By that title one might think I was kidding about this but there have been so many fanciful titles applied to such effects that I couldn’t resist the urge to write the above.
This method and presentation has been a great favorite of mine for homes and spots where it could be presented in an apparently impromptu fashion.
Many times one is out for an evening and the opportunity arises when a book may be glanced at, either from the table or bookcase. At the same time one is alone quite often for a few minutes when such a test may be prepared. I’m not telling anyone exactly how to frame this part of the test as conditions always differ. I’m explaining how I’ve done it time and again and will continue doing it in the same manner.
In effect it differs a lot from the usual routine and build‑up. I know that my original way of having the page and number looked up from the cards is extremely effective and a throw‑off in every way.
At an opportune moment the performer takes apparently at random two books from a table or bookcase. Deciding he needs three and being at loss as to just which he shall take, a spectator is called upon to give him another. This is a little wrinkle but remembered later. They are placed on the floor or a chair and someone is asked to pick up two of them. This is going to be an out‑and‑out force so I may as well explain it as I go along. If they leave the right one behind, merely tell them to lay aside the books they have picked up as they won’t be needed again. If they include the right one among the two, ask them to hand you one. If you are handed the wrong one, thank them, pick up the book on the floor and lay them aside. If they hand you the right one, thank them, read the title of the book and mention that you are using for the test a book taken from the case and selected at random. Just take this part easy and don’t stall or hesitate during it and you have the prettiest force that you’ll ever need.
Now for the cards. Any borrowed deck is used and by fanning them through you get on top a four, a five and an eight spot in that order. Take the book in the right hand and, covering the deck for a second, add the three top cards from the deck to the bottom of the book, right fingers holding them there. Now, have the deck itself shuffled well. Take it back on your left hand. Ask a person to cut the deck anywhere and discard the upper half.
As they do this, you drop the book from your right hand onto the lower half of the deck in your left hand and hand the whole thing to the person, asking them to go to a far corner of the room and turn their back. They may also leave the room if they wish, as long as they can hear you.
Now you tell them to look at the three cards on top of the lower half. Tell them to take any two of them and open the book at that page. At this spot you have a neat point. After telling them the above, continue and say, “Just take any two of the three cards and open at that page. If you have a six and a nine you can call it either sixty‑nine or ninety‑six—it really doesn’t matter as long as the book is opened at a page selected in some manner by the cards as I want everything left to chance.”
Now tell them to use the remaining card and count to that word as they read along at the top of the page. Knowing the word, they return and you, with only a word or two, reveal the word correctly!
The real kick I get out of this test is the handling of the page and word numbers from the three cards. And I am sure that that point is as fair as any could be in the eyes of the audience. However, fair as it may seem to the audience and complicated as it may seem to you, there are only six possible pages and words that can be arrived at!
Take three cards as follows and check with this table:
| Page | Word |
|---|---|
| 45 | 8 |
| 54 | 8 |
| 48 | 5 |
| 84 | 5 |
| 58 | 4 |
| 85 | 4 |
That’s the secret in a nutshell. Beforehand you memorize the six words as per the table. I say memorize because I know it to be the best way in the long run. The order in which you memorize them doesn’t matter a bit. I generally change them around and form a sort of mental sentence made of the six words in their easiest remembered order.
First pick out the books and have the right one selected. If you have been using the cards before, you can have the three proper cards already on top. You have nothing else to do after the person cuts the deck and leaves the room except tell them what to do. When they return, you know they are thinking of one of the six words you know and it is up to you now to find out which. Nine times out of ten I pump it out with a question or two by stabbing at letters. Ask them if it begins with a T, etc.
If wrong, try the last letter of another. When I say “Ask them” I mean “Tell them” but in a more or less questioning manner. You’ll always get a reaction and know whether or not you are on the right track. As there are only six words, you just can’t have much trouble.
More often than you would think you’ll hit it the first time. Remember that in the mind of the audience you have the most difficult task in the world—that of finding out what word is being thought of. And to the audience it might be any word in the language.
As a variance I sometimes hand the person a pencil and pad and ask them to print the word and put it immediately in their pocket. Standing across the room you can invariably spot a letter or two by the pencil action and know the approximate length of the word. In this way you can hit it the first time in practically every case.
I do know that under the above conditions it is a fine working and simple book test.
I think I would be tempted to add a court card to the stack being held out (now 4 cards) and when they take the three cards to use, ask if they are all number cards. They say no, so you have them toss any court cards and take the next one on the deck. They still end up with the needed cards, but that way feels like it has added a litte more randomness into the card selections.