Brothersonwasunusuallyactiveandalertthatevening。Hewasanxioustofitonedelicatebitofmechanismintoanother，andhewascontinuallyinterruptedbyvisitors。Somebigeventwasoninthesocialisticworld，andhispresencewaseagerlydemandedbyonebrotherhoodafteranother。Sweetwater，postedathisloop-hole，heardtheargumentsadvancedbyeachseparatespokesman，followedbyBrotherson’sunvaryingreply：thatwhenhisworkwasdoneandhehadprovedhisrighttoapproachthemwithamessage，theymightlooktohearfromhimagain；butnotbefore。Hispatiencewasinexhaustible，butheshowedhimselfrelievedwhenthehourgrewtoolateforfurtherinterruption。Hebegantowhistle-atokenthatallwasgoingwellwithhim，andSweetwater，whohadcometounderstandsomeofhismoods，lookedforwardtoanhourortwoofcontinuousworkonBrotherson’spartandofdrearyandimpatientwaitingonhisown。But，assomanytimesbefore，hemisreadtheman。Earlierthancommon-muchearlier，infact，Mr。Brothersonlaiddownhistoolsandgavehimselfuptoarestlesspacingofthefloor。Thiswasnotusualwithhim。Nordidheoftenindulgehimselfinplayingonthepianoashedidto-night，beginningwithafewheavenlystrainsandendingwithabangthatmadethekey-boardjump。Certainlysomethingwasamissinthequarterwherepeacehadhithertoreignedundisturbed。Hadthedepthsbeguntoheave，orwerephysicalcausesaloneresponsiblefortheseunwontedebullitionsoffeeling?
Thequestionwasimmaterial。EitherwouldformanexcellentpreparationforthecoupplannedbySweetwater；andwhen，afteranotherhourofuncertainty，perfectsilencegreetedhimfromhisneighbour’sroom，hopehadsoaredagainonexultantwing，faraboveallformerdiscouragements。
Mr。Brotherson’sbedwasinaremotecornerfromtheloop-holemadebySweetwater；butinthestillnessnowpervadingthewholebuilding，thelattercouldhearhisevenbreathingverydistinctly。Hewasinadeepsleep。
Theyoungdetective’smomenthadcome。
Takingfromhisbreastasmallbox，heplaceditonashelfcloseagainstthepartition。Aninstantofquietlistening，thenhetouchedaspringinthesideoftheboxandlaidhisear，inhaste，tohisloop-hole。
Astrainofwell-knownmusicbrokesoftly，fromtheboxandsentitsvibrationsthroughthewall。
Itwasansweredinstantlybyastirwithin；then，asthenobleaircontinued，awakeningmemoriesofthatfatalinstantwhenitcrashedthroughthecorridorsoftheHotelClermont，drowningMissChalloner’scryifnotthesoundofherfall，awordburstfromthesleepingman’slipswhichcarrieditsownmessagetothelisteningdetective。
ItwasEdith！MissChalloner’sfirstname，andthetonebespokeashakensoul。
Sweetwater，gaspingwithexcitement，caughttheboxfromtheshelfandsilencedit。IthaddoneitsworkanditwasnopartofSweetwater’splantohavethisstrainlocated，oreventobethoughtreal。ButitsechostilllingeredinBrotherson’sotherwiseunconsciousears；foranother”Edith！”escapedhislips，followedbyasmotheredbutforcefulutteranceofthesefivewords，”YouknowIpromisedyou-”
Promisedherwhat?Hedidnotsay。Wouldhehavedonesohadthemusiclastedatriflelonger?Wouldheyetcompletehissentence?
Sweetwatertrembledwitheagernessandlistenedbreathlesslyforthenextsound。Brothersonwasawake。Hewastossinginhisbed。
Nowhehasleapedtothefloor。Sweetwaterhearshimgroan，thencomesanothersilence，brokenatlastbythesoundofhisbodyfallingbackuponthebedandthetroubledejaculationof”GoodGod！”
wrungfromlipsnotorturecouldhaveforcedintocomplaintunderanydaytimeconditions。
Sweetwatercontinuedtolisten，buthehadheardall，andaftersomefewminuteslongeroffruitlesswaiting，hewithdrewfromhispost。
Theepisodewasover。Hewouldhearnomorethatnight。
Washesatisfied?Certainlytheevent，puerileasitmightseemtosome，hadopenedupstrangevistastohisarousedimagination。Thewords”Edith，youknowIpromisedyou-”wereinthemselvesprovocativeofstrangeanddoubtfulconjectures。HadthesleeperundertheinfluenceofastrainofmusicindissolublyassociatedwiththedeathofMissChalloner，beensocompletelyforcedbackintothecircumstancesandenvironmentofthatmomentthathismindhadtakenupandhislipsrepeatedthethoughtswithwhichthatmomentofhorrorwascharged?Sweetwaterimaginedthescene-sawthefigureofBrothersonhesitatingatthetopofthestairs-sawhersadvancingfromthewriting-room，withstartledandupliftedhand-heardthemusic-thecrashofthatgreatfinale-anddecided，withouthesitation，thatthewordshehadjustheardwereindeedthethoughtsofthatmoment。”Edith，youknowIpromisedyou-”Whathadhepromised?Whatshereceivedwasdeath！Hadthisbeeninhismind?Wouldthishavebeentheterminationofthesentencehadhewakenedlesssoontoconsciousnessandcaution?
Sweetwaterdaredtobelieveit。Hewasnonearercomprehendingthemysteryitinvolvedthanhehadbeenbefore，buthefeltsurethathehadbeengivenonetrueandpositiveglimpseintothisharassedsoulwhichshoweditsdeeplyhiddensecrettobebothdeadlyandfearsome；andhappytohavewonhiswaysofarintothemysticlabyrinthhehadsworntopierce，herestedinhappyunconsciousnesstillmorningwhen-
Coulditbe?Wasithewhowasdreamingnow，orwastheeventofthenightamerefarceofhisownimagining?Mr。Brothersonwaswhistlinginhisroom，gailyandwitheverincreasingverve，andthetunewhichfilledthewholefloorwithmusicwasthesamegrandfinalefromWilliamTellwhichhadseemedtoworksuchmagicinthenight。AsSweetwatercaughtthemellowbutindifferentnotessoundingfromthoselipsofbrass，hedraggedforththemusic-boxheheldhiddeninhiscoatpocket，andflingingitonthefloorstampeduponit。”Themanistoostrongforme，”hecried。”Hisheartisgranite；
hemeetsmyeverymove。WhatamItodonow?”
XIX
THEDANGERMOMENT
ForadaySweetwateracknowledgedhimselftobementallycrushed，disillusionedanddefeated。Thenhisspiritsregainedtheirpoise。
Itwouldtakeaheavyweightindeedtokeepthemdownpermanently。
Hisopinionwasnotchangedinregardtohisneighbour’ssecretguilt。Ademeanourofthissortsuggestedbravadoratherthanbraverytotheeversuspiciousdetective。Buthesaw，veryplainlybythistime，thathewouldhavetoemploymoresubtlemethodsyeterehishandwouldtouchthegoalwhichsotantalisinglyeludedhim。
Hisworkatthebenchsufferedthatweek；hemadetwomistakes。ButbySaturdaynighthehadsatisfiedhimselfthathehadreachedthepointwherehewouldbejustifiedinmakinguseofMissChalloner’sletters。SohetelephonedhiswishestoNewYork，andawaitedthepromiseddevelopmentswithananxietywecanonlyunderstandbyrealisinghowmuchgreaterwerehischancesoffailurethanofsuccess。Toensurethelatter，everyfactorinhisschememustworktoperfection。Themediumofcommunicationayoung，untriedgirlmustdoherpartwithalltheskillofartistandauthorcombined。Wouldshedisappointthem?Hedidnotthinkso。WomenpossessamarvellousadaptabilityforthiskindofworkandthisonewasFrench，whichmadethecasestillmorehopeful。
ButBrotherson！Inwhatspiritwouldhemeettheproposedadvances?
Wouldheevenadmitthegirl，and，ifhedid，wouldtheinterviewbearanysuchfruitasSweetwaterhopedfor?Themanwhocouldmocktheterrorsofthenightbyacarelessrepetitionofastraininstinctwiththemostsacredmemories，wasnottobedependedupontoshowmuchfeelingatsightofadepartedwoman’swriting。Butnootherhoperemained，andSweetwaterfacedtheattemptwithheroicdetermination。
ThedaywasSunday，whichensuredBrotherson’sbeingathome。
NothingwouldhaveluredSweetwateroutforamoment，thoughhehadnoreasontoexpectthattheaffairhewasanticipatingwouldcomeofftillearlyevening。
Butitdid。Lateintheafternoonheheardtheexpectedstepsgobyhisdoor-awoman’ssteps。Buttheywerenotalone。Aman’saccompaniedthem。Whatman?Sweetwaterhastenedtosatisfyhimselfonthispointbylayinghiseartothepartition。
Instantlythewholeconversationbecameaudible。”Anerrand?Oh，yes，Ihaveanerrand！”explainedtheevidentlyunwelcomeintruder，inherbrokenEnglish。”ThisismybrotherPierre。MynameisCeleste；CelesteLedru。IunderstandEnglishverwell。Ihaveworkedmuchinfamilies。Butheunderstandsnothing。HeisallFrench。Heaccompaniesmefor-forthe-whatyoucallit?lesconvenances。Heknowsnothingofthebeesiness。”
Sweetwaterinthedarknessofhisclosetlaughedinhisgleefulappreciation。”Great！”washiscomment。”Justgreat！Shehasthoughtofeverything-orMr。Grycehas。”
Meanwhile，thegirlwasproceedingwithincreasedvolubility。”Whatisthisbeesiness，monsieur?Ihavesomethingtosell-soyouAmericansspeak。Somethingyouwillwantmuch-versacred，verprecious。Asouvenirfromthetomb，monsieur。Willyougiveten-no，thatistooleetle-fifteendollarsforit?Itisworth-Oh，more，muchmoretothetruelover。Pierre，tuesbete。
Teins-tudroitsurtachaise。M。Brothersonestunmonsieurcommeilfaut。”
Thisadjuration，utteredinsharpreprimandandwithbutlittleoftheFrenchgrace，mayormaynothavebeenunderstoodbytheunsympatheticmantheyweremeanttoimpress。Butthenamewhichaccompaniedthem-hisownname，neverheardbutoncebeforeinthishouse，undoubtedlycausedthesilencewhichalmostreachedthepointofembarrassment，beforehebrokeitwiththeharshremark：”YourFrenchmaybegood，butitdoesnotgowithme。YetisitmoreintelligiblethanyourEnglish。Whatdoyouwanthere?Whathaveyouinthatbagyouwishtoopen；andwhatdoyoumeanbythesentimentaltrashwithwhichyouofferit?””Ah，monsieurhasnotmemoryofme，”cameinthesweetesttonesofareallyseductivevoice。”Youastonishme，monsieur。Ithoughtyouknew-everybodyelsedoes-Oh，toutlemonde，monsieur，thatIwasMissChalloner’smaid-nearherwhenotherpeoplewerenot-nearhertheverydayshedied。”
Apause；thenanangryexclamationfromsomeone。Sweetwaterthoughtfromthebrother，whomayhavemisinterpretedsomelookorgestureonBrotherson’spart。Brothersonhimselfwouldnotbeapttoshowsurpriseinanysuchnoisyway。”Isawmanythings-Ohmanythings-”thegirlproceededwithanadmirablemixtureofsuggestionandreserve。”Thatdayandotherdaystoo。Shedidnottalk-Oh，no，shedidnottalk，butIsaw-Oh，yes，Isawthatshe-thatyou-I’llhavetosayit，monsieur，thatyouweretresbonsamisafterthatweekinLenox。””Well?”Hisutteranceofthiswordwasvigorous，butnottender。”Whatareyoucomingto?WhatcanyouhavetoshowmeinthisconnectionthatIwillbelieveinforamoment?””Ihavethese-ismonsieurcertainethatnoonecanhear?I
wouldn’thaveanybodyhearwhatIhavetotellyou，fortheworld-foralltheworld。””Noonecanoverhear。”
ForthefirsttimethatdaySweetwaterbreathedafull，deepbreath。
Thisassurancehadsoundedheartfelt。”Blessingsonhercunningyounghead。Shethinksofeverything。””Youareunhappy。YouhavethoughtMissChallonercold；-thatshehadnoresponseforyourverardentpassion。But-”thesewordswereutteredsottovoceandwithtellingpauses-”but-I-know-vermuchbetterthanthat。Shewasverproud。Shehadaright；shewasnopoorgirllikeme-butshespendhours-hoursinwritinglettersshe-nevairesend。Isawone，justonce，foraleetleminute；whileyoucouldbreathesoshortasthat；andbeganwithCheri，oryourEnglishforthat，andendedwithwords-Oh，vermuchlikethese：
Youmaynevaireseetheselines，whichwasverinteresting，vereeso，andmadeonewanttoseewhatshedidwithlettersshewroteandnevairemail；soIwatchandlook，andonedayIseethem。Shehadaleetleivorybox-Oh，vernice，verpretty。Ithoughtitwasjewelsshekeptlockedupsotight。But，non，non，non。Itwasletters-theseletters。Iheardthemrattle，rattle，notoncebutmanytimes。Youbelieveme，monsieur?”Ibelieveyoutohavetakeneveryadvantageposibletospyuponyourmistress。Ibelievethat，yes。””Frominterest，monsieur，fromgreatinterest。””Self-interest。””Asmonsieurpleases。Butitwasstrange，verstrangeforagrandedamelikethattowriteletters-sheetsonsheets-andthennotsendthem，nevaire。Idreamedofthoseletters-Icouldnothelpit，no；andwhenshediedsoquick-withnowordforanyone，nowordatall，Ithoughtofthosewritingssosecret，sooftheheart，andwhennoonenoticed-orthoughtaboutthisbox，or-orthekeyshekeptshuttight，oh，alwaystightinherleetlegoldpurse，I