(Note: Mr Read needs no introduction. As the author of The Calostro
Mindreading Act, he can be thanked by the profession for a most practical
and much needed system. The following is another of his very original
ideas.)
Having stolen, or otherwise secured, original written questions, or
duplicates thereof, this new method of tabulating them for later secret
reference is one of the cleverest means yet devised for the mentalist. It is
so innocent looking and so easy to handle that no suspicion can possibly
be aroused. It is now released for the first time and will fit in with the work
of many.
You have backstage a writing tablet about 8″ by 10″, the ordinary kind
with a gray cardboard back and a flexible cover which is hinged at the top.
The stolen questions are copied in abbreviated form on the outside of the
cardboard back, two or three questions on each line. The questions to be
answered first are on the bottom line, and others on the lines above.
Write the bottom line about ½ inch above the bottom edge of the cardboard.
The exact distance is determined by opening the front cover and folding
it clear over so it rests flat against the cardboard back. In this position,
the cover won’t reach clear to the bottom, so you write the bottom line of
questions so as to be concealed underneath the bottom edge of the cover.
Thus all the writing is concealed when the cover is folded against the
back.
When questions are copied, the cover is closed on the front of the pad, and
together with a thick black marking pencil, placed on a stand to be seen
on the stage when the act is opened. After the opening talk, you dump
the collected questions on stage, pick up the crayon and tablet, open and
turn the back cover as you sit down in a chair. Explain that concentration
is necessary and you use the tablet to inscribe impressions. Having
memorized one question (not on the pad) you hold the table on your left
arm and in full view scribble with the crayon while talking something like
this :
“I get a jumble of letters… a ‘B’ [make a small B] … no, it’s not a ‘B’, it’s
an ‘R’ [make a bold R] … and now an ‘L’… yes, it’s an ‘L’ [make a large
L below the R]… and now I see an ‘A’ [make an A below the L]… but
the ‘A’ seems to be in the wrong place… it should come first. Now I see
something crooked, snake-like [make a large S]… and there is something
supporting it [make S into a $]… is A. L. R. here ?… Yes, I see you… Do
you recognize this mark here ?” [you hold up the tablet in your left hand,
fingers on front, and thumb on the back near the bottom edge of the cover,
the cover being towards you, of course.]
A slight upward pressure of the left thumb, and the cover slides up
enough so you can see the bottom line of tabulated questions. Secretly
read and remember one or more of them. A second is all you need. A. L.
R. acknowledges the $ sign and you continue… “It looks like a good sign
for it means money for you… You want the better things in life you haven’t
had before, in fact you’d like to be rich, etc., etc.”
You tear off the A.L.R. “impression sheet” and throw it aside, proceeding
with the next question – the one you have just noted on the back. With
each question you will find some article, or dramatic element, that you
can illustrate on the sheet with the crayon. Even if your drawing ability is
poor, and the picture crude, the spectator will readily see the connection, if
not the exact likeness, and that is a sufficient excuse for your going ahead
with the answer. For questions about marriage, draw a heart or hearts;
about trips, draw a train, boat or auto; about babies, draw a nursing bottle.
Using a tablet in this manner gives many advantages apart from its
simplicity and ease in the handling. All of your written ‘impressions’ may
be freely shown or examined; they are bold enough so all can see them, and
this maintains a dramatic interest on the part of the entire audience. When
putting your ‘impressions’ on the pad, the top hinged end is downwards,
the ‘impressions’ are written in full view, the right side up to you, but
upside down to the audience, until you later turn the tablet around and
hold it up for identification – a perfect excuse for thus turning it around
for them to see and read.
With three questions per line, and eight or ten lines, you will have 24 to
30 questions, enough for most acts. In other words, you use only about
3 or 4 inches at the bottom of the cardboard for copying. With a tablet in
hand you will quickly discover how easy it is to slide the cover upwards
enough to bring the uppermost lines into view. The cover then slides back
the instant you have glimpsed a line, and everything is again hidden from
view.
Use a new tablet for each performance.
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