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4
Houdini's Paper Magic

again." Proceed as before, but after counting "one," and closing the right hand, stop, as if someone had questioned the move, open the right hand and show that there is only one pellet there, close the hand and finish as before.

Now say, "Perhaps some of you can't see how it is done even now, probably because the balls are too small. Let's try it with larger ones." Take a page of a newspaper and tear it into quarters, rolling each piece into a ball about the size of a golf-ball and placing them on the floor in a quadrangle about eighteen inches apart. Then borrow two hats and place over the two balls farthest from you, and put the other two balls one on top of each hat. Pick the ball from the top of the left hand hat with the left hand and transfer it to the right, and make a motion as if tossing it in the air, showing the right hand empty. Then point with that hand as if following the ball as it invisibly falls toward the left-hand hat. On lifting the hat, two balls will be found under it. Cover these again and repeat the process with the other ball. Raise the hat and show