“I cannot see, either,” said Fred, “but I can hear. Don’t you know what that noise is?” As he spoke the strange sound was repeated. It was a broken note, sharp and yet long-drawn out. It was clearly heard, too, and yet Fred was convinced now that it was no ghostly voice from which the chatter came. But what was it? His companion did not explain to him and he himself had no conception of the source of the strange sound.
They proceeded through the various rooms on the first floor, but nothing was discovered that in any way explained the mysterious events which Fred had come to investigate.
Conversation had almost ceased, the tramp seldom speaking except to call to Fred to follow him, and Fred only occasionally asking such questions as occurred to him.
“The cellar is the strangest part of all,” said the tramp. “You don’t want to leave until you have seen that part of the old house.”
“All right,” declared Fred lightly. “I came over to see what I could find, and if there’s anything in the cellar worth finding I want to see it.”
The stairs to the cellar were low and broad, but the wood in places had decayed and fallen away. As a consequence when the tramp descended upon the third step the rotten timbers in part gave way and he was compelled to leap to the ground below him. Fred too jumped, but the mishap did not cause any inconvenience, though neither of them spoke when both arose.
The light was dim, entering the place from two open windows which were just above the ground. In silence the investigators moved about the place until at last Fred said, “It seems to me like a dungeon down here. I don’t know what they could have kept here.”
“Probably they used to come down here with a candle. I have an idea that if you boys thought you saw and heard strange things here last night you were not unlike the boys of one hundred years ago who came down here after apples and potatoes.”
“That’s right,” laughed Fred, although his laughter was not hearty. “No man could crawl through either of those two windows. There isn’t much more than room enough to put your arm through either of them.”
“Wait a minute,” said the tramp abruptly. “I’ll be back here with a light. I want to show you something.”