I am in receipt of yours, with reference to the manner in which I manipulated the paper to fool Mme. Diss Debar. I worked it as follows: When she was in the witness box, I showed the jury and Mrs. Diss Debar a half sheet of plain white note paper with nothing on it. I then told her to examine it and fold it four times (I had a duplicate piece with a communication written on it palmed in my hand), when she handed it back to me, I quickly made the changes, and giving her the piece with the writing on it I told her to hold it against my forehead. She then stopped me and said: “one moment please, whenever I do this trick, I let them mark the paper,” and suiting the action to the word, she took the paper, and without opening it again, she tore a corner off the blank piece, but, as it was already changed it made no difference.
You will see, I took a big chance, but it came off. I had an idea she would do this, so I actually changed the papers before I should have done so in the ordinary way, and she was flabbergasted when she opened the paper and found a communication written upon it, and on the same piece of paper which she had marked.
The writing pad trick which I did in the witness box with Luther R. Marsh, I did as follows:—
The trick, if you remember, was to show a pad of about a hundred sheets of paper unwritten upon, and to wrap the pad up in a newspaper, and to allow Marsh to hold one end while she held the other. Then the sound of writing was heard as if some one was writing on the paper, and when the newspaper was opened every sheet in the pad was written upon.
I had two pads alike, one I had concealed under my waist-coat, and the other I gave to Marsh to examine; as I proceeded to wrap the pad up, under cover of the newspaper, I changed them, quickly drawing the pad from my waist-coat and leaving the other one in its place.
I then proceeded to wrap the pad up when Diss Debar shouted from her seat in the Court Room ‘Don’t let him fool you, mark it!’ but as it was already changed, it did not matter so I let them tear a corner off.
I then let him hold one end, while I held the other, and amidst a great silence the sound of writing was heard, as if a pen was rapidly going over the paper, and I then told him to open the newspaper and look at the pad, when he found every sheet written upon.
I then showed the Court how I produced the sound of writing, by having the nail of my forefinger split, and simply scratching the newspaper underneath while I held it.
Kind regards to self and wife from both of us.
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) Carl Hertz