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。