TRAVELLING CARDS
Give the pack to a member of the company, and request him to count off between twenty and forty cards, place the pack on the table, and hand the cards he has counted to you. You then hand the pile to a second person and 15 request him to count off about one-third of the number, lay them in a pile on the table, and hand you the remainder, which you give to the first person, requesting him to place them in his pocket. Taking up the second pile, you request the second person to place it in his pocket. We will suppose the first person selected thirty and the second person abstracted ten cards from them, which should leave twenty now in the pocket of the former. Then announce your intention of causing a certain number of cards to leave the pocket of person number one and travel invisibly into the pocket of person number two. Open a pocket-handkerchief, and covering number one’s pocket, flick it in the direction of person number two, exclaiming, “They have gone!” On the two piles being produced and counted, those from the pocket of number one person will number only fifteen, and the same number will be found in the second pile.
Explanation.—When you receive the thirty cards from the first person, you palm off five or six cards (the number is immaterial) and retain them concealed in your hand, handing the remainder to the second person. When he has counted off ten and placed them on the table, you take those that are left from him and hand them to person number one. When picking up the pile of ten from the table, while pretending to square it, you add the palmed cards and hand the pile thus increased to person number two. You must be careful not to allow the two persons to count the cards after the changes have been made. If you see they are inclined to do so, take the piles from them and place them in their pockets yourself.