commune
Gated to the fngers?" Falconer sug-
gested.
Absolutely not. That strings been
scraped and analysed" replied the
other.
'Ill solve the problem by morning,
said Falconer. I'm trying to remem-
Der something Go to bed, Simpson"
II hope there won't be third fatal
lty," suggested Simpson. Il think
you'd better not play with the thing,
FaIconer As you know. the coroner
insists it was all coincidence, that
both deaths We're due to apoplexy
Let's burn the beastly thing"
Don't worry about me, old man"
Falconer returned. 81 think I'm on
the track Of the mystery. Listen !" He
plucked the mute string Can you
hear anything?'
"Of course l can hear something"
answered Simpson. 1T sounds exactly
as if one were plucking a piece of
string
Nothing musicale"
''Of course not. Can your"
mot a sound. All right, I'm on the
track, simpson
See here, old man, I'd infinitely
rather you wouldn't examine the thing.
It's dangerous I'm convinced you're
in peril
I'm going to solve this thing by
morning" answered Falconer.
Simpson went to bed, but for long
time he was unable to sleep. He lis
tened to old Falconer moving about
IN the room underneath him Some
times he tancied he heard the soft
tinkle Of the Lutte strings. And gradu-
ally as the night wore on, an awful
terror began to Cypress him. PRESENT.
ment of evil grew - strong that at
last ne put on his dressing gown and
went softly down the stairs. deter
mined to stop Falconer from playing
with the Internal thing
He had just reached the door when
he heard sharp. strangled cry. fol-
lowed by the sound OF a heavy body
falling He rushed in.
Faleoner lay upon the floor, and
single glance showed Simpson that he
was dead
Soiue papers on the table drew Simp-
sons attention. Falconer had been
writing Mechanically he picked them
up and read:
Il have discovered the mystery Of
the mute string, and ii is the most
deyilish invention ever made by hui
manitv
Just as there are sounds so high
that the human ear cannot distinguish
them, SO there are sounds composed
of such heavy vibrations that they are
inaudible Such is the mute string.
Plucked at a certain point il gives out
vibrations heavy enough TO destroy
nfe-as conclusion does.
The two men who died must have
plucked at the string until they
touched just the point that calls out
these vibrations / have had lucky
escape. shall not touch the string
any more. except just once to ind
out
Nature Faker.
The carpet in our dining room was
80