“Feelingbetternow？“
　　Ilookedup。JosephTresswasspeaking。
　　“What’sthematter？HaveIbeenill？“
　　“Youappeartohavebeeninsomekindofswoon。“Tress’stonewaspeculiar，evenalittledry。
　　“Swoon！Ineverwasguiltyofsuchathinginmylife。“
　　“NorwasI，untilIsmokedthatpipe。“
　　Isatup。TheactofsittingupmademeconsciousofthefactthatIhadbeenlyingdown。Conscious，too，thatIwasfeelingmorethanalittledazed。ItseemedasthoughIwaswakingoutofsomestrange，lethargicsleep——akindoffeelingwhichIhavereadofandheardabout，butneverbeforeexperienced。
　　“WhereamI？“
　　“You’reonthecouchinyourownroom。YouWEREonthefloor；butIthoughtitwouldbebettertopickyouupandplaceyouonthecouch——thoughnooneperformedthesamekindofficetomewhenI
　　wasonthefloor。“
　　AgainTress’stonewasdistinctlydry。
　　“HowcameYOUhere？“
　　“Ah，that’sthequestion。“Herubbedhischin——ahabitofhiswhichhasannoyedmemorethanoncebefore。“Doyouthinkyou’resufficientlyrecoveredtoenableyoutounderstandalittlesimpleexplanation？“Istaredathim，amazed。Hewentonstrokinghischin。“ThetruthisthatwhenIsentyouthepipeImadeaslightomission。“
　　“Anomission？“
　　“Iomittedtoadviseyounottosmokeit。“
　　“Andwhy？“
　　“Because——well，I’vereasontobelievethethingisdrugged。“
　　“Drugged！“
　　“Orpoisoned。“
　　“Poisoned！“Iwaswideawakeenoughthen。Ijumpedoffthecouchwithaceleritywhichprovedit。
　　“Itisthisway。Ibecameitsownerinratherasingularmanner。“
　　Hepaused，asifformetomakearemark；butIwassilent。“ItisnotoftenthatIsmokeaspecimen，but，forsomereason，Ididsmokethis。Icommencedtosmokeit，thatis。HowlongI
　　continuedtosmokeitismorethanIcansay。Ithadonmethesamepeculiareffectwhichitappearstohavehadonyou。WhenI
　　recoveredconsciousnessIwaslyingonthefloor。“
　　“Onthefloor？“
　　“Onthefloor。Inaboutasuncomfortableapositionasyoucaneasilyconceive。Iwaslyingfacedownward，withmylegsbentunderme。IwasneversosurprisedinmylifeasIwaswhenI
　　foundmyselfWHEREIwas。AtfirstIsupposedthatIhadhadastroke。ButbydegreesitdawneduponmethatIdidn’tFEELasthoughIhadhadastroke。“Tress，bytheway，hasbeenanarmysurgeon。“Iwasconsciousofdistinctnausea。Lookingabout，I
　　sawthepipe。Withmeithadfallenontothefloor。Itookitforgranted，consideringthedelicacyofthecarving，thatthefallhadbrokenit。ButwhenIpickeditupIfounditquiteuninjured。
　　WhileIwasexaminingitathoughtflashedtomybrain。Mightitnotbeanswerableforwhathadhappenedtome？Suppose，forinstance，itwasdrugged？Ihadheardofsuchthings。Besides，inmycasewerepresentallthesymptomsofdrugpoisoning，thoughwhatdrughadbeenusedIcouldn’tintheleastconceive。I
　　resolvedthatIwouldgivethepipeanothertrial。“
　　“Onyourself？oronanotherparty，meaningme？“
　　“Onmyself，mydearPugh——onmyself！AtthatpointofmyinvestigationsIhadnotbeguntothinkofyou。Ilitupandhadanothersmoke。“
　　“Withwhatresult？“
　　“Well，thatdependsonthestandpointfromwhichyouregardthething。Fromonepointofviewtheresultwaswhollysatisfactory——
　　Iprovedthatthethingwasdrugged，andmore。“
　　“Didyouhaveanotherfall？“
　　“Idid。Andsomethingelsebesides。“
　　“Onthataccount，Ipresume，youresolvedtopassthetreasureontome？“
　　“Partlyonthataccount，andpartlyonanother。“
　　“Onmyword，Iappreciateyourgenerosity。Youmighthavelabeledthethingaspoison。“
　　“Exactly。ButthenyoumustrememberhowoftenyouhavetoldmethatyouNEVERsmokeyourspecimens。“
　　“Thatwasnoreasonwhyyoushouldn’thavegivenmeahintthatthethingwasmoredangerousthandynamite。“
　　“Thatdidoccurtomeafterwards。ThereforeIcalledtosupplytheslightomission。“
　　“SLIGHTomission，youcallit！Iwonderwhatyouwouldhavecalleditifyouhadfoundmedead。“
　　“IfIhadknownthatyouINTENDEDsmokingitIshouldnothavebeenatallsurprisedifIhad。“
　　“Really，Tress，Iappreciateyourkindnessmoreandmore！Andwhereisthisexampleofyoursplendidbenevolence？Haveyoupocketedit，regrettingyourlapseintotheunaccustomedpathsofgenerosity？Orisitsmashedtoatoms？“
　　“Neithertheonenortheother。Youwillfindthepipeuponthetable。Ineitherdesireitsrestorationnorisitinanywayinjured。ItismerelyanexpressionofpersonalopinionwhenIsaythatIdon’tbelievethatitCOULDbeinjured。Ofcourse，havingdiscovereditsdeleteriousproperties，youwillnotwanttosmokeitagain。YouwillthereforebeabletoenjoytheconsciousnessofbeingthepossessorofwhatIhonestlybelievetobethemostremarkablepipeinexistence。Goodday，Pugh。“
　　HewasgonebeforeIcouldsayaword。Iimmediatelyconcluded，fromtheprecipitancyofhisflight，thatthepipeWASinjured。
　　ButwhenIsubjectedittocloseexaminationIcoulddiscovernosignsofdamage。WhileIwasstilleyingitwithjealousscrutinythedoorreopened，andTresscameinagain。
　　“Bytheway，Pugh，thereisonethingImightmention，especiallyasIknowitwon’tmakeanydifferencetoyou。“
　　“Thatdependsonwhatitis。Ifyouhavechangedyourmind，andwantthepipebackagain，Itellyoufranklythatitwon’t。Inmyopinion，athingoncegivenisgivenforgood。“
　　“Quiteso；Idon’twantitbackagain。Youmaymakeyourmindeasyonthatpoint。ImerelywantedtotellyouWHYIgaveityou。“
　　“Youhavetoldmethatalready。“
　　“Onlypartly，mydearPugh——onlypartly。Youdon’tsupposeI
　　shouldhavegivenyousuchapipeasthatmerelybecauseithappenedtobedrugged？Scarcely！IgaveityoubecauseI
　　discoveredfromindisputableevidence，andtomycost，thatitwashaunted。“
　　“Haunted？“
　　“Yes，haunted。Goodday。“
　　Hewasgoneagain。Iranoutoftheroom，andshoutedafterhimdownthestairs。Hewasalreadyatthebottomoftheflight。
　　“Tress！Comeback！Whatdoyoumeanbytalkingsuchnonsense？“
　　“Ofcourseit’sonlynonsense。Weknowthatthatsortofthingalwaysisnonsense。Butifyoushouldhavereasontosupposethatthereissomethinginitbesidesnonsense，youmaythinkitworthyourwhiletomakeinquiriesofme，ButIwon’thavethatpipebackagaininmypossessiononanyterms——mindthat！“
　　Thebangofthefrontdoortoldmethathehadgoneoutintothestreet。Ilethimgo。IlaughedtomyselfasIreenteredtheroom。Haunted！Thatwasnotabadideaofhis。Isawthewholepositionataglance。Thetruthofthematterwasthathedidregrethisgenerosity，andhewasreadytogoanylengthsifhecouldonlysucceedincajolingmeintorestoringhisgift。HewasawarethatIhaveviewsuponcertainmatterswhicharenotwhollyinaccordancewiththosewhicharepopularlysupposedtobetheviewsoftheday，andparticularlythatonthequestionofwhatarecommonlycalledsupernaturalvisitationsIhaveastandpointofmyown。Therefore，itwasnotabadmoveonhisparttotrytomakemebelievethataboutthepipeonwhichheknewIhadsetmyhearttherewassomethingwhichcouldnotbeaccountedforbyordinarylaws。Yet，ashisownsensewouldhavetoldhimitwoulddo，ifhehadonlyallowedhimselftoreflectforamoment，themovefailed。
　　BecauseIamnotyetsofargoneastosupposethatapipe，athingofmeerschaumandofamber，inthesenseinwhichIunderstandtheword，COULDbehaunted——apipe，amerepipe。
　　“Hollo！Ithoughtthecreature’slegsweretwinedrightroundthebowl！“
　　Iwasholdingthepipeinmyhand，regardingitwiththeaffectionateeyeswithwhichaconnoisseurdoesregardacurio，whenIwasinducedtomakethisexclamation。Iwascertainlyundertheimpressionthat，whenIfirsttookthepipeoutofthebox，two，ifnotthreeofthefeelershadbeentwinedaboutthebowl——
　　twinedTIGHTLY，sothatyoucouldnotseedaylightbetweenthemandit。Nowtheywerealmostentirelydetached，onlythetipstouchingthemeerschaum，andthoseparticularfeelersweregatheredupasthoughthecreaturewereintheactoftakingaspring。OfcourseIwasunderamisapprehension:thefeelersCOULDN’Thavebeentwined；amomentbeforeIshouldhavebeenreadytobetathousandtoonethattheywere。Still，onedoesmakemistakes，andveryegregiousmistakes，attimes。Atthesametime，IconfessthatwhenIsawthatdreadful-lookinganimalpoisedontheextremeedgeofthebowl，foralltheworldasthoughitwerejustgoingtospringatme，Iwasalittlestartled。IrememberedthatwhenI
　　wassmokingthepipeIdidthinkIsawtheupliftedtentaclemoving，asthoughitwerereachingouttome。AndIhadaclearrecollectionthatjustasIhadbeensinkingintothatstrangestateofunconsciousness，Ihadbeenundertheimpressionthatthecreaturewaswrithingandtwisting，asthoughithadsuddenlybecomeinstinctwithlife。Underthecircumstances，thesereflectionswerenotpleasant。IwishedTresshadnottalkedthatnonsenseaboutthethingbeinghaunted。Itwassurelysufficienttoknowthatitwasdruggedandpoisonous，withoutanythingelse。
　　Ireplaceditinthesandalwoodbox。Ilockedtheboxinacabinet。Quiteapartfromthequestionastowhetherthatpipewasorwasnothaunted，Iknowithauntedme。Itwaswithmeinafigurative——whichwasworsethanactual——sensealltheday。Stillworse，itwaswithmeallthenight。Itwaswithmeinmydreams。
　　Suchdreams！PossiblyIhadnotyetwhollyrecoveredfromtheeffectsofthatinsidiousdrug，but，whetherorno，itwasverywrongofTresstosetmythoughtsintosuchachannel。HeknowsthatIamofahighlyimaginativetemperament，andthatitiseasiertogetmorbidthoughtsintomymindthantogetthemoutagain。BeforethatnightwasthroughIwishedveryheartilythatI
　　hadneverseenthepipe！Iwokefromonenightmaretofallintoanother。Onedreadfuldreamwaswithmeallthetime——ofahideous，greenreptilewhichadvancedtowardmeoutofsomeawfuldarkness，slowly，inchbyinch，untilitclutchedmeroundtheneck，and，gluingitslipstomine，suckedthelife’sbloodoutofmyveinsasitembracedmewithaslimykiss。Suchdreamsarenotrestful。Iwokeanythingbutrefreshedwhenthemorningcame。AndwhenIgotupanddressedIfeltthat，onthewhole，itwouldperhapshavebeenbetterifIneverhadgonetobed。Mynerveswereunstrung，andIhadthatgenerallytremulousfeelingwhichis，Ibelieve，aninseparablecompanionofthemoreadvancedstagesofdipsomania。Iatenobreakfast。Iamnobreakfasteaterasarule，butthatmorningIateabsolutelynothing。
　　“Ifthissortofthingistocontinue，IwillletTresshavehispipeagain。Hemayhavethelaughofme，butanythingisbetterthanthis。“
　　ItwaswithalmostfunerealforebodingsthatIwenttothecabinetinwhichIhadplacedthesandalwoodbox。ButwhenIopeneditmyfeelingsofgloompartiallyvanished。OfwhatphantasieshadI
　　beenguilty！Itmusthavebeenanentiredelusiononmyparttohavesupposedthatthosetentaculahadeverbeentwinedaboutthebowl。ThecreaturewasinexactlythesamepositioninwhichIhadleftitthedaybefore——as，ofcourse，Iknewitwouldbe——poised，asifabouttospring。IwastellingmyselfhowfoolishIhadbeentoallowmyselftodwellforamomentonTress’swords，whenMartinBrasherwasshownin。
　　Brasherisanoldfriendofmine。Wehaveacommonground——ghosts。
　　Onlyweapproachthemfromdifferentpointsofview。Hetakesthescientific——psychological——inquiryside。Heisalwaysanxioustohearofaghost，sothathemayhaveanopportunityof“showingitup。“
　　“I’vesomethinginyourlinehere，“Iobserved，ashecamein。
　　“Inmyline？Howso？I’Mnotpipemad。“
　　“No；butyou’reghostmad。Andthisisahauntedpipe。“
　　“Ahauntedpipe！Ithinkyou’rerathermoremadaboutghosts，mydearPugh，thanIam。“