Miracles of Modern Magic
Harry Whiteley
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A Numerical Card Trick
THE following experiment is an adoption of a somewhat old trick. In its present form it has puzzled many leading conjurers, which, in our opinion, marks the problem good enough for publication.
Handing the pack to any person to shuffle, he is asked to take notice of any card between one and twenty, carefully ascertaining at what number the card stands, counting down from the top of the pack. The conjurer here takes possesion of the cards and, requesting some other person to think of a number between twenty and forty, leaves the room while a decision is being arrived at. Taking advantage of his absence from the audience the performer quickly counts thirty cards from the top of the pack, and then replaces them on the top, this operation causing the order of the first thirty cards to be reversed.
Returning to the room the conjurer asks for the number the chosen card stood from the top, and then the number selected between twenty and forty, promising to pass the chosen card to that number. Invariably the latter selection is thirty, and when such is the case the cards are in readiness; but should some other number be chosen the conjurer must equalise this by passing from the bottom to the top (when the number is over thirty) representing the difference between thirty and the selected number. When the selection is under thirty the difference must be passed from the top to bottom. Remarking, "We will commence to count at the number the card first stood," the conjurer suits the action to the word, and if the directions have been properly followed, on arriving at the selected number, the card chosen in the first instance will be discovered.
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