THE BUTCHER’S GRIP, OR “HOLD IT FAST.”
Asking the most athletic person in company whether he is nervous, he will most probably answer in the negative; then ask whether he thinks he can hold a card tightly. If he answers, “No,” ask the question of some one else, till you obtain an answer in the affirmative. Desire the party to stand in the middle of the room, and holding up the pack of cards, you show him the bottom card, and request him to proclaim what card it is; he will say it is the knave of spades; you then tell him to hold the card tightly at the bottom, and look to the ceiling. While he is looking up, ask him if he recollects his card; if he says, “Yes,” desire him to draw it away, and ask him what it is; he will, of course, answer, “The knave of spades.” Tell him he has made a mistake, for if he looks at his card, he will find it to be the knave of hearts, which will be the case. Then give him the remainder of the pack, telling him that if he looks over it he will find the ace of spades in quite a different situation.
Explanation.—An extra knave of spades is cut in half, the upper part alone retained. When commencing your feat, get the knave of hearts to the bottom of the pack, and lay over the upper part of it, unperceived, your half knave of spades; and, under pretence of holding the pack very tight, throw your thumb across the middle of the knave, so that the joining may not be perceived, for the legs of those two knaves are so much alike that there is no danger of detection. You, of course, give him the legs of the knave of hearts to hold, and, when he has drawn the card away, hold your hand so that the faces of the cards will be turned towards the floor, and take an opportunity of removing the half knave: you may vary the feat by having a half knave of hearts.
