THE tale is one of war, ghosts and buried treasure, and with Liberation Day here again, antiques collector Mike Smith thinks this time he may do something about it.
''I have this fantasy of bringing in a gang of workers at the dead of night and simply digging for it,'' said the amiable Smith with a laugh. ''Trouble is, when we brought it up I've no doubt my landlord, the ground floor tenant, and the Japanese and Hong Kong governments would all be waiting.
''I wouldn't even get a look in.'' Cameron Mansions sits right on the summit of Mount Cameron, one of those sub-Peaks which nonetheless commands a panoramic view of the harbour.
It is one of those old-style Hong Kong apartment blocks, a bulky place with wide corridors and high rooms, big windows and long balconies.
Smith has lived there since 1965, having been attracted to the place originally, he says, because the rent was so low. And even today, if an apartment becomes available, it is hard to let.
The reason is that Cameron Mansions is haunted.
''He's not a bad ghost. He's a happy, randy ghost having a good time. He knocks on ladies' bedroom doors and he touches their bottoms whenever he can,'' said Smith. ''There are no bad vibrations here.'' Cameron Mansions is just off Magazine Gap Road, and to get to the entrance you take an exterior lift from the road. The lift goes up and sideways , like the Peak Tram, for the building is perched on a huge granite-clad platform which caps the top of the mountain.