Conjurors are ever on the lookout for pocket tricks, and certainly there is much to say for their use in the everyday social life of a magician. The ideal pocket trick should require no preparation and difficulty of performance be reduced to a minimum, as few care to expend hours of weary practice on a trick that can only be shown to a small circle of acquaintances. The little trick I am about to describe, although quite unpretentious, will, I feel sure, be appreciated by readers, as the effect is a clearly defined one, requiring but little practice. The charm of the trick lies in its simplicity.
With his friends and audience surrounding him, performer introduces four little ivory balls (or perhaps cork), and very openly does prove that he has four only. One of these is placed on top of the closed left fist, and three shown to remain in the right hand. Commanding one ball to pass from hand to hand, both are opened, and each shown to contain two balls. Again proving he has but four, two are placed on closed left fist and right shown to contain two likewise. Another pass is made, and left hand is seen to contain three balls, whilst the right only contains one. To conclude, three balls having been placed into left hand, and one shown to remain in right, all four mysteriously pass into left, and again both hands are exhibited and shown to contain but the four marbles.
In spite of the constant proof that only four are used, a fifth ball (the presence of which is most craftily disguised) is in reality responsible for the trick. The secret rests upon the simple fact that if each hand conceals a ball in roots of second and third fingers, as in the familiar Cups and Balls trick, and three only passed from hand to hand, four only will be seen in either hand, although four apparently are tossed across each time.
To perform the experiment, the five balls are taken from a pocket with right hand, and one gripped between fingers, as explained above. Throwing four into left hand, and displaying them to company, one is secured between second and third fingers, and three tossed back into right, which is simultaneously turned to show four balls only. This hand-to-hand business is executed several times in order to convince the onlookers that no duplicates are used. No verbal attention, however, is drawn to the fact.
With four balls in right hand (and, of course, the duplicate concealed between left fingers), the left hand is closed and one of the four from right dropped on top of the fist. Right hand is shown to unmistakably contain three, the one on fist completing the set of four. The ball on fist is allowed to fall inside hand, and one ball from right commanded to join that in left. Opening left hand, the two balls are shown, and two from right hand, carelessly and almost immediately dropped, to make up the original four.
Giving no time for thought, the four are apparently tossed into right hand, but in reality, of course, three only are thrown, the concealed one, as before, completing the set. Again left hand is closed, and this time two balls are dropped on top of fist. Right hand having been shown to contain two only, one of them is ordered to fly into left, which meanwhile has allowed the ball to drop inside hand. Opening left hand, three are exhibited, one from right being instantly added to make four.
Without hesitation the four are immediately thrown to right, where they are openly and freely shown. It is superfluous to explain that three only are thrown from left hand, one being detained as in the case of the first pass. The last move is to drop three balls on to left fist and show one in right. Both hands are closed, the left, a second later, opening to show four balls, three of which are immediately tossed into the right, which shows apparently the original four balls.
The principle of the trick once understood, the manipulation can be mastered in a quarter of an hour, as the trick is merely a repetition of the same move in different guise. Performed properly the experiment has no suspicious or unnatural moves.
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