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long tunnel off to the side... I got out of there as fast as I could. I was shaking with fear.’

   “Ernest didn't come to the SUN with this story. The SUN found him after hearing about his experience from a reliable contact who works with a relative of Ernest's, one of the handful of people to whom he has confided the experience.

   “He would agree to talk about it on1y if his last name was not revealed. ‘I'm in the phone book,’ he said. ‘I couldn't stand being called by a bunch of cranks.’

   “‘I believe Ernie saw exactly what he says he did,’ said Barbara. ‘He was terrified when he came back to the apartment and he doesn't scare easily. Look, he's been known to have a drink in the past - like most people, and to occasionally tie one on, but he's not a drunk and he wasn't drinking at all that day.’

   “Checks with friends, relatives and acquaintances in the neighborhood supported Barbara's evaluation of her husband.

   “‘I accompanied Ernie to the spot where he said he had seen the creature. It is at the bottom of a narrow passage between the building where he lives and the one next door. The only way to reach the tunnel entrance is to clamber 15 feet down the wrong side of a fire escape, which had once served as an exit to the street but today simply leads to a narrow chamber with walls on four sides.

   “The tunnel entrance runs under a slab of concrete at the foot of the chamber. Inside, there is a narrow passageway, branching off to the left about 10 feet back.

   “The corpse of a cat lies half-buried in the tunnel, reminding Ernest of the ‘strange noises, like animals in pain,’ he heard coming from the chamber last summer.

   “The concrete slab has collapsed on one side during