When this first dawned on me I thought it a very funny idea but about a week later I had the opportunity to do it before a party of about fifteen men and the way it turned out leads me to believe that it is of real value. Certainly nothing could be simpler or of a more impromptu nature.
I was sitting in a restaurant with Max Holden at the time and something came up about the old trick wherein a coin or ball is made to vanish after being covered with a handkerchief and felt by several of the witnesses. Then the light broke and I thought of what follows.
The performer at any time or place borrows a piece of paper about 3×4 inches. It can be of any grade or color but should be heavy enough to be opaque for the subsequent satisfaction of the audience.
It is given to one person with the request that he writes something such as the name of a famous person, the name of a city, a short quotation, etc., and then fold the paper once each way with the writing inside.
The performer now states that he will attempt an exhibition of direct thought reading and to make certain that the subject be strongly transmitted to him, more than one person should know what it may be. He asks the writer to hand the paper to a nearby sitter who in turn reads it to himself, refolds and likewise passes it to another whom the performer indicates.
These persons are separated from each other so that after four have read the writing, the concentration will be done from all angles. (?)
The last person to read the billet hands it to the performer who takes it in his left hand, closes the fingers around it and after a moment’s thought reveals correctly the thought in the minds of his audience !
Immediately he checks his statement and the paper is returned to the writer.
There are no duplicates, no switches and not a single sleight with which to take chances.
Now please don’t break down when I explain that there is a confederate in the audience. There are no codes or signals and his duties are less than simple. The effect when presented strongly affects the audience just that way because it is beyond comprehension.
An example of a piece of paper both before it has been folded by the writer and after it has been refolded by the plant who might otherwise be termed the viper in the bosom of the audience.
The illustrations show you just about what takes place and the manner in which the performer receives his information. The confederate is, of course, the last of the four or five who are given the chance to read the paper to themselves in order that there be plenty of thought going on.
However, this confederate, while entirely trustworthy as far as is concerned the secret of the performer’s greatness, nevertheless differs from the other spectators in an important way.
While the others dutifully read the contents of the paper and refold it as should be done, this one individual who has the last reading merely folds the paper inside out and benignly hands it to the performer who in turn benignly gets enough information from this strangely folded slip to reveal the hidden (?) thought !
There is no doubt in my mind but that this dodge, for dodge it is, will find a spot in the repertoire of many who make use of this type of stunt.
I thought it rather funny until I had the chance to try it out and it worked so well I am not in the least ashamed to put it in print. There will be times when everything will not be perfectly clear but there will always be enough to give the performer an inkling of what it is all about and even if a little wrong there will be plenty to impress the audience that the test is one of genuine cryptesthesia.
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