ther individuality
beginning to dominate you after you awoke. What happened then?"

The architect straightened up and sent an irritated glance toward his
companion. But that clear gaze had established too firm a hold over
his will to be swayed by sudden temper. He fidgeted in his chair, then
took up his story again:

"Yes, I wondered what it would be like really to be somebody else
now and then. The dream was no more real to me than any dream ever
is, and if I could let myself be this other individuality for a
little while awake it seemed to me that it would be a wonderful
experience--something that nobody else had ever had. One morning last
fall I woke up with the remembrance of such a dream particularly vivid
and the impression of this other personality stronger than it had ever
been. It seemed to me that if I so much as shut my eyes I'd drift off
into this other being. While I was dressing I thought I'd just try it
and see what would happen. I was getting ready to shave and as I made
up my mind, or, rather, took down my determination against it, I
happened to look at the bright blade of my razor. It seemed as if my
eyes fairly stuck fast to it for a moment and--the thing was done."

The doctor nodded. "Yes. Self-hypnosis. Go on. The case is most
interesting."

"Well, for about an hour I was--the Lord knows where or what. When I
came to myself again I had no recollection of what had taken place.
Except for the clock I wouldn't have known that any time at all had
passed. I found that I had shaved myself, and had left my mustache,
but what else I had done I don't know. I tried it again a little
later, hoping I might, if I knew what was coming, be aware of what
happened. But I wasn't. I completely lost my own consciousness for
that time.

"Then this--this creature was able, after that, to come out of his own
will, without my giving permission. He would come while I was asleep,
at first only for a few hours, and he would usually leave a letter for
me in the room telling me what he had done and what he wanted me to
do. He called himself 'Hugh Gordon' and always signed his letters that
way.

"At first I thought this was rather amusing. But each time that
he came his power grew stronger, and so did his desire for an
independent existence. Before long he was taking possession of my body
for a day or two at a time, going out and following his own affairs.
He bought a suit of gray clothes--he seemed to want everything