He was gone before I could say a word. I immediately concluded, from the precipitancy of his flight, that the pipe _was_ injured. But when I subjected it to close examination I could discover no signs of damage. While I was still eying it with jealous scrutiny the door reopened, and Tress came in again. "By the way, Pugh, there is one thing I might mention, especially as I know it won't make any difference to you." "That depends on what it is. If you have changed your mind, and want the pipe back again, I tell you frankly that it won't. In my opinion, a thing once given is given for good." "Quite so; I don't want it back again. You may make your mind easy on that point. I merely wanted to tell you _why_ I gave it you." "You have told me that already." "Only partly, my dear Pugh--only partly. You don't suppose I should have given you such a pipe as that merely because it happened to be drugged? Scarcely! I gave it you because I discovered from indisputable evidence, and to my cost, that it was haunted." "Haunted?" "Yes, haunted. Good day." He was gone again. I ran out of the room, and shouted after him down the stairs. He was already at the bottom of the flight. "Tress! Come back! What do you mean by talking such nonsense?" "Of course it's only nonsense. We know that that sort of thing always is nonsense. But if you should have reason to suppose that there is something in it besides nonsense, you may think it worth your while to make inquiries of me. But I won't have that pipe back again in my possession on any terms--mind that!" The bang of the front door told me that he had gone out into the street. I let him go. I laughed to myself as I reëntered the room. Haunted! That was not a bad idea of his. I saw the whole position at a glance. The truth of the matter was that he did regret his generosity, and he was ready to go any lengths if he could only succeed in cajoling me into restoring his gift. He was aware that I have views upon certain matters which are not wholly in accordance with those which are popularly supposed to be the views of the day, and particularly that on the question of what are commonly called supernatural visitations I have a standpoint of my own. Therefore, it was not a bad move on his part to try to make me believe that about the pipe on which he knew I had set my heart there was something which could not be accounted for by ordinary laws. Yet, as his own sense would have told him it would do, if he had only allowed himself to reflect for a moment, the move failed. Because I am not yet so far gone as to suppose that a pipe, a thing of meerschaum and of amber, in the sense in which I understand the word, _could_ be haunted--a pipe, a mere pipe. "Hollo! I thought the creature's legs were twined right round the bowl!"