“And then, when I had got to that state of readiness for anything, I made something of a discovery.  It was about one in the morning, and I was walking slowly ’round the castle, keeping in the soft grass.  I had come under the shadow of the East Front, and far above me, I could hear the vile, hooning whistle of the Room, up in the darkness of the unlit wing.  Then, suddenly, a little in front of me, I heard a man’s voice, speaking low, but evidently in glee:—­

“’By George!  You Chaps; but I wouldn’t care to bring a wife home in that!’ it said, in the tone of the cultured Irish.

“Someone started to reply; but there came a sharp exclamation, and then a rush, and I heard footsteps running in all directions.  Evidently, the men had spotted me.

“For a few seconds, I stood there, feeling an awful ass.  After all, they were at the bottom of the haunting!  Do you see what a big fool it made me seem?  I had no doubt but that they were some of Tassoc’s rivals; and here I had been feeling in every bone that I had hit a real, bad, genuine Case!  And then, you know, there came the memory of hundreds of details, that made me just as much in doubt again.  Anyway, whether it was natural, or ab-natural, there was a great deal yet to be cleared up.

“I told Tassoc, next morning, what I had discovered, and through the whole of every night, for five nights, we kept a close watch ’round the East Wing; but there was never a sign of anyone prowling about; and all the time, almost from evening to dawn, that grotesque whistling would hoon incredibly, far above us in the darkness.

“On the morning after the fifth night, I received a wire from here, which brought me home by the next boat.  I explained to Tassoc that I was simply bound to come away for a few days; but told him to keep up the watch ’round the castle.  One thing I was very careful to do, and that was to make him absolutely promise never to go into the Room, between sunset and sunrise.  I made it clear to him that we knew nothing definite yet, one way or the other; and if the room were what I had first thought it to be, it might be a lot better for him to die first, than enter it after dark.

“When I got here, and had finished my business, I thought you chaps would be interested; and also I wanted to get it all spread out clear in my mind; so I rung you up.  I am going over again to-morrow, and when I get back, I ought to have something pretty extraordinary to tell you.  By the way, there is a curious thing I forgot to tell you.  I tried to get a phonographic record of the whistling; but it simply produced no impression on the wax at all.  That is one of the things that has made me feel queer, I can tell you.  Another extraordinary thing is that the microphone will not magnify the sound—­will not even transmit it; seems to take no account of it, and acts as if it were nonexistent.  I am absolutely and utterly stumped, up to the present.  I am a wee bit curious to see whether any of your dear clever heads can make daylight of it. I cannot—­not yet.”