II. PRELIMINARY PREPARATIONS
One of the best methods of getting possession of a bill secretly is by means of a slit about an inch long in the address side of an envelope, parallel with the long side. The envelope is shown with the flap side toward the spectators, then the inside is shown with the fingers of the right hand covering the slit.
Push the folded bill fairly inside the envelope (the flap side being toward the spectators) so that its end goes through the slit, where it is held with the left fingers. Fasten the flap and in due course pull the bill out of the slit with the left fingers and finger palm it. A small oblong piece of paper is generally pasted inside the envelope, so that when this is held before the flame of a candle the shadow is taken for proof that the bill is really in the envelope. An additional effect can be obtained by making this extra piece of flash paper. When the envelope is burned, the usual way of disposing of it, there is a sudden flare when the flame reaches the flash paper.
A convincing touch is to paste a piece torn from the corner of a stage bill to the rear side of the envelope inside near the edge. This is hidden by the left fingers when the envelope is pulled open to show the inside, but when the bill is put in the envelope the right fingers pull it into view. Then the flap is moistened, but not stuck down until the flame has almost reached this piece. To the spectator this is proof positive that the bill has been burned and its subsequent restoration becomes real magic.
By using a cheap, thin grade of envelope the slit need not be out in it beforehand and the envelope can be handed out for examination. When it is returned and you hold it up (with the fingers of the right hand inside and the right thumb on the address side) to show that it is empty, it is an easy matter to make the required slit with the thumb nail.
There is still another method which allows for the examination of the envelope—the showing of the shadow of the bill itself after its insertion and the exhibition of both hands after the flap has been fastened down. In this case the bill is apparently inserted with the address side of the envelope to the audience, but it is really held on the outside by the left thumb. When the flap is moistened its tip is left dry, so that when it is pressed down it will hold the bill in place but can be pulled away later when required (Fig. 6). In the meantime the hands can be shown freely, also the actual shadow of the bill.
A favorite way of reproducing a bill is to find it inside a lemon or an orange. When duplicate bills are used, the fruit is prepared by removing the capsule left on the fruit when the stalk was broken. Insert an ice pick at this spot and make a hole large enough to take the bill, which you have folded and rolled very tightly. Push the bill in carefully so as not to break the rind, wipe off any juice which may have been squeezed out, and fasten the capsule in place again with a tiny drop of rubber cement. A lemon or an orange prepared in this way will stand the closest examination.
To insert a bill in a cigarette, another popular method of reproduction, roll the cigarette in a piece of note paper the same length and with the blunt end of a pencil push about two-thirds of the tobacco out, insert the bill, and fill the remaining space with the tobacco.
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