第51章

ThewordsweresofaintlyprintedthatitwasnotsurprisingthatI hadnotnoticedthematfirst。Pughexplained。 “Iobservedthatboxonatrayoutsideasecond-handfurnitureshop。Itstruckmyeye。Itookitup。Iexaminedit。Iinquiredoftheproprietoroftheshopinwhatthepuzzlelay。Herepliedthatthatwasmorethanhecouldtellme。Hehimselfhadmadeseveralattemptstoopenthebox，andallofthemhadfailed。I purchasedit。Itookithome。Ihavetried，andIhavefailed。I amaware，Tress，ofhowyouprideyourselfuponyouringenuity。I cannotdoubtthat，ifyoutry，youwillnotfail。“ WhilePughwasprosing，Iwasexaminingthebox。Itwasatleastwellmade。Itweighedcertainlyundertwoounces。Istruckitwithmyknuckles；itsoundedhollow。Therewasnohinge；nothingofanykindtoshowthatiteverhadbeenopened，or，forthematterofthat，thatitevercouldbeopened。ThemoreIexaminedthething，themoreitwhettedmycuriosity。Thatitcouldbeopened，andinsomeingeniousmanner，Imadenodoubt——buthow？ Theboxwasnotanewone。AtaroughguessIshouldsaythatithadbeenaboxforagoodhalfcentury；therewerecertainsignsofageaboutitwhichcouldnotescapeapracticedeye。Haditremainedunopenedallthattime？Whenopened，whatwouldbefoundinside？ItSOUNDEDhollow；probablynothingatall——whocouldtell？ Itwasformedofsmallpiecesofinlaidwood。Severalwoodshadbeenused；someofthemwerestrangetome。Theywereofdifferentcolors；itwasprettyobviousthattheymustallofthemhavebeenhardwoods。Thepieceswereofvariousshapes——hexagonal，octagonal，triangular，square，oblong，andevencircular。Theprocessofinlayingthemhadbeenbeautifullydone。Sonicelyhadthepartsbeenjoinedthatthelinesofmeetingweredifficulttodiscoverwiththenakedeye；theyhadbeenjoinedsolid，sotospeak。Itwasanexcellentexampleofmarquetry。Ihadbeenover- hastyinmydeprecation；IowedasmuchtoPugh。 “ThisboxofyoursisbetterworthlookingatthanIfirstsupposed。Isittobesold？“ “No，itisnottobesold。Nor“——he“fixed“mewithhisspectacles——“isittobegivenaway。Ihavebroughtittoyouforthesimplepurposeofascertainingifyouhaveingenuityenoughtoopenit。“ “Iwillengagetoopenitintwoseconds——withahammer。“ “Idaresay。Iwillopenitwithahammer。Thethingistoopenitwithout。“ “Letmesee。“Ibegan，withtheaidofamicroscope，toexaminetheboxmoreclosely。“Iwillgiveyouonepieceofinformation，Pugh。UnlessIammistaken，thesecretliesinoneoftheselittlepiecesofinlaidwood。Youpushit，oryoupressit，orsomething，andthewholeaffairfliesopen。“ “Suchwasmyownfirstconviction。Iamnotsosureofitnow。I havepressedeveryseparatepieceofwood；Ihavetriedtomoveeachpieceineverydirection。Noresulthasfollowed。Mytheorywasahiddenspring。“ “Buttheremustbeahiddenspringofsomesort，unlessyouaretoopenitbyamereexerciseofforce。Isupposetheboxisempty。“ “Ithoughtitwasatfirst，butnowIamnotsosureofthateither。Italldependsonthepositioninwhichyouholdit。Holditinthisposition——likethis——closetoyourear。Haveyouasmallhammer？“Itookasmallhammer。“Tapitsoftly，withthehammer。Don’tyounoticeasortofreverberationwithin？“ Pughwasright，therecertainlywassomethingwithin；somethingwhichseemedtoechobackmytapping，almostasifitwerealivingthing。Imentionedthis，toPugh。 “Butyoudon’tthinkthatthereissomethingaliveinsidethebox？ Therecan’tbe。Theboxmustbeairtight，probablyasmuchair- tightasanexhaustedreceiver。“ “Howdoweknowthat？Howcanwetellthatnominuteintersticeshavebeenleftfortheexpresspurposeofventilation？“I continuedtappingwiththehammer。Inoticedonepeculiarity，thatitwasonlywhenIheldtheboxinaparticularposition，andtappedatacertainspot，therecametheansweringtapsfromwithin。“Itellyouwhatitis，Pugh，whatIhearisthereverberationofsomemachinery。“ “Doyouthinkso？“ “I’msureofit。“ “Givetheboxtome。“Pughputtheboxtohisear。Hetapped。 “Itsoundstomeliketheechoingtick，tickofsomegreatbeetle； likethesortofnoisewhichadeathwatchmakes，youknow。“ TrustPughtofindaremarkableexplanationforasimplefact；iftheexplanationleanstowardthesupernatural，somuchthemoresatisfactorytoPugh。Iknewbetter。 “Thesoundwhichyouhearismerelythethrobbingorthetremblingofthemechanismwithwhichitisintendedthattheboxshouldbeopened。Themechanismisplacedjustwhereyouaretappingitwiththehammer。Everytapcausesittojar。“ “Itsoundstomelikethetickingofadeathwatch。However，onsuchsubjects，Tress，Iknowwhatyouare。“ “MydearPugh，giveitanextrahardtap，andyouwillsee。“ Hegaveitanextrahardtap。Themomenthehaddoneso，hestarted。 “I’vedoneitnow。“ “Whathaveyoudone？“ “Brokensomething，Ifancy。“Helistenedintently，withhiseartothebox。“No——itseemsallright。AndyetIcouldhaveswornI haddamagedsomething；Ihearditsmash。“ “Givemethebox。“Hegaveitme。Inmyturn，Ilistened。I shookthebox。Pughmusthavebeenmistaken。Nothingrattled； therewasnotasound；theboxwasasemptyasbefore。Igaveasmarttapwiththehammer，asPughhaddone。Thentherecertainlywasacurioussound。Tomyear，itsoundedlikethesmashingofglass。“Iwonderifthereisanythingfragileinsideyourpreciouspuzzle，Pugh，and，ifso，ifweareshiveringitbydegrees？“ II “WhatISthatnoise？“ Ilayinbedinthatcuriousconditionwhichisbetweensleepandwaking。When，atlast，IKNEWthatIwasawake，Iaskedmyselfwhatitwasthathadwokeme。SuddenlyIbecameconsciousthatsomethingwasmakingitselfaudibleinthesilenceofthenight。 ForsomesecondsIlayandlistened。ThenIsatupinbed。 “WhatISthatnoise？“ Itwaslikethetick，tickofsomelargeandunusuallyclear-tonedclock。Itmighthavebeenaclock，haditnotbeenthatthesoundwasvaried，everyhalfdozenticksorso，byasortofstifledscreech，suchasmighthavebeenutteredbysomesmallcreatureinanextremityofanguish。Igotoutofbed；itwasridiculoustothinkofsleepduringthecontinuationofthatuncannyshrieking。 Istruckalight。Thesoundseemedtocomefromtheneighborhoodofmydressing-table。Iwenttothedressing-table，thelightedmatchinmyhand，and，asIdidso，myeyesfellonPugh’smysteriousbox。Thatsameinstantthereissued，fromthebowelsofthebox，amoreuncomfortablescreechthananyIhadpreviouslyheard。IttookmesocompletelybysurprisethatIletthematchfallfrommyhandtothefloor。Theroomwasindarkness。I stood，Iwillnotsaytrembling，listening——consideringtheirvolume——totheEERIESTshrieksIeverheard。Allatoncetheyceased。Thencamethetick，tick，tickagain。Istruckanothermatchandlitthegas。 Pughhadlefthispuzzleboxbehindhim。Wehaddoneallwecould，together，tosolvethepuzzle。HehadleftitbehindtoseewhatI coulddowithitalone。SomuchhaditengrossedmyattentionthatIhadevenbroughtitintomybedroom，inorderthatImight，beforeretiringtorest，makeafinalattemptatthesolutionofthemystery。NOWwhatpossessedthething？ AsIstood，andlooked，andlistened，onethingbegantobecleartome，thatsomesortofmachineryhadbeensetinmotioninsidethebox。Howithadbeensetinmotionwasanothermatter。Buttheboxhadbeensubjectedtosomuchhandling，tosuchpressingandsuchhammering，thatitwasnotstrangeif，afterall，PughorIhadunconsciouslyhituponthespringwhichsetthewholethinggoing。Possiblythemechanismhadgotsorustythatithadrefusedtoactatonce。Ithadhungfire，andonlyaftersomehourshadsomethingorothersettheimprisonedmotivepowerfree。 Butwhataboutthescreeching？Couldtherebesomelivingcreatureconcealedwithinthebox？WasIlisteningtothecriesofsomesmallanimalinagony？Momentaryreflectionsuggestedthattheexplanationoftheonethingwastheexplanationoftheother。 Rust！——therewasthemystery。Thesamerustwhichhadpreventedthemechanismfromactingatoncewascausingthescreechingnow。 Theuncannysoundswerecausedbynothingmorenorlessthanthewantofadroportwoofoil。SuchanexplanationwouldnothavesatisfiedPugh，itsatisfiedme。 Pickingupthebox，Iplacedittomyear。 “Iwonderhowlongthislittleperformanceisgoingtocontinue。 Andwhatisgoingtohappenwhenitisgoodenoughtocease？I hope“——anuncomfortablethoughtoccurredtome——“IhopePughhasn’tpickedupsomepleasantlittlenoveltyinthewayofaninfernalmachine。Itwouldbeafirst-ratejokeifheandIhadbeenendeavoringtosolvethepuzzleofhowtosetitgoing。“ Idon’tmindowningthatasthisreflectioncrossedmymindI replacedPugh’spuzzleonthedressing-table。Theideadidnotcommenditselftomeatall。Theboxevidentlycontainedsomecuriousmechanism。Itmightbemorecuriousthancomfortable。 Possiblysomeagreeablelittledeviceinclockwork。Thetick，tick，ticksuggestedclockworkwhichhadbeenplannedtogoacertaintime，andthen——then，forallIknew，igniteanexplosive，and——blowup。ItwouldbeacharmingsolutiontothepuzzleifitweretoexplodewhileIstoodthere，inmynightshirt，lookingon。 Itistruethattheboxweighedverylittle。Probably，asIhavesaid，thewholeaffairwouldnothaveturnedthescaleatacoupleofounces。Butthenitsverylightnessmighthavebeenpartoftheingeniousinventor’slittlegame。Thereareexplosiveswithwhichonecanworkaverysatisfactoryamountofdamagewithconsiderablylessthanacoupleofounces。 WhileIwashesitating——Iownit！——whetherIhadnotbetterimmersePugh’spuzzleinacanofwater，orthrowitoutofthewindow，orcalldownBobwitharequesttoatonceremoveittohisapartment，boththetick，tick，tick，andthescreechingceased，andallwithintheboxwasstill。IfitWASgoingtoexplode，itwasnowornever。InstinctivelyImovedinthedirectionofthedoor。 Iwaitedwithacertainsenseofanxiety。Iwaitedinvain。 Nothinghappened，notevenarenewalofthesound。 “IwishPughhadkepthispreciouspuzzleathome。Thissortofthingtriesone’snerves。“ WhenIthoughtthatIperceivedthatnothingseemedlikelytohappen，Ireturnedtotheneighborhoodofthetable。Ilookedattheboxaskance。Itookitupgingerly。SomethingmightgooffatanymomentforallIknew。ItwouldbetoomuchofajokeifPugh’spreciouspuzzleexplodedinmyhand。Ishookitdoubtfully； nothingrattled。Iheldittomyear。Therewasnotasound。 Whathadtakenplace？Hadtheclockworkrundown，andwasthemachinearrangedwithsuchadiabolicalingenuitythatacertainintervalwasrequired，aftertheclockworkhadrundown，beforeanexplosioncouldoccur？Orhadrustcausedthemechanismtoagainhangfire？ “Aftermakingallthatcommotionthethingmightatleastcomeopen。“Ibangedtheboxviciouslyagainstthecornerofthetable。 IfeltthatIwouldalmostratherthatanexplosionshouldtakeplacethanthatnothingshouldoccur。Onedoesnotcaretobedisturbedfromone’ssoundslumberinthesmallhoursofthemorningforatrifle。 “I’vehalfamindtogetahammer，andtry，astheysayinthecookerybooks，anotherway。“ UnfortunatelyIhadpromisedPughtoabstainfromusingforce。I mighthaveshiveredtheboxopenwithmyhammer，andthenexplainedthatithadfallen，orgottrodupon，orsatupon，orsomething，andsogotshattered，onlyIwasafraidthatPughwouldnotbelieveme。Themanishimselfsuchanuntruthfulmanthatheisinachronicstateofsuspicionaboutthetruthfulnessofothers。 “Well，ifyou’renotgoingtoblowup，oropen，orsomething，I’llsaygoodnight。“ Igavetheboxafinalrapwithmyknucklesandafinalshake，replaceditonthetable，putoutthegas，andreturnedtobed。 Iwasjustsinkingagainintoslumber，whenthatboxbeganagain。 ItwastruethatPughhadpurchasedthepuzzle，butitwasevidentthatthewholeenjoymentofthepurchasewasdestinedtobemine。 Itwasuselesstothinkofsleepwhilethatperformancewasgoingon。Isatupinbedoncemore。