Bobemptiedthesecondtumblerofbrandyasthoughitwerewater。
Ibelievehewouldemptyahogsheadwithoutturningahair！Thenhegaveanotherlookatthepipe。Then，takingamatchfromhiswaistcoatpocket，hedrewalongbreath，asthoughhewereresigninghimselftofate。Strikingthematchontheseatofhistrousers，while，shadedbyhishand，theflamewasgatheringstrength，helookedateachofusinturn。WhenhelookedatTressIdistinctlysawhimwinkhiseye。WhatmyfeelingswouldhavebeenifaservantofminehadwinkedhiseyeatmeIamunabletoimagine！Thematchwasappliedtothetobacco，apuffofsmokecamethroughhislips——thepipewasalight！
Duringthisprocessoflightingthepipewehadsat——Idonotwishtouseexaggeratedlanguage，butwehadsatandwatchedthatalcoholicscamp’sproceedingsasthoughwewerewitnessinganactionwhichwouldleaveitsmarkupontheage。Whenwesawthepipewaslightedwegaveasimultaneousstart。Brasherputhishandsunderhiscoattailsandgaveakindofhop。Iraisedmyselfagoodsixinchesfrommychair，andTressrubbedhispalmstogetherwithachuckle。Bobalonewascalm。
“Now，“criedTress，“you’llseethedevilmoving。“
Bobtookthepipefrombetweenhislips。
“Seewhat？“hesaid。
“Bob，yourascal，putthatpipebackintoyourmouth，andsmokeitforyourlife！“
Bobwaseyingthepipeaskance。
“Idaresay，butwhatIwanttoknowiswhetherthisherevarmint’sdeadorwhetherheisn’t。Idon’twanttohavehimflyingatmynose——andhelooksviciousenoughforanything。“
“Givemebackthatpound，youthief，andgetoutofmyhouse，andbundle。“
“Iain’tgoingtogiveyoubacknopound。“
“Thensmokethatpipe！“
“Iamsmokingit，ain’tI？“
WiththeutmostdeliberationBobreturnedthepipetohismouth。
Heemittedanotherwhiffortwoofsmoke。
“Now——now！“criedTress，allexcitement，andwagginghishandintheair。
Wegatheredround。AswedidsoBobagainwithdrewthepipe。
“Whatisthemeaningofallthishere？Iain’tgoingtohaveyouplayingnoneofyourlarksonme。Iknowthere’ssomethingup，butIain’tgoingtothrowmylifeawayfortwentyshillings——notquiteIain’t。“
Tress，whosetemperisnotatanytimeoneofthebest，wasseizedwithquiteaspasmofrage。
“AsIlive，mylad，ifyoutrytocheatmebytakingthatpipefrombetweenyourlipsuntilItellyou，youleavethisroomthatinstant，neveragaintobeaservantofmine。“
Ipresumethefellowknewfromlongexperiencewhenhismastermeantwhathesaid，andwhenhedidn’t。Withoutanattemptatremonstrancehereplacedthepipe。Hecontinuedstolidlytopuffaway。Tresscaughtmebythearm。
“WhatdidItellyou？There——there！Thattentacleismoving。“
TheupliftedtentacleWASmoving。ItwasdoingwhatIhadseenitdo，asIsupposed，inmydistortedimagination——itwasreachingforward。UndoubtedlyBobsawwhatitwasdoing；but，whetherinobediencetohismaster’scommands，orwhetherbecausethedrugwasalreadybeginningtotakeeffect，hemadenomovementtowithdrawthepipe。Hewatchedtheslowlyadvancingtentacle，comingcloserandclosertowardhisnose，withanexpressionofsuchintensehorroronhiscountenancethatitbecamequiteshocking。Fartherandfartherthecreaturereachedforward，untilonasudden，withasortofjerk，themovementassumedadownwarddirection，andthetentaclewasslowlylowereduntilthetiprestedonthestemofthepipe。Foramomentthecreatureremainedmotionless。Iwasquietingmynerveswiththereflectionthatthisthingwasbutsometrickofthecarver’sart，andthatwhatwehadseenwehadseeninasortofnightmare，whenthewholehideousreptilewasseizedwithwhatseemedtobeafitofconvulsiveshuddering。Itseemedtobeinagony。IttrembledsoviolentlythatIexpectedtoseeitloosenitsholdofthestemandfalltotheground。IwassufficientlymasterofmyselftostealaglanceatBob。Wehadhadaninklingofwhatmighthappen。Hewaswhollyunprepared。Ashesawthatdreadful，human-lookingcreature，comingtolife，asitseemed，withinaninchortwoofhisnose，hiseyesdilatedtotwicetheirusualsize。Ihoped，forhissake，thatunconsciousnesswouldsupervene，throughtheactionofthedrug，beforethroughsheerfrighthissenseslefthim。Perhapsmechanicallyhepuffedsteadilyon。
Thecreature’sshudderingbecamemoreviolent。Itappearedtoswellbeforeoureyes。Then，justassuddenlyasitbegan，theshudderingceased。Therewasanotherinstantofquiescence。Thenthecreaturebegantocrawlalongthestemofthepipe！Itmovedwithmarvelouscaution，themerestfractionofaninchatatime。
Butstillitmoved！Oureyeswererivetedonitwithafascinationwhichwasabsolutelynauseous。IamunpleasantlyaffectedevenasIthinkofitnow。Mydreamsofthenightbeforehadbeennothingtothis。
Slowly，slowly，itwent，nearerandnearertothesmoker’snose。
Itsmodeofprogressionwasinthehighestdegreeunsightly。Itglided，never，sofarasIcouldsee，removingitstentaclesfromthestemofthepipe。Itslippeditshindmostfeelersonwarduntiltheycameuptothosewhichwereinadvance。Then，intheirturn，itadvancedthosewhichwereinfront。Itseemed，too，tomovewiththeutmostlabor，shudderingasthoughitwereinpain。
Wewereall，forourparts，speechless。IwasmomentarilyhopingthatthedrugwouldtakeeffectonBob。Eitherhisconstitutionenabledhimtoofferastrongresistancetonarcotics，orelsethelargequantityofneatspiritwhichhehaddrunkacted——asTresshadmalevolentlyintendedthatitshould——asanantidote。ItseemedtomethathewouldNEVERsuccumb。Onwentthecreature——
on，andon，initsinfinitesimalprogression。Iwasspellbound。I
wouldhavegiventheworldtoscream，tohavebeenabletoutterasound。Icoulddonothingelsebutwatch。
Thecreaturehadreachedtheendofthestem。Ithadgainedtheambermouthpiece。Itwaswithinaninchofthesmoker’snose。
Stillonitwent。Itseemedtomovewithgreaterfreedomontheamber。Itincreaseditsrateofprogress。Itwasactuallytouchingtheforemostfeatureonthesmoker’scountenance。I
expectedtoseeitgripthewretchedBob，whenitbegantooscillatefromsidetoside。Itsoscillationsincreasedinviolence。Itfelltothefloor。Thatsameinstantthenarcoticprevailed。Bobslippedsidewaysfromthechair，thepipestillheldtightlybetweenhisrigidjaws。
Weweresilent。TherelayBob。Closebesidehimlaythecreature。
Afewmoreinchestotheleft，andhewouldhavefallenonandsquasheditflat。Ithadfallenonitsback。Itsfeelerswereextendedupward。Theywerewrithingandtwistingandturningintheair。
Tresswasthefirsttospeak。
“Ithinkalittlebrandywon’tbeamiss。“Emptyingtheremainderofthebrandyintoaglass，heswalloweditatadraught。“Nowforacloserexaminationofourfriend。“Takingapairoftongsfromthegratehenippedthecreaturebetweenthem。Hedepositedituponthetable。“Iratherfancythatthisisacasefordissection。“
Hetookapenknifefromhiswaistcoatpocket。Openingthelargeblade，hethrustitspointintotheobjectonthetable。Littleornoresistanceseemedtobeofferedtothepassageoftheblade，butasitwasinsertedthetentaculasimultaneouslybegantowritheandtwist。Tresswithdrewtheknife。
“Ithoughtso！“Heheldthebladeoutforourinspection。Thepointwascoveredwithsomeviscid-lookingmatter。“That’sblood！
Thething’salive！“
“Alive！“
“Alive！That’sthesecretofthewholeperformance！“
“But——“
“Butmenobuts，myPugh！Themystery’sexploded！Onemoreghostislosttotheworld！ThepersonfromwhomIOBTAINEDthatpipewasanIndianjuggler——uptomanytricksofthetrade。He，orsomeoneforhim，gotholdofthissweetthinginreptiles——andasweeterthingwould，Iimagine，behardtofind——andcovereditwithsomepreparationof，possibly，gumarabic。Heallowedthistoharden。Thenhestuckthething——stillliving，forthosesortofgentryarehardtokill——tothepipe。Theconsequencewasthatwhenanyonelitup，thewarmthwascommunicatedtotheadhesiveagent——againsomepreparationofgum，nodoubt——itmoistenedit，andthecreature，withinfinitedifficulty，wasabletomove。ButIamopentolayoddswithanygentlemanofsportingtastesthatTHIStimethecreature’stravelingdaysAREdone。Ithasgivenmeratheralargertasteofthehorrorsthanisgoodformydigestion。“
Withtheaidofthetongsheremovedthecreaturefromthetable。
Heplaceditonthehearth。BeforeBrasherorIhadanotionofwhatitwasheintendedtodohecovereditwithaheavymarblepaperweight。Thenhestoodupontheweight，andbetweenthemarbleandthehearthhegroundthecreatureflat。
Whiletheexecutionwasstillproceeding，Bobsatupuponthefloor。
“Hollo！“heasked，“what’shappened？“
“We’veemptiedthebottle，Bob，“saidTress。“Butthere’sanotherwherethatcamefrom。Perhapsyoucoulddrinkanothertumblerful，myboy？“
Bobdrankit！
FOOTNOTE
“Thosegentryarehardtokill。“Hereisfact，notfantasy。
LizardyarnsnolesssensationalthanthisMysteryStorycanbefoundbetweenthecoversofsolemn，zoologicaltextbooks。
Reptiles，indeed，arefarfromfinickyinthemattersofair，space，andespeciallywarmth。Frogsandothersuchsluggish-
bloodedcreatureshavelivedafterbeingfrozenfastinice。Theirbloodislittlewarmerthanairorwater，enjoyingnoextracasingoffurorfeathers。
Airandfoodseemheldinlightesteembylizards。Theirbloodneednotbehighlyoxygenated；itnourishesjustaswellwhenimpure。Intemperateclimeslizardslietorpidandburiedallwinter；somespeciesofthetropicdesertssleeppeacefullyallsummer。Theiranatomyincludesnomeansforthecontinuousintroductionandexpulsionofair；reptilianlungsarelittlemorethanclosedsacs，withoutcellstructure。
Ifanyfurtherzoologicalfactwereneededtoverifythedenouementof“ThePipe，“itmightbethegeneralstatementthatlizardsareabnormalbrutesanyhow。Considerthechameleonsofunsettledhue。
Andwhatisonetothinkofananimalwhich，whencapturedbythetail，isabletomakeitsescapebywillfullyshufflingoffthatappendage？——EDITOR。
ThePuzzleI
Pughcameintomyroomholdingsomethingwrappedinapieceofbrownpaper。
“Tress，Ihavebroughtyousomethingonwhichyoumayexerciseyouringenuity。“Hebegan，withexasperatingdeliberation，tountiethestringwhichboundhisparcel；heisoneofthosepersonswhowouldnotcutaknottosavetheirlives。Theprocessoccupiedhimthebetterpartofaquarterofanhour。Thenheheldoutthecontentsofthepaper。
“Whatdoyouthinkofthat？“heasked。Ithoughtnothingofit，andItoldhimso。“Iwaspreparedforthatconfession。Ihavenoticed，Tress，thatyougenerallydothinknothingofanarticlewhichreallydeservestheattentionofatrulythoughtfulmind。
Possibly，asyouthinksolittleofit，youwillbeabletosolvethepuzzle。“
Itookwhatheheldouttome。Itwasanoblongbox，perhapssevenincheslongbythreeinchesbroad。
“Where’sthepuzzle？“Iasked。
“Ifyouwillexaminethelidofthebox，youwillsee。“Iturneditoverandover；itwasdifficulttoseewhichwasthelid。ThenIperceivedthatononesidewereprintedthesewords:
“PUZZLE:TOOPENTHEBOX“