What do you want?
who are you calling to, hey?'

"'Are you the Counsellor of State, Hasentreffer?' said the one on our
side of the way, pale as death, in a trembling voice, and quaking as
he leaned against the window for support.

"'I'm the man,' squeaked the other, and nodded his head in a friendly
way; 'have you any commands for me?'

"'But I'm the man too,' said our friend mournfully, 'how can it be
possible?'

"'You are mistaken, my dear friend,' answered he across the way, 'you
are the thirteenth, be good enough just to step across the street to
my house, and let me twist your neck for you! it is by no means
painful.'

"'Waiter! my hat and stick,' said the Counsellor, pale as death, and
his voice escaped in mournful tones from his hollow chest. 'The devil
is in my house and seeks my soul; a pleasant evening to you,
gentlemen,' added he, turning to us with a polite bow, and thereupon
left the room.

"'What does this mean?' we asked each other; 'are we all beside
ourselves?'

"The gentleman in the morning-gown kept looking quietly out of the
window, while our good silly old friend crossed the street at his
usual formal pace. At the front-door, he pulled a huge bunch of keys
out of his pocket, unlocked the heavy creaking door--he of the
morning-gown looking carelessly on, and walked in.

"The latter now withdrew from the window, and we saw him go forward to
meet our acquaintance at the room-door.

"Our host and the ten waiters were all pale with fear, and trembled.
'Gentlemen,' said the former, 'God pity poor Hasentreffer, for one of
those two must be the devil in human shape.' We laughed at our host,
and tried to persuade ourselves that it was a joke of Barighi's; but
our host assured us that no one could have obtained access to the
house except he was in possession of the Counsellor's very
artificially contrived keys; also, that Barighi was seated at table
not ten minutes before the prodigy happened; how then could he have
disguised himself so completely in so short a time, even supposing him
to have known how to unlock a strange house? He added, that the two
were so fearfully like one another, that he who had lived in the
neighbourhood for twenty years could not distinguish the true one from
the counterfeit. 'But, for God's sake, gentlemen, do you not hear the
horrid shrieks opposite?'

"We rushed to the window--terrible and fearful voices rang across from
the empty house; we fancied we saw the old C