  We obtained new near-infrared images of the prototypical pre-main sequence
triple system T Tau, as well as the first resolved medium-resolution spectra of
the close pair T Tau S. At the time of our observations, the tight binary had a
13 AU projected separation and showed significant motion since its discovery,
three years before. The orbit cannot be strongly constrained yet, but the
observed motion of T Tau Sb with respect to T Tau Sa suggests that the system
is at least as massive as T Tau N itself. This may indicate that T Tau N is not
the most massive star in the system. The spectrum of T Tau Sa, which is totally
featureless except for a strong Br gamma emission line, identifies this
component with the ``infrared companion'', whose exact nature remains obscure
but may be the consequence of it being the most massive component of the
system. Contrasting sharply with T Tau Sa, the spectrum of T Tau Sb shows
numerous photospheric features consistent with an early-M spectral type. The
presence of a strong Br gamma emission line and of a significant veiling
continuum classifies this object as a deeply embedded T Tauri star. From these
observations, we conclude that both components of T Tau S are embedded in their
own dense circumstellar cocoon of material, which are probably fed by a much
more extended structure.
