Abstract: A sound-attenuating muffler for reducing the acoustic energy in an exhaust gas stream has an elongated cylindrical housing with a small ratio of diameter to length. Axially extending vanes are radially disposed to define an added number of flow passages. Exhaust gas enters an entry passage defined between two vanes, travels past a side-branch resonator and terminates in the entry nozzle of a Helmholtz chamber. The flow turns through a port in one of the vanes and enters a reverse-flow passage, also defined between two vanes, flows past a side-branch resonator and is reversed again through a port through another vane. A third side-branch resonator is provided in the exit region. The muffler may comprise two or more separate similar muffler sections defining such serpentine gas flow paths, and the exit region of an upstream section may then be continuous with the entry region of a downstream section.