The disc is now floated. The handkerchief and the zinc disc are now transferred in a careless manner to the left hand, which forthwith returns the handkerchief (handkerchief only) to the pocket.
The performer is now in a position, at the conclusion of the floating, to repeat the exchange above, dry the disc, and once more hand it for examination.
It is not absolutely necessary to give the metal for examination a second time, in which case the duplicate may, after the first "change," be disposed of entirely under cover of returning the handkerchief to the pocket.
When apparently wiping the disc dry be careful that it is never once completely hidden from view, or an exchange may be suspected.
The Balanced Coins.—No particular dexterity is necessary to perform the trick I am about to describe, although considerable care must be exercised for its successful execution. The performer, having obtained the loan of three pennies, lays them in a row on the palm of the left hand, in which position they may be inspected by all present. He then, with the thumb and second finger of right hand, grasps the edges of the outermost coins and raises all into a perpendicular position.
The trick is performed with the actual borrowed coins; the secret depends upon the introduction of a little accessory in the shape of a thin strip of wood one-quarter of an inch wide, and in length about one-sixteenth of an inch longer than the combined diameter of the three coins. At the commencement this strip of wood is held concealed in the left hand, being held between the base of the thumb and the first joint of the middle finger. The performer receives the coins in the right hand, then transfers them to the left hand, secretly placing them in the required position: the coins effectually hide the strip of wood and all may be examined. Now by grasping the coins, together with the strip of wood, (as explained above) no difficulty will be found in securing the desired effect. In conclusion the coins are again laid carefully in the left hand, then tossed with apparent carelessness into the right hand and forthwith handed to the owner.
The strip of wood is of course "palmed" in the left hand (as described above) in the act of tossing the coins into the right hand.
Mutilated Cigarette Paper.—A pretty little trick of an impromptu nature, in which a cigarette paper having been torn into a number of pieces, the pieces being rolled up into a little ball, is afterwards found completely restored.
First Method.—The performer is smoking a cigarette; this is an indispensable condition of the trick. By the side of the cigarette, on the right, concealed between the lips, is a little paper ball made from a duplicate whole paper. When presenting the trick, as when smoking in the ordinary way, the cigarette is occasionally taken between the forefinger and thumb of the right hand; experiment will also show that the little paper ball may be removed and replaced, quite secretly, by holding it between the finger and thumb of same hand. (See Fig. 31.)
