ong leap and with a tremendous splash
fell into the water. The plunge made the water rise on our side and it
rose as high as 41/2 feet because we got wet through and through.

The mattress and the sheet and all our clothes were wet. In the
confusion we forgot to keep our eyes on the Ghost or white elephant or
whatever it was and when we again looked in that direction everything
was quiet. The apparition had vanished.

The most wonderful thing was the rise in the water level. For the water
to rise 41/2 feet would have been impossible under ordinary
circumstances even if a thousand elephants had got into the water.

We were all wide awake--We went home immediately because we required a
change of clothes.

The old man (my friend's father) was waiting for us. "Well you are wet"
he said.

"Yes" said we.

"Rightly served" said the old man.

He did not ask what had happened. We were told subsequently that he had
got wet like us a number of times when he was a youngster himself.

FOOTNOTE:

[2] Since the publication of the first edition "Hasting House" has been
converted into an Indian Rugby for the benefit of the cadets of the rich
families in Bengal.

A STRANGE INCIDENT.

When I was at college there happened what was a most inexplicable
incident.

The matter attracted some attention at that time, but has now been
forgotten as it was really not so very extraordinary. The police in
fact, when called in, explained the matter or at least thought they had
done so, to everybody's satisfaction. I was, however, not satisfied with
the explanation given by the police. This was what actually happened.

* * * * *

The college was a very big one with a large boarding-house attached to
it. The boarding-house was a building separate from the college situated
at a distance of about 100 yards from the college building. It was in
the form of a quadrangle with a lawn in the centre. The area of this
lawn must have been 2,500 square yards. Of course it was surrounded on
all sides by buildings, that is, by a row of single rooms on each side.

In the boarding-house there was a common room for the amusement of the
students. There were all sorts of indoor games including a miniature
billiard table in this common room. I was a regular visitor there. I did
not care for any other indoor game than chess. Of course chess meant
keeping out of bed, till late at night.

On this particular occasion,