The jug should be taken away at once, because the water will probably become dull and clouded in the course of a few minutes. The "water," by the way, is poisonous; to avoid any chance of an accident the conjurer should pour it away at once, and should also see that the glasses and jug are well washed.
If fairly large tumblers are used the steel drops can be "rinsed" round the two tumblers (the second and fourth) just before the performance begins, and those tumblers can then be placed upside down on a tray; this position negatives the idea that there is anything in the tumblers at the beginning of the trick.
The Vanishing Glass of Water
To cause a glass of water to vanish is hardly a complete trick, but it may well form part of many magical experiments. Thus, if you are presenting the "Rice Bowls" (see Chapter V) you can proceed with the trick up to the point when the rice has been secretly removed and the water is in readiness for the final effect. Leave the bowls as they are, one inverted on the other, and show a silk hat to the audience, letting them see inside it.
Now pick up a jug of water with your right hand and throw a large handkerchief over your right arm. With the left hand take a tumbler from the table, pour some water into it, and take it with the disengaged fingers of the right hand, so that with your left hand you can take the handkerchief from your right arm and throw it over the glass.
Directly you have done this, hold the glass, through the handkerchief, with the left hand and put the jug down on the table. The right hand drapes the handkerchief round the glass. Pause for a second, and then flick the handkerchief into the air. The glass of water has vanished.
Go to the silk hat and take from it a glass full of rice. The glass is apparently that which has just vanished and the rice is that which the audience think is in the lower bowl. Then go to the bowls and "discover" the missing water.
Fig. 13
The disappearance of the glass of water is managed in this way. The handkerchief is really made of two handkerchiefs sewn together; sewn between them, in the centre, is a round piece of cardboard of the size of the top of the glass. When you throw the handkerchief over the glass you get the disc of cardboard exactly over the top of the glass. Take the glass in the left hand and tap it once against the top of the jug—just to let the audience be convinced that it is there. Then, as you take it away, drop it into the jug, which has been provided with a cloth or india-rubber bag for its reception. The bag is stiffened at the top. Of course, the cardboard disc conveys the impression that the glass is still under the handkerchief. The jug must be either a china or a metal one.