The Dime Museum Murders Read Free Page B

lectured the audience, and directed them on the proper
manner in which to appreciate the genius of Houdini. It might have
played well in Europe, where they still dressed
up their magic acts as "philosophical experiments," but in
New York, they just wanted entertainment.
    "Ladies
and gentlemen," my brother said from the platform, "I am
the Great Houdini, the justly celebrated self-liberator and eclipsing
sensation of Europe. I will now entertain you."
    My
sister-in-law Bess stepped from behind a makeshift curtain, carrying
a velvet-trimmed prop table. She was wearing what I always thought of
as her "sugarplum fairy" costume. It was all gauze and
puffs that made her look like a Christmas ornament with legs. Her
legs were her best feature, and even though she wore tights, I never
understood how she got away with that outfit in those days.
    "And
now," said Harry, "if it will please the ladies and the
gentlemen, I urge you to direct your attention toward the glass bowl
that I am holding. It is enormous, as you see, and very heavy,
because to the brim it is filled with water."
    He
stepped forward, holding the bowl stiffly at arm's length. "Observe
closely, and you will see the little fishes swimming merrily in the
water. Do you see them? They are very jolly little fellows, swimming
back and forth."
    Albert
caught my gaze and rolled his eyes. Faster,
Harry, I
said under my breath. There's
a guy in the back who's still awake.
    "I
command your attention as I place the bowl onto this lacquered tray
that my lovely wife Bess is holding. Now I display for you a large
black foulard. You see it? There is nothing unusual about this cloth.
Here is one side—here is the other. Now I cover the bowl and
lift it high in the air. At this point, you must prepare yourselves
for a miracle. It is really quite an astonishing shock, so I would
ask that you steel your nerves for the amazement which I now
present."
    Just
do the trick, Harry, I
muttered. And
for God's sake, don't mention the travelling circus.
    "Long
ago, when I was a boy in Appleton, in the fine state of Wisconsin,
the travelling circus came to town. It was a wondrous sight for a
small American boy like myself. Jugglers they had, and clowns, and an
elephant, and many tigers. But of all the wonders I saw that day,
none amazed me so much as the magician who caused a bowl of
goldfish—a bowl much like the very one I hold here—to
vanish as if into thin air."
    From
the platform, Bess caught my eye and flinched slightly. She still
held the black lacquered tray, waiting for her cue to leave the
stage. She never lost her frozen smile, but her eyes were haunted.
    "On
that day," Harry continued, "I promised myself that I would
grow up to perform that trick just as well as that man in the circus.
And because this is America, I knew that a boy with a dream in his
heart could grow up to become whatever he wished. A doctor, a lawyer,
a politician ... even a magician! And so, ladies and gentlemen,
behold the miracle of the vanishing goldfish! I throw the foulard
heavenward—and voila!—the enormous bowl has vanished!"
    Let
me tell you three things about the goldfish trick. One, it's the best
stand-alone vanish in the history of magic. Two, it needs to be done
fast, without a lot of anecdotes about the circus. Three, my
sister-in-law Bess is quite a bit stronger than she looks.
    It's
a brilliant trick when it's done right, but you wouldn't have known
it by the six-thirty crowd at Huber's Museum. Their reaction, as
Harry flicked the cloth
heavenward, left much to be desired. One might have called it a
respectful silence. I suppose there must have been some scattered
applause, and perhaps a bit of it was done by someone other than
myself. Most of the others simply shuffled their feet and coughed
politely.
    When
I think back on it, I remember something that Will Rogers once said
about my brother. This was years later, of course. Rogers was
watching from backstage while Harry worked on a