After you have done the trick in this way casually return the two cards to the pack and shuffle the cards, thus getting the bent card out of sight.
The fourth method is, to my mind, the best of the lot, because you use only one card. Hold it in the way described and bend it slightly, the convex side being towards the audience. Now, in the act of balancing the glass on the edge with your left hand just stick your right first finger straight up behind the card and rest the glass partly on the edge of the card and partly on the tip of your finger which, of course, is hidden by the card. It will be necessary to hold the card up fairly high so that no one can get a glimpse over the top of it. The trick is over so quickly that no one notices that the first finger is concealed behind the card.
CHAPTER II
LITTLE TRICKS—(continued)
I have often thought that many conjurers—amateur and professional—take themselves and their conjuring far too seriously. It is just as well to unbend occasionally, and as a little change from tricks to spring a simple catch on your audience. Here is one.
Pour some water into a glass and cover it with an opera hat. Throw a large cloth over the hat.
"Now then," you say to your audience, "do you think that I can drink the water without lifting the hat?" The answer is in the negative, as they say in the House of Commons when they mean "No."
Hold up the cloth so that it hides your face. The audience see both hands on the top edge of the cloth and therefore are convinced that you are not removing the hat. Make the sound of a man drinking from a glass. (I confess that this part of the experiment is not all it ought to be!) Then announce that you have performed the feat and drop the cloth. Somebody will be sure to pick up the hat to see if the water is in the glass; then you drink the water. You have performed the feat of drinking the water without lifting the hat.