ng and growling of a
cat within the closet became more and more audible. At last these sounds
became so loud, accompanied by scratching at the door, that I paused in
the midst of a sentence, and observed--

"There certainly is a cat shut up in the closet?"

"Is there?" he ejaculated, in a surprised tone; "nay, I do not hear it."

He rose abruptly and approached the door; his back was towards me, but I
observed he raised the goggles which usually covered his eyes, and looked
steadfastly at the closet door. The angry sounds all died away into a
low, protracted growl, which again subsided into silence. He continued in
the same attitude for some moments, and then returned.

"I do not hear it," he said, as he resumed his place, and taking a book
from his capacious pocket, asked me if I had seen it before? I never had,
and this surprised me, for I had flattered myself that I knew, at least
by name, every work published in England during the last fifty years in
favour of that philosophy in which we both delighted. The book, moreover,
was an odd one, as both its title and table of contents demonstrated.

While we were discoursing upon these subjects, I became more and more
distinctly conscious of a new class of sounds proceeding from the same
closet. I plainly heard a measured and heavy tread, accompanied by the
tapping of some hard and heavy substance like the end of a staff, pass up
and down the floor--first, as it seemed, stealthily, and then more and
more unconcealedly. I began to feel very uncomfortable and suspicious. As
the noise proceeded, and became more and more unequivocal, Mr. Smith
abruptly rose, opened the closet door, just enough to admit his own
lath-like person, and steal within the threshold for some seconds. What
he did I could not see--I felt conscious he had an associate concealed
there; and though my eyes remained fixed on the book, I could not avoid
listening for some audible words, or signal of caution. I heard, however,
nothing of the kind. Mr. Smith turned back--walked a step or two towards
me, and said--

"I fancied I heard a sound from that closet, but there is
nothing--nothing--nothing whatever; bring the candle, let us both look."

I obeyed with some little trepidation, for I fully anticipated that I
should detect the intruder, of whose presence my own ears had given me,
for nearly half an hour, the most unequivocal proofs. We entered the
closet together; it contained but a few chairs and a s