Iturnedonhim，holdingit。’Whatareyoudoinghere？’Isaid。
　　“Hehaddroppedhishandsandstoppedhisbooing，andtherehestood，abashedandawkward，theghostofaweak，silly，aimlessyoungman。
　　’I’mhaunting，’hesaid。
　　“’Youhaven’tanybusinessto，’Isaidinaquietvoice。
　　“’I’maghost，’hesaid，asifindefence。
　　“’Thatmaybe，butyouhaven’tanybusinesstohaunthere。Thisisarespectableprivateclub；peopleoftenstopherewithnursemaidsandchildren，and，goingaboutinthecarelesswayyoudo，somepoorlittlemitecouldeasilycomeuponyouandbescaredoutofherwits。
　　Isupposeyoudidn’tthinkofthat？’
　　“’No，sir，’hesaid，’Ididn’t。’
　　“’Youshouldhavedone。Youhaven’tanyclaimontheplace，haveyou？
　　Weren’tmurderedhere，oranythingofthatsort？’
　　“’None，sir；butIthoughtasitwasoldandoak-panelled——’
　　“’That’sNOexcuse。’Iregardedhimfirmly。’Yourcominghereisamistake，’Isaid，inatoneoffriendlysuperiority。IfeignedtoseeifIhadmymatches，andthenlookedupathimfrankly。
　　’IfIwereyouIwouldn’twaitforcock-crow——I’dvanishrightaway。’
　　“Helookedembarrassed。’ThefactIS，sir——’hebegan。
　　“’I’dvanish，’Isaid，drivingithome。
　　“’Thefactis，sir，that——somehow——Ican’t。’
　　“’YouCAN’T？’
　　“’No，sir。There’ssomethingI’veforgotten。I’vebeenhangingaboutheresincemidnightlastnight，hidinginthecupboardsoftheemptybedroomsandthingslikethat。I’mflurried。I’venevercomehauntingbefore，anditseemstoputmeout。’
　　“’Putyouout？’
　　“’Yes，sir。I’vetriedtodoitseveraltimes，anditdoesn’tcomeoff。
　　There’ssomelittlethinghasslippedme，andIcan’tgetback。’
　　“That，youknow，ratherbowledmeover。HelookedatmeinsuchanabjectwaythatforthelifeofmeIcouldn’tkeepupquitethehigh，hectoringveinIhadadopted。’That’squeer，’Isaid，andasIspokeIfanciedIheardsomeonemovingaboutdownbelow。
　　’Comeintomyroomandtellmemoreaboutit，’Isaid。’Ididn’t，ofcourse，understandthis，’andItriedtotakehimbythearm。
　　But，ofcourse，youmightaswellhavetriedtotakeholdofapuffofsmoke！Ihadforgottenmynumber，Ithink；anyhow，Iremembergoingintoseveralbedrooms——itwasluckyIwastheonlysoulinthatwing——untilIsawmytraps。’Hereweare，’Isaid，andsatdowninthearm-chair；’sitdownandtellmeallaboutit。Itseemstomeyouhavegotyourselfintoajollyawkwardposition，oldchap。’
　　“Well，hesaidhewouldn’tsitdown！he’dprefertoflitupanddowntheroomifitwasallthesametome。Andsohedid，andinalittlewhileweweredeepinalongandserioustalk。Andpresently，youknow，somethingofthosewhiskiesandsodasevaporatedoutofme，andIbegantorealisejustalittlewhatathunderingrumandweirdbusinessitwasthatIwasin。Therehewas，semi-transparent——
　　theproperconventionalphantom，andnoiselessexceptforhisghostofavoice——flittingtoandfrointhatnice，clean，chintz-hungoldbedroom。Youcouldseethegleamofthecoppercandlesticksthroughhim，andthelightsonthebrassfender，andthecornersoftheframedengravingsonthewall，——andtherehewastellingmeallaboutthiswretchedlittlelifeofhisthathadrecentlyendedonearth。Hehadn’taparticularlyhonestface，youknow，butbeingtransparent，ofcourse，hecouldn’tavoidtellingthetruth。“
　　“Eh？“saidWish，suddenlysittingupinhischair。
　　“What？“saidClayton。
　　“Beingtransparent——couldn’tavoidtellingthetruth——Idon’tseeit，“
　　saidWish。
　　“_I_don’tseeit，“saidClayton，withinimitableassurance。“ButitISso，Icanassureyounevertheless。Idon’tbelievehegotonceanail’sbreadthofftheBibletruth。Hetoldmehowhehadbeenkilled——hewentdownintoaLondonbasementwithacandletolookforaleakageofgas——anddescribedhimselfasaseniorEnglishmasterinaLondonprivateschoolwhenthatreleaseoccurred。“
　　“Poorwretch！“saidI。
　　“That’swhatIthought，andthemorehetalkedthemoreIthoughtit。
　　Therehewas，purposelessinlifeandpurposelessoutofit。Hetalkedofhisfatherandmotherandhisschoolmaster，andallwhohadeverbeenanythingtohimintheworld，meanly。Hehadbeentoosensitive，toonervous；noneofthemhadevervaluedhimproperlyorunderstoodhim，hesaid。Hehadneverhadarealfriendintheworld，Ithink；hehadneverhadasuccess。Hehadshirkedgamesandfailedexaminations。’It’slikethatwithsomepeople，’hesaid；’wheneverIgotintotheexamination-roomoranywhereeverythingseemedtogo。’
　　Engagedtobemarriedofcourse——toanotherover-sensitiveperson，I
　　suppose——whentheindiscretionwiththegasescapeendedhisaffairs。
　　’Andwhereareyounow？’Iasked。’Notin——？’
　　“Hewasn’tclearonthatpointatall。Theimpressionhegavemewasofasortofvague，intermediatestate，aspecialreserveforsoulstoonon-existentforanythingsopositiveaseithersinorvirtue。
　　_I_don’tknow。Hewasmuchtooegotisticalandunobservanttogivemeanyclearideaofthekindofplace，kindofcountry，thereisontheOtherSideofThings。Whereverhewas，heseemstohavefalleninwithasetofkindredspirits:ghostsofweakCockneyyoungmen，whowereonafootingofChristiannames，andamongthesetherewascertainlyalotoftalkabout’goinghaunting’andthingslikethat。
　　Yes——goinghaunting！Theyseemedtothink’haunting’atremendousadventure，andmostofthemfunkeditallthetime。Andsoprimed，youknow，hehadcome。“
　　“Butreally！“saidWishtothefire。
　　“Thesearetheimpressionshegaveme，anyhow，“saidClayton，modestly。
　　“Imay，ofcourse，havebeeninaratheruncriticalstate，butthatwasthesortofbackgroundhegavetohimself。Hekeptflittingupanddown，withhisthinvoicegoingtalking，talkingabouthiswretchedself，andneverawordofclear，firmstatementfromfirsttolast。
　　Hewasthinnerandsillierandmorepointlessthanifhehadbeenrealandalive。Onlythen，youknow，hewouldnothavebeeninmybedroomhere——ifheHADbeenalive。Ishouldhavekickedhimout。“
　　“Ofcourse，“saidEvans，“thereAREpoormortalslikethat。“
　　“Andthere’sjustasmuchchanceoftheirhavingghostsastherestofus，“Iadmitted。
　　“Whatgaveasortofpointtohim，youknow，wasthefactthathedidseemwithinlimitstohavefoundhimselfout。Themesshehadmadeofhauntinghaddepressedhimterribly。Hehadbeentolditwouldbea’lark’；hehadcomeexpectingittobea’lark，’
　　andhereitwas，nothingbutanotherfailureaddedtohisrecord！
　　Heproclaimedhimselfanutterout-and-outfailure。Hesaid，andIcanquitebelieveit，thathehadnevertriedtodoanythingallhislifethathehadn’tmadeaperfectmessof——andthroughallthewastesofeternityheneverwould。Ifhehadhadsympathy，perhaps。Hepausedatthat，andstoodregardingme。Heremarkedthat，strangeasitmightseemtome，nobody，notanyone，ever，hadgivenhimtheamountofsympathyIwasdoingnow。Icouldseewhathewantedstraightaway，andIdeterminedtoheadhimoffatonce。Imaybeabrute，youknow，butbeingtheOnlyRealFriend，therecipientoftheconfidencesofoneoftheseegotisticalweaklings，ghostorbody，isbeyondmyphysicalendurance。Igotupbriskly。’Don’tyoubroodonthesethingstoomuch，’Isaid。’Thethingyou’vegottodoistogetoutofthisgetoutofthis——sharp。YoupullyourselftogetherandTRY。’’Ican’t，’hesaid。’Youtry，’Isaid，andtryhedid。“
　　“Try！“saidSanderson。“HOW？“
　　“Passes，“saidClayton。
　　“Passes？“
　　“Complicatedseriesofgesturesandpasseswiththehands。That’showhehadcomeinandthat’showhehadtogetoutagain。Lord！
　　whatabusinessIhad！“
　　“ButhowcouldANYseriesofpasses——？“Ibegan。
　　“Mydearman，“saidClayton，turningonmeandputtingagreatemphasisoncertainwords，“youwantEVERYTHINGclear。_I_don’tknowHOW。AllIknowisthatyouDO——thatHEdid，anyhow，atleast。
　　Afterafearfultime，youknow，hegothispassesrightandsuddenlydisappeared。“
　　“Didyou，“saidSanderson，slowly，“observethepasses？“
　　“Yes，“saidClayton，andseemedtothink。“Itwastremendouslyqueer，“
　　hesaid。“Therewewere，Iandthisthinvagueghost，inthatsilentroom，inthissilent，emptyinn，inthissilentlittleFriday-nighttown。Notasoundexceptourvoicesandafaintpantinghemadewhenheswung。Therewasthebedroomcandle，andonecandleonthedressing-