organ, that gradually grew louder until its volume filled
the air, and then died away, while its echoes went chasing
each other among the trees. In the silence which followed,
my ear caught another sound the like of which I had never
heard before. A dozen clocks being wound by quick turns on
all sides of me would, I fancy, have produced a similar
effect. It was evident to me that my knocking had disturbed
my uncle's pets, but I was not to be frightened away.
Hearing no movement in the house I tried the door, and to my
astonishment it swung open. A peculiar odor, such as one
notices in a house that has long stood empty, came to my
nostrils, and again I heard that fateful whirring, but in
the darkness I could discern no object. As I crossed the
threshold the sound grew louder, and to my horror the door
closed suddenly behind me. Hurriedly striking a match, I
held it above my head and peered about me. Its light
revealed a small apartment finished in polished wood. Along
the angle of the floor was an opening, two or three inches
high, into the side walls. And half way up the wall in front
of me I saw a face--the face of a maniac it seemed to
be--pale and wan, with strange, inhuman eyes. I had scarcely
glanced at it when the match dropped from my fingers and
fell slowly through the air, going out as it struck the
floor. My hands were cold, but so wet with perspiration that
they stuck to my clothing when I felt for a candle which I
had brought with me.

There are moments in every man's life that move slowly, as
if carrying the weight of years upon their backs. I shall
never cease to believe that the few seconds it took me to