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。