"'Are you quite sure you see me now?' he replied.
"Our positions had become reversed—Billy sitting in my study chair that he might read over what I had written about the planets, I standing by his side. I looked down to answer his last question, and for the briefest fraction of a second a vision passed before me. The object beneath me was not my study chair, but a small iron bedstead on which there lay a boy, fast asleep. It passed in the twinkling of an eye, and I found myself seated as before at my desk; the half-finished report was before me, and, save myself, not a soul was in the room. 'It is certain,' thought I, 'that I am haunting somebody. In the name of all the secret Powers that guide the fates of men—whom am I haunting?'"
"A marvellous story," I cried; "and more significant than even you, Panhandle, are aware. I knew Billy Burst. He and I were schoolmates, and practised magic together under the guidance of a mysterious Power whose name Billy would never disclose."
"You knew Billy Burst!" exclaimed Panhandle. "My friend, you fill me with astonishment and delight. Did I not say we were on the eve of great discoveries? Tell me all you know about Billy, for the matter is of the utmost importance."
"You are making me wait for the appearance of the ghost," said I, "and must not be aggrieved if I make you wait for information about Billy."
"I again pledge my word to you," he answered, "that you shall see a ghost this very night."
"And I pledge mine to you that you shall hear all about Billy as soon as the ghost appears. But it is my turn first."
"Let us make it a covenant," he said.
"Agreed!" I answered.