A shout went up from the neighborhood of the mansion. Nearly all who had attended the party had seen the skillful way in which the dangerous animal had been dispatched. Leo was the first to reach Carl"s side.
"By jove! Carl, that was great!" he e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed. "You did him up in jig time."
"You are a brave young man and no mistake," put in Walter Raymond. "Not one man in a hundred would have tackled that dog. I wouldn"t have done it for a thousand dollars."
"I don"t want any more of it," answered the young magician, as he wiped the perspiration from his forehead. "Shall I go on with the performance?" he continued to the young man of the house.
"I don"t know as the folks are in the humor," replied Walter Raymond.
"We"ll do a double act and make them forget the dog incident," said Leo quickly.
The gardener was called, and he removed the body of the canine. As soon as this was accomplished Leo and Carl set to work to do some sleight-of-hand performances of a humorous nature.
Taking Leo by the nose, Carl pretended to extract from his mouth a handkerchief, a baseball cap, and then a live frog.
To those wishing to know how this was accomplished he would say they were purely tricks of dexterity. Carl had the articles mentioned about his person and concealed them in his hand as he reached for Leo"s mouth.
A handkerchief and a baseball cap can be rolled into very small b.a.l.l.s when it is necessary, and even a frog is small when tightly held.
Then, because Leo would not let him get anything else out of his mouth, Carl pretended to get angry.
"I"ll bang myself against the tree!" he cried, and, rushing up to the nearest hardwood tree, he brought his forehead up against the bark. A thump was heard and each time his head went forward another thump followed.
"Oh, he"ll hurt his head!" shrieked several of the girls.
But Carl did not hurt his head a bit. His head struck the tree very lightly. The thump was made by his fist, which, however, was kept concealed from the audience.
In the meantime Leo did some funny work on the ground, bending himself into an odd shape backward and hopping around after the released frog.
By this time a crowd had a.s.sembled in the grounds, for the grown folks were not supposed to come in until late. Seeing this, Carl stepped up on a little bench.
"Now, ladies and gentlemen, I will give you an exhibition of one of my most wonderful tricks," he said. "Is any one of you a good shot with a horse-pistol?"
There was a pause, and then an elderly gentleman with but one arm stepped forward.
"I fancy I can accommodate you," he said with a smile. "I am considered a crack shot, and was an officer in the cavalry."
"Very well, sir; I will give you the pleasure of shooting me."
As Carl spoke he brought out a long pistol.
"Please examine this," he went on, and as the pistol went the round of the crowd he opened his valise and brought forth a horn of powder and a good-sized ball.
"I wish you would mark this bullet so you will know it again," he continued. "And will somebody bring me a nice, ripe apple?"
The apple was brought, and Walter Raymond marked the bullet with his knife. Then with great gravity Carl proceeded to load the pistol.
"There goes the powder, here the paper, here the ball, and here more paper. Did you all see it loaded?"
"Yes, yes!"
"Good! Thanks for the apple-I"ll eat it after I am shot. Now then, Mr.
Cavalry Officer, kindly take your station over there, aim straight for my heart, and fire."
"But-but I might kill you!" suggested the one-armed man nervously.
"Never mind-I"m like a cat that has nine lives. Go ahead. Ready?"
"Yes."
Carl took the apple given him and held it on his palm at arm"s length.
"Now aim for my heart. Ready? Fire!"
Bang! With a loud explosion the pistol went off, and for a moment the spectators were enveloped in smoke.
As it cleared away the young magician was seen to be standing as before.
There was a smile on his face.
"I am much obliged to you for shooting me," he said. "But what has become of the bullet?"
Thus speaking he bit into the apple.
"Hullo! what"s this? The bullet, I declare! Look!"
He was right; the bullet, with the mark still upon it, was embedded in the heart of the apple!
CHAPTER XVIII.-A WONDERFUL TRICK EXPLAINED.
"Wonderful!"
"That"s the best trick I"ve seen yet!"
"Really a remarkable performance," said the old cavalry officer, who had done the firing. "How did you do it?"
To this question Carl, of course, made no reply. He was not in the habit of giving away his secrets.
But we will let our curious readers into the mystery. The way the trick was worked was as follows:
When Carl received the marked bullet back from Walter Raymond he subst.i.tuted in its stead a similar-looking one made of amalgam of tinfoil and quicksilver. This bullet was rammed into the pistol so forcibly that it went to pieces beneath the paper. Even if it had not gone to pieces the firing of the weapon would have shattered it.
When Carl received the apple he split it partly open and dropped the marked bullet inside on the sly. The rest of the trick will now be readily understood.
The remarkable performance with the pistol and some additional acrobatic feats from Leo brought the entertainment to a close, and the two performers hurried to the house to get into their street dress.
"You must have dinner here before you leave," said Walter Raymond as he paid them off. "It is but a slight return for killing that mad bulldog and saving the children."