Voices in the Night, or, A Traveling Salesman vs A Farmer’s Daughter

Effects of genuine interest, suitable for use with either Jumbo or regular cards, are hard to find. Here, I believe, is such an effect, and one of those where the audience has only to watch, which often is a relief for them.

The only apparatus necessary is the well known four partition easel as used in the 4-Ace effect. No sleights, other than one simple “move”, are involved. The patter will interest and the climax will surprise. I have used this regularly for a long time and it is a special favorite of mine with giant cards.

As indicated to a certain degree by the title, I use a type of patter for this effect that varies with the audience. In its “mild” form, the trick is Voices in the Night, and for stag audiences, The Travelling Salesman and the Farmer’s Daughter. I shall give the general line of patter and leave the exact adaptation up to the individual performer.

1. “There once was a King of a land who had a very beautiful Queen. (A farmer who had a very beautiful daughter.) As usual in the stories of royal romance, the Queen had an ardent admirer. (Along came the traveling salesman.) The King, realizing the fact that the Queen had an admirer, never left his palace without first inviting his cousin, a nearby Princess (the maid) to stay with the Queen as ‘chaperon’.”
2. “So when the King had gone, alone in the Castle were the Queen’s cousin, the Queen’s admirer and the beautiful Queen herself.”
3. “The Queen, however, was wise as well as beautiful. So when the King left, she asked her admirer to disguise himself a bit and visit her that evening. Then, in the meantime, she persuaded her cousin to leave. You know, ladies in love stick together, and as the cousin herself had a boyfriend, she knew how it was — so she was willing to leave and let this royal romance have its way.”
4. “But this happened once too often, and the King, suspicious at last, returned one night and silently crept to the Queen’s door, listened, and heard — Voices in the Night. And one voice very unwomanly, too! He knocked at the door. Silence. He demanded admittance!”
5. “I mentioned before that the Queen was wise, as well as beautiful. Here is a situation that but for her wisdom, might well have ended in disaster. But the Queen had been prepared for such an emergency as this. Without hesitation, she opened the door for the King. And when the suspicious ruler entered the Queen’s chambers, whom should he find but his cousin, faithfully attending the Queen… while the boyfriend… kept safely out of the way… for the time being!”

I have indicated the “farmer” patter theme at the beginning and leave the rest of this patter up to the individual.

Setup: On top of the deck, the following five cards are in order from top down: any King and Queen of the same suit, a Queen of another suit, a Jack of opposite color from the first Queen, then a duplicate of the third card, the Queen. I use the following cards: KH-QH-QC-JS-QC.

Handling (Basic):

1. As you patter, place, face out, in the partition to your right: KH in #1, QH in #2. Now double lift and place JS with QC behind it in #3. Lastly, QC in #4.
2. Place the King aside, back out. Pick up QC (face out), drop on JS, picking up all three, then drop onto QH and remove all four.
3. Replace QH face up in #2. Double lift showing JS. Replace in hand. Slide QC only back out in #3, flashing QC in hand, then place QC (with JS behind) face out in #4.
4. Remove QC (with JS behind) from #4 and hold as one card. Place King in #4 face out. Thumb off duplicate QC into left coat pocket or use it as pointer. Place this “pointer” back out in #1.
5. At the proper moment, reveal QC in #3 instead of JS, then show JS in #1. Only four cards now remain.

Alternate Display Setup:

1. Cards start in #3: KH, QH, QC, JS, QC. Move KH to #1, QH to #2, QC to #4, leaving JS (with QC behind) in #3.
2. Remove QC from #4, place on JS in #3, remove both onto QH in #2. Place back out in #4. Take off QH (top), place in #2. Take QC, call it Jack, place in #3. Turn over QC left in #4.
3. QC in #3 now removed with JS behind it and placed back out in #1.
4. Turn packet in #1 face up. Reveal King, then QC. Reveal JS from behind King and place in #4.

I am confident that all who try this effect will find that it goes over well and holds interest from start to finish.