"You say you can tell how I get out of the box?" asked Joe, and the audience listened intently.
"Yes. I know the secret."
"Are you willing to post a hundred dollars to be forfeited to the Red Cross in case you fail?" went on the young magician.
"I am. Here is the money!" was the cool response. This quick compliance with the terms of the offer rather staggered Joe. But he had no fear as to the outcome.
"Very well," went on the originator of the box trick. "The ringmaster will hold your money. If you are successful in telling how I get out of the box the cash will be handed back to you, and you will receive, in addition, a check for ten thousand dollars. Now then, how do I get out of the box? Tell the audience."
There was a moment of suspense, and then the man, with an air of confidence, stepped close to the big, heavy box and, pointing to a certain corner, said:
"Right there is a secret panel. You slip it back and get out that way!"
The man seemed so triumphantly confident and so sure of his statement, that several in the audience cried:
"Is that right? Is that how you do the trick? If it is pay him the ten thousand dollars!"
Joe looked at Jim Tracy. This was the first time any one had ever come so close to the truth. Helen, standing at one side of the stage, began to be fearful that, after all, Joe's secret was discovered. It would mean an end of the box trick.