第2章

haunter:——“Thereisacorpseinthenextroom，andthere’samadgirlinthenextbutone，andthewomanandmanonthatcamelhavejustelopedfromaplacesixtymilesaway，“thehearerwouldnotdisbelievebecausehewouldknowthatnothingistoowild，grotesque，orhorribletohappeninadak-bungalow。 Thiscredulity，unfortunately，extendstoghosts。Arationalpersonfreshfromhisownhousewouldhaveturnedonhissideandslept。Ididnot。SosurelyasIwasgivenupasabadcarcassbythescoresofthingsinthebedbecausethebulkofmybloodwasinmyheart，sosurelydidIheareverystrokeofalonggameatbilliardsplayedintheechoingroombehindtheiron-barreddoor。 Mydominantfearwasthattheplayersmightwantamarker。Itwasanabsurdfear；becausecreatureswhocouldplayinthedarkwouldbeabovesuchsuperfluities。Ionlyknowthatthatwasmyterror； anditwasreal。 Afteralong，longwhilethegamestopped，andthedoorbanged。I sleptbecauseIwasdeadtired。OtherwiseIshouldhavepreferredtohavekeptawake。NotforeverythinginAsiawouldIhavedroppedthedoor-barandpeeredintothedarkofthenextroom。 Whenthemorningcame，IconsideredthatIhaddonewellandwisely，andinquiredforthemeansofdeparture。 “Bytheway，khansamah，“Isaid，“whatwerethosethreedooliesdoinginmycompoundinthenight？“ “Therewerenodoolies，“saidthekhansamah。 Iwentintothenextroomandthedaylightstreamedthroughtheopendoor。Iwasimmenselybrave。Iwould，atthathour，haveplayedBlackPoolwiththeownerofthebigBlackPooldownbelow。 “Hasthisplacealwaysbeenadak-bungalow？“Iasked。 “No，“saidthekhansamah。“Tenortwentyyearsago，Ihaveforgottenhowlong，itwasabilliardroom。“ “Ahowmuch？“ “AbilliardroomfortheSahibswhobuilttheRailway。IwaskhansamahtheninthebighousewherealltheRailway-Sahibslived，andIusedtocomeacrosswithbrandy-shrab。Thesethreeroomswereallone，andtheyheldabigtableonwhichtheSahibsplayedeveryevening。ButtheSahibsarealldeadnow，andtheRailwayruns，yousay，nearlytoKabul。“ “DoyourememberanythingabouttheSahibs？“ “Itislongago，butIrememberthatoneSahib，afatmanandalwaysangry，wasplayinghereonenight，andhesaidtome:—— ’MangalKhan，brandy-panido，’andIfilledtheglass，andhebentoverthetabletostrike，andhisheadfelllowerandlowertillithitthetable，andhisspectaclescameoff，andwhenwe——theSahibsandImyself——rantolifthimhewasdead。Ihelpedtocarryhimout。Aha，hewasastrongSahib！ButheisdeadandI，oldMangalKhan，amstillliving，byyourfavor。“ Thatwasmorethanenough！Ihadmyghost——afirsthand，authenticatedarticle。IwouldwritetotheSocietyforPsychicalResearch——IwouldparalyzetheEmpirewiththenews！ButIwould，firstofall，puteightymilesofassessedcroplandbetweenmyselfandthatdak-bungalowbeforenightfall。TheSocietymightsendtheirregularagenttoinvestigatelateron。 Iwentintomyownroomandpreparedtopackafternotingdownthefactsofthecase。AsIsmokedIheardthegamebeginagain，——withamissinbalkthistime，forthewhirwasashortone。 ThedoorwasopenandIcouldseeintotheroom。Click——c1ick！ Thatwasacannon。Ienteredtheroomwithoutfear，fortherewassunlightwithinandafreshbreezewithout。Theunseengamewasgoingonatatremendousrate。Andwellitmight，whenarestlesslittleratwasrunningtoandfroinsidethedingyceiling-cloth，andapieceofloosewindow-sashwasmakingfiftybreaksoffthewindow-boltasitshookinthebreeze！ Impossibletomistakethesoundofbilliardballs！Impossibletomistakethewhirofaballovertheslate！ButIwastobeexcused。EvenwhenIshutmyenlightenedeyesthesoundwasmarvelouslylikethatofafastgame。 Enteredangrilythefaithfulpartnerofmysorrows，KadirBaksh。 “Thisbungalowisverybadandlow-caste！NowonderthePresencewasdisturbedandisspeckled。Threesetsofdoolie-bearerscametothebungalowlatelastnightwhenIwassleepingoutside，andsaidthatitwastheircustomtorestintheroomssetapartfortheEnglishpeople！Whathonorhasthekhansamah？Theytriedtoenter，butItoldthemtogo。Nowonder，iftheseOoriashavebeenhere，thatthePresenceissorelyspotted。Itisshame，andtheworkofadirtyman！“ KadirBakshdidnotsaythathehadtakenfromeachgangtwoannasforrentinadvance，andthen，beyondmyearshot，hadbeatenthemwiththebiggreenumbrellawhoseuseIcouldneverbeforedivine。 ButKadirBakshhasnonotionsofmorality。 Therewasaninterviewwiththekhansamah，butashepromptlylosthishead，wrathgaveplacetopity，andpityledtoalongconversation，inthecourseofwhichheputthefatEngineer- Sahib’stragicdeathinthreeseparatestations——twoofthemfiftymilesaway。ThethirdshiftwastoCalcutta，andtheretheSahibdiedwhiledrivingadogcart。 IfIhadencouragedhimthekhansamahwouldhavewanderedallthroughBengalwithhiscorpse。 IdidnotgoawayassoonasIintended。Istayedforthenight，whilethewindandtheratandthesashandthewindow-boltplayedading-dong“hundredandfiftyup。“Thenthewindranoutandthebilliardsstopped，andIfeltthatIhadruinedmyonegenuine，hall-markedghoststory。 HadIonlystoppedatthepropertime，IcouldhavemadeANYTHING outofit。 Thatwasthebitterestthoughtofall！ TheSendingofDanaDaWhentheDevilridesonyourchest，rememberthechamar—— NativeProverb。 OnceuponatimesomepeopleinIndiamadeanewheavenandanewearthoutofbrokenteacups，amissingbroochortwo，andahairbrush。Thesewerehiddenunderbushes，orstuffedintoholesinthehillside，andanentirecivilserviceofsubordinategodsusedtofindormendthemagain；andeveryonesaid:“Therearemorethingsinheavenandearththanaredreamedofinourphilosophy。“ Severalotherthingshappenedalso，butthereligionneverseemedtogetmuchbeyonditsfirstmanifestations；thoughitaddedanair-linepostaldak，andorchestraleffectsinordertokeepabreastofthetimes，andstalloffcompetition。 Thisreligionwastooelasticforordinaryuse。Itstretcheditselfandembracedpiecesofeverythingthatmedicinemenofallageshavemanufactured。ItapprovedandstolefromFreemasonry； lootedtheLatter-dayRosicruciansofhalftheirpetwords；tookanyfragmentsofEgyptianphilosophythatitfoundintheEncyclopaediaBritannica；annexedasmanyoftheVedasashadbeentranslatedintoFrenchorEnglish，andtalkedofalltherest； builtintheGermanversionsofwhatisleftoftheZendAvesta； encouragedwhite，gray，andblackmagic，includingSpiritualism，palmistry，fortune-tellingbycards，hotchestnuts，double-kernelednutsandtallowdroppings；wouldhaveadoptedVoodooandOboehaditknownanythingaboutthem，andshoweditself，ineveryway，oneofthemostaccommodatingarrangementsthathadeverbeeninventedsincethebirthofthesea。 Whenitwasinthoroughworkingorder，withallthemachinerydowntothesubscriptionscomplete，DanaDacamefromnowhere，withnothinginhishands，andwroteachapterinitshistorywhichhashithertobeenunpublished。HesaidthathisfirstnamewasDana，andhissecondwasDa。Now，settingasideDanaoftheNewYorkSun，DanaisaBhilname，andDafitsnonativeofIndiaunlessyouaccepttheBengaliDeastheoriginalspelling。DaisLaporFinnish；andDanaDawasneitherFinn，Chin，Bhil，Bengali，Lap，Nair，Gond，Romaney，Magh，Bokhariot，Kurd，Armenian，Levantine，Jew，Persian，Punjabi，Madrasi，Parsee，noranythingelseknowntoethnologists。HewassimplyDanaDa，anddeclinedtogivefurtherinformation。Forthesakeofbrevity，andasroughlyindicatinghisorigin，hewascalled“TheNative。“HemighthavebeentheoriginalOldManoftheMountains，whoissaidtobetheonlyauthorizedheadoftheTeacupCreed。Some，peoplesaidthathewas；butDanaDausedtosmileanddenyanyconnectionwiththecult；explainingthathewasan“independentexperimenter。“ AsIhavesaid，hecamefromnowhere，withhishandsbehindhisback，andstudiedthecreedforthreeweeks；sittingatthefeetofthosebestcompetenttoexplainitsmysteries。Thenhelaughedaloudandwentaway，butthelaughmighthavebeeneitherofdevotionorderision。 Whenhereturnedhewaswithoutmoney，buthispridewasunabated。 Hedeclaredthatheknewmoreaboutthethingsinheavenandearththanthosewhotaughthim，andforthiscontumacywasabandonedaltogether。 HisnextappearanceinpubliclifewasatabigcantonmentinUpperIndia，andhewasthentellingfortuneswiththehelpofthreeleadendice，averydirtyoldcloth，andalittletinboxofopiumpills。Hetoldbetterfortuneswhenhewasallowedhalfabottleofwhisky；butthethingswhichheinventedontheopiumwerequiteworththemoney。Hewasinreducedcircumstances。Amongotherpeople’shetoldthefortuneofanEnglishmanwhohadoncebeeninterestedintheSimlacreed，butwho，lateron，hadmarriedandforgottenallhisoldknowledgeinthestudyofbabiesandExchange。TheEnglishmanallowedDanaDatotellafortuneforcharity’ssake，andgavehimfiverupees，adinner，andsomeoldclothes。Whenhehadeaten，DanaDaprofessedgratitude，andaskediftherewereanythinghecoulddoforhishost——intheesotericline。 “Isthereanyonethatyoulove？“saidDanaDa。TheEnglishmanlovedhiswife，buthadnodesiretodraghernameintotheconversation。Hethereforeshookhishead。