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ThenItoldhimallaboutit。Hewasdeeplyinterested，especiallywhenItoldhimthatthepipewasdrugged。ButwhenIrepeatedTress’swordsaboutitsbeinghaunted，andmentionedmyowndelusionaboutthecreaturemoving，hetookamoreseriousviewofthecasethanIhadexpectedhewoulddo。
“IproposethatweactonTress’ssuggestion，andgoandmakeinquiriesofhim。“
“Butyoudon’treallythinkthatthereisanythinginit？“
“OnthesesubjectsIneverallowmyselftothinkatall。ThereareTress’swords，andthereisyourstory。Itisagreedonallhandsthatthepipehaspeculiarproperties。Itseemstomethatthereisasufficientcaseheretomeritinquiry。“
Hepersuadedme。Iwentwithhim。Thepipe，inthesandalwoodbox，wenttoo。Tressreceiveduswithagrin——agrinwhichwasaccentuatedwhenIplacedthesandalwoodboxonthetable。
“Youunderstand，“hesaid，“thatagiftisagift。OnnotermswillIconsenttoreceivethatpipebackinmypossession。“
Iwasrathernettledbyhistone。
“Youneedbeundernoalarm。Ihavenointentionofsuggestinganythingofthekind。“
“Ourbusinesshere，“beganBrasher——Imustownthathismannerisalittleponderous——“isofascientific，Imaysayalso，andatthesametime，ofajudicialnature。OurobjectisthePursuitofTruthandtheAdvancementofInquiry。“
“Haveyoubeentryinganothersmoke？“inquiredTress，noddinghisheadtowardme。
BeforeIhadtimetoanswer，Brasherwentdroningon:
“Ourfriendheretellsmethatyousaythispipeishaunted。“
“IsayitishauntedbecauseitIShaunted。“
IlookedatTress。Ihalfsuspectedthathewaspokingfunatus。
Butheappearedtobeseriousenough。
“Inthesematters，“remarkedBrasher，asthoughheweregivingutterancetoanewandimportanttruth，“thereisascientificandnonscientificmethodofinquiry。Thescientificmethodistobeginatthebeginning。MayIaskhowthispipecameintoyourpossession？“
Tresspausedbeforeheanswered。
“Youmayask。“Hepausedagain。“Oh，youcertainlymayask。Butitdoesn’tfollowthatIshalltellyou。“
“Surelyyourobject，likeours，canbebuttheSpreadingAboutoftheTruth？“
“Idon’tseeitatall。Itispossibletoimagineacaseinwhichthespreadingaboutofthetruthmightmakemelookalittleawkward。“
“Indeed！“Brasherpurseduphislips。“Yourwordswouldalmostleadonetosupposethattherewassomethingaboutyourmethodofacquiringthepipewhichyouhavegoodandweightyreasonsforconcealing。“
“Idon’tknowwhyIshouldconcealthethingfromyou。Idon’tsupposeeitherofyouisanybetterthanIam。Idon’tmindtellingyouhowIgotthepipe。Istoleit。“
“Stoleit！“
Brasherseemedbothamazedandshocked。ButI，whohadpreviousexperienceofTress’smethodsofaddingtohiscollection，wasnotatallsurprised。Someofthepipeswhichhecallshis，ifonlythewholetruthaboutthemwerepubliclyknown，wouldsendhimtojail。
“That’snothing！“hecontinued。“Allcollectorssteal！Theeighthcommandmentwasnotintendedtoapplytothem。Why，Pughtherehas’conveyed’threefourthsofthepipeswhichheflattershimselfarehis。“
Iwassodumfounderedbythechargethatittookmybreathaway。I
satinastoundedsilence。Tresswentravingon:
“IwassoshyofthisparticularpipewhenIhadobtainedit，thatIputitawayforquitethreemonths。WhenItookitouttohavealookatitsomethingaboutthethingsotickledmethatIresolvedtosmokeit。Owingtopeculiarcircumstancesattendingthemannerinwhichthethingcameintomypossession，andonwhichIneednotdwell——youdon’tliketodwellonthosesortofthings，doyou，Pugh？——Iknewreallynothingab
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