It is now plain that if you take hold of each end of the red handkerchief it can be pulled quite straight and entirely free of the turns so closely resembling a genuine knot. Heighten the deception, however, by seizing the end D and the bulk of the red handkerchief and pulling them with all your strength. The knot will now appear to have been tied most securely.
Take several handkerchiefs and tie them in the same way, making apparently a well-fastened rope to be exhibited to the spectators. Bunch them all together on a table, and under cover of the folds pull all the ends free, exhibiting as a result a number of separate handkerchiefs, not one of which has a knot of any description.
CHAPTER XXII
BLACK STAGE MYSTERIES
A Wily Worker of Wonders
The best method by which to advocate the “black stage” as a means of entertainment, will perhaps be to describe one of the many illusions that can be produced with its aid.
The audience first witnesses the performer—who is generally made up as a Chinaman—and a young lady dressed in white, standing in the center of a small “black stage,” as shown in [Fig. 1].
Fig. 1.—The floating head.
The performer then throws a white cloth over the lady’s head. Without a moment’s pause he draws it away again, and—hey, presto!—the lady is headless! The Chinaman next takes a larger cloth, and holds it before the lady in such a manner that she is entirely hidden from the spectators. A second later, however, he drops the cloth to the ground. This time the audience is treated to the spectacle of the head of the lady floating in the air. More wonderful still, the head can speak, sing, and answer any questions that may be put to it.