"'Arrah!' he said, when he had recovered; 'I thought it was the divil.'"
The shivering prison-breaker hurried the wretched prisoner out of cell No. 14 into No. 15 and locked him in. Then he ran along the passage to greet the head constable and the other officials.
Only 6 minutes had elapsed since he had been locked in the cell naked and handcuffed. The cell door was inspected and found uninjured.
Then one of the gaolers, walking along the corridor, espied door No. 14 open and a prisoner gone.
"That's all right," said the irrepressible Houdini. "I've had him out and locked him up in No. 15." Hearty laughter followed the narration of this achievement, and the officials went to No. 15.
So securely had the Irishman been locked up that it was necessary to call upon Houdini to unfasten the door. The Irishman was found in a somewhat bewildered state, but he probably "sobered" quicker than he would have done in less eventful circumstances.
Houdini left the bridewell the proud possessor of the certificate which is reproduced at the head of this article.
ANOTHER EXPERIMENT
In the evening Houdini, accompanied by an Express representative, again walked into the bridewell to settle a point which had been raised since his feat in the afternoon.
Was the door which had been fastened against him single, double, or triple locked?