hands for silence. "Boys? Could
I ask you to stop with all this unnecessary police work for a moment?
It seems our visitor here has stumbled upon the solution to our
little problem, and I think we should all give him our attention."
There
was general laughter from the men in uniform, and even Mr. Hendricks
and Dr. Blanton appeared amused. A lesser man might have resented the
lieutenant's facetious tone. Harry, with his steel-plated vanity, did
not notice. Instead, he puffed out his chest and smoothed his lapels,
a gesture he invariably made when he was about to take the stage.
"Thank
you, Lieutenant Murray," he said. "I must first correct a
misstatement in the lieutenant's kind introduction. I do not claim to
have solved the murder." A ripple of mock protest went up among
the officers. "No, no," Harry said. "I only wish to
demonstrate that Le
Fantôme is
blameless. You see, when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever
remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
He
surveyed the group of young officers. “First, I will need a
volunteer from the audience. You, sir"—he pointed to a
strapping patrolman—"may I prevail upon you to join me
here at the front of the desk?"
The
officer received a desultory round of applause as he stepped forward.
Harry
reached into his pocket. "Your name is—? Robbins? Very
good. Now, Mr. Robbins, I hold here in my
hands a perfectly ordinary pack of playing cards—"
Lieutenant Murray gave a loud cough. "Look here, Houdini—"
I
put a hand on his arm to restrain him. "Give him three minutes,"
I said in a low whisper. "He's on to something."
He
gave me a look that suggested I had just staked my life on the fact.
"Officer
Robbins," Harry continued, "will you examine the cards and
confirm that they are all different? You may shuffle them, if you
like." Grinning nervously, the young patrolman gave the cards an
awkward shuffle. "Thank you," said Harry. "Now I will
ask you to deal five cards off the top. Do you see the five ivory
tiles in front of Le
Fantôme? I
want you to place one card face down on top of each tile."
Robbins
bent over the desk, biting his lower lip as he dealt out the five
cards.
"Very
good," said Harry. "Now, while my back is turned, select
one of the five cards and show it to the aud—to the other
gentlemen."
Robbins
lifted a card—the five of clubs—off the desk and held it
up for inspection.
"Now
replace the card," Harry continued, "but remember what it
was. You are finished now? Excellent. Now, with the help of Le
Fantôme, I
shall attempt to locate the card you selected."
"See
here, Houdini," said Lieutenant Murray, "you can't tamper
with that thing—it killed a man tonight."
"I
assure you it did not." "Besides, there's no key to turn it
on."
"It
does not require a key," Harry said. "Observe." He
stretched his finger across the desk and depressed a glass
bead on the figure's headdress. We heard a faint click, and slowly
the tiny figure stirred. In spite of himself, Lieutenant Murray
watched in fascination as the cross-legged figure slowly moved its
head from side to side, as if studying the five cards spread out
before it. We heard a soft creak as Le
Fantôme' 's
left arm bent and its hand rose to stroke its temple, as though lost
in contemplation. Abruptly, the figure's head snapped upward and its
mouth opened in a crude simulation of a smile. I cannot claim that it
was a pleasant smile. In fact, it was downright spooky. Then the left
arm straightened and pointed to the middle card in the row of five.
From
the Chesterfield, Mrs. Hendricks began applauding at the apparent
conclusion of the effect. Her husband and Dr. Blanton joined in, as
did a handful of the policemen. Le
Fantôme nodded
its head as if to acknowledge the applause.
"You
see?" Harry cried. "It is a harmless trick, a simple effect
with cards. Officer Robbins, you may now turn over the card that Le
Fantôme has
indicated. It is the card you selected, is it not?"
Robbins
looked at the
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