THE FLYING COTTON REEL.
Wind off a ball of cotton cord (piping) upon a tin tube six inches long, and of the diameter of a half-crown or florin, or rather a trifle wider.
Borrow a coin which you have had marked, and change it by means of the magic salver.
Fig. 10.
Pass the marked coin off the stage to your confederate, who puts it down the tube into the ball of cotton, and leaves it there in the centre; on withdrawing the tube the hole can be completely covered up by pressing the cord around it.
Thus prepared, the ball is brought to you in a glass cup, having a hole in the rim through which you pass one end of the cotton. Fasten this to a winding-off wheel (broad-tired), and as your assistant winds off the cord, you pretend to throw the coin into the ball. Immediately, the marked piece falls into the bottom of the vessel, in which it is taken to the owner.
Fig. 11.—The Owner of the Coin.