did yer
do it? Why did yer kill him? He nebber done yer no harm. Why, Gawd bless
him, he done sot ole Mammy free! But dar ain't no use talkin' 'bout it
now!' She walked up and down the room several times, still muttering,
and then peered out of the window. Something in the street attracted
her.

"'Hush-sh-sh, chile, now's de time! Git up quick, deary, but fer de
Lawd's sake doan' make no noise! Follow de ole woman--dis way.' I got up
at once and obeyed her. It was a ghastly sort of thing, this Marse Edwin
business, but I saw a chance of escape at the bottom of it. We went to
the lower part of the house on tip-toe, and the negress, opening the
street door, pushed me out into the cool dawn, saying with a shaking
voice, 'Run, Marse Edwin, run fer yer life! Watch out for de sojers!
Good-bye, Gawd bress you, my lam'!' And I ran, you bet.

"Day was breaking when I found myself in the street, and as I emerged
from the slightly disreputable neighborhood where I had passed the night
I felt sure that a glance in the mirror would show me up a haggard,
white-haired wreck. The air was wonderfully reviving, though, and I felt
a subtle change stealing over me. An odd, pricking sensation, like one's
foot awakening from sleep, gradually took possession of me, and to my
horror I appeared to be separating from myself. Any one who has had that
feeling knows what it is. At one moment I was the Professor; the next, I
was undoubtedly Manysnifters! I found myself walking by the side of one;
then, in the twinkling of an eye, with the other. It was not long,
however, before I began to get tired of it, so just before I reached the
hotel I determined to decide once for all who I was. I felt that it was
important I should know. The decision was arrived at by a simple
expedient to which I invariably resort whenever I find my judgment
wavering. There is no patent on the thing, and I don't mind letting you
all into it. Fortunately, I still had my luck-piece--an ancient Roman
coin--with me.

"'Now,' thought I, 'let the antique beer check decide it. I will cinch
this question by tossing up. If it falls heads, I am Manysnifters, and
if the reverse appears, I am the Professor. I will abide by the decree
of Fate.'

"Up went the Denarius, striking the asphalt with a merry ring in its
fall. I bent eagerly over it, and lo, the image and superscription of
Caesar stared me in the face!

"So I was Manysnifters after all, and this fact was further impresse