The Divining Cigarette
By Bretma

At the present time there is a great demand for pocket tricks, and in the following lines I will describe one which I feel sure will appeal to all. As most people one meets now-a-days smoke (our Compiler being one of the exceptions that prove the rule) a trick with a cigarette is certain to be popular.

Effect--
You have a small cardboard tube of such size that it will easily accommodate an ordinary cigarette; a cap or lid fits on this tube at the top, and the other 'end is closed, so it is quite impossible for anyone to see the contents. This tube is handed for examination and the loan of a cigarette is requested. On receiving the cigarette you also produce one of your own; this must be of a different make to the borrowed one. Personally I always carry a variety of cigarettes so that I may be sure of having two different makes for use in this little problem. There is of course no question about the borrowed cigarette, and your own will stand any examination.

You next turn your back and request that either cigarette shall be placed in the tube and the cap put on. The remaining cigarette is to be hidden in the spectator's pocket. When this has been done you take the tube and immediately announce the make or brand of cigarette in the tube. Both cigarettes are now handed to the lender and as they can be smoked he will be no Wiser as to your method.

Explanation--
The packet of cigarettes which you carry are faked ones. You also have a very tiny magnetic compass to which is soldered a small clip, enabling you to attach it to your finger. When the card board tube is brought near to the compass, if the, needle moves you will know that the tube contains your own cigarette; if there is no movement then it is the borrowed cigarette.

The next thing you will Want to know is how three cigarette is faked, and you will imagine it to contain a piece of steel rod. But you Would be wrong, because such a cigarette could not be smoked.

What you do is to take a little tobacco out of the cigarette you intend to use, and mix some very fine steel fillings with it. It only requires a very small amount and when mixed with the tobacco is not noticeable, and also makes no difference to the smoking.

The best way is to get a tin tube which will just fit inside the paper tube of cigarette; put the paper over the tube, pack the tube with the faked tobacco then push the tobacco with a piece of stick and at the same time slide the paper off the tube and you will have re-made the cigarette.