The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-10-04
.DUSENBERRY, POSSESSED.
BIZ c. 8. MONTGOMERY.

/ read an account of q man who
dreamed that he had substituted him
self for another man, taking on his ap-
pearance and his manner of speech.
The story took so powerful hold on
me that was unable to settle down to
my evenings work, and ] started out
on an aimless walk to mediate upon it.
The supremacy of will; that was what
it meant-individual strength. Why
might it not drive the consciousness OF
somebody else out of him and allow
the stronger mind to take possession?
From sheer force of habit. because
business takes me there almost every
day, turned in at the lobby OF the
D. hotel. 1t was the echo of my
own feet on the tiled floor that made
me look up to see where was and how
/ got there, and it vexed me trifle to
see how absent minded l was becom-
ing. Absent minded. There you are.
again. What does that mean. if not
that the mind MY take excursions out
ofthe body? Humph.
dropped into one of the arm-chairs
that ranged along the lobby and lit a
4.
so was sure of remaining undisturbed
for some hours, if l chose. l became
meditative again, and as the smoke Of
my weed circled around my head / no.
ticed J. W. pusenberry lazily sprawled
in chair, across the way, and drowsily
reading an evening paper. l was
glad he had not seen me. for do not
like him. He did" me in wheat
deal; once he received pair of en-
broidered slippers intended for me, by
mistake. and kept them; but worst of
all, he went out TO Hackensack when
he learned that was negotiating for
choice corner lot there, and bought
that identical lot, at my figure. too,
virtually turning me out of Hacken-
sack.
Great heavens! Why not effect q
transmigration and occupy him. 1 felt
that in single evening | could re-
venge myself on this man, and none
would be the wiser. 1 determined to
try. and bending my eyes on him
willed, with all the nervous power that
was in me, that he should lose his con-
seriousness, and that my own should
replace it. My eyes tingled as though
sparks were coming out of them, the
sweat stood on my forehead, my heart
beat like a hammer and my hands
were clenched around the chair arms
as if to crush them. / felt the whole
force of my being gathering into focus,
and just in focus sat Dusenberry, OBJ
livious of what was happening to him.
Presently his eyes grew heavy, his
head sank forward, the paper dropped
from his hand: saw little shudder
instant I heard ringing in my ears
and felt a momentary darkness closing
upon me; was giddy and clutched my
chair still harder for support; then 1
shook myself together. convinced that
it was better to leave experiments of
that kind to the professors, for it was
too weakening. But, hello! What did
this mean? How had the door, which
was on my right, got SO suddenly over
to my left? And who-what-tha
man! Asleep in the chair! It was my
self! I looked down at my clothes.
Amusement! was Dusenberry!
uttered a faint cry that caused two
or three loungers near me to look up,
but affecting to have been choked with
cold l caught at my thrOat-no, it was
Dusenberry's throat = and coughed
savagely few times, in q voice that
was harsh and that I recognized as
never having been mine before. Then
/ dropped back into my chair and
stared at my recent self in sheer amaze
ment. The fascination of my old body
was too tense to endure long. The
sight of it filled me with kind of
dread. as if might, after all, be look
ing at it from wholly disembodied
standpoint. How if l were really to
die and be unable to get back. thus
keeping Dusenberry out of his place
for the rest of his days? 1t was too
uncanny. l sprang to my feet; that is,
l should have done SO. if had my OVID
feet to spring to. but found that the
ones I was using were Dusenberrys
and there was not much spring to him,
for he weighed Atty pounds more than
/. 1t also surprised me little to find
that Dusenberry did not see colors pre-
cisely as 1 did, for through his eyes
there was prevalence of yellowish
tints. but that might have been be-
cause he was bilious. With studied
carelessness / started toward the bar,
thrusting my-that is, Dusenberrys-
hand into my-that is. Dusenberry's-
pockets. as l went. There was a wad
of bills in the right pocket
1t was no part of my scheme to rob
my victim, though intended to have
revenge on him before l was through
and / did not want to touch his money,
/ had enough of my own, anyway.
But. good gracious it was on my other
self. There were sixty good American
dollars in the pocket OF that uncon-
scious figure across the lobby that be-
longed to me. After some delay caused
by an unaccountable aversion to touch
ing my body. I went over and shook
myself. l was breathing heavily. and
was apparently in deep sleep. Some
how appeared different from the way
/ supposed l did, my impressions in
that respect having been based partly
on the reports of my mirror and partly
on the assurance of my wife-made
soon after we had been married I
never realized, for instance. how large
the mole was on my cheek. and re-
solved to raise whiskers forthwith
But the money. Dropping into chair
beside myself. began to explore my
pockets. Ny fingers had not closed
over the bills and silver when | felt
the clap of a stout hand on my Shout
der. 1t was one OF the porters. Aha.