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Show HERE'S A MYSTERY FOR YOU Skull Replies to Question Asked by a Magician. A man who can invent an act of masic that mystifies professional magicians magi-cians themselves has done something worth talking about. "Joseffy," a necromancer ne-cromancer of Chicago, has a human skull that does things at which other magicians marvel. "Josoffy" was in the" citv last Sunday, a guest at the home of Don Turlev,a local magician of talent. In tho parlor of Mr. Turley's home sat Mr. and Mrs. Turley, "Joseffy," "Jo-seffy," a newspaper man, and Dr. A. M. Wilson, a magician himself and publisher publish-er of a magazine dovoted ro magic. In a corner of the room was a black trav. eling case. "Jo?effy,; opened this case and "took from it a human skull with grinning teeth. The newspaper man, skeptical in all things doubtful and mysterious, took the skull in his hands and looked it over carefully. The jaws were hinged, so that they could be opened and closed. The skull rested upon and was fastened to a small round piece of one-inch board. "Will vou please put the skull down somewhere in plain sight?" ''Joseffy" asked. The nowspaper man put it on j tho piano stool, first examining the ) stool, turning it upside down, twirling it around and satisfying himself that there were no wires, strings or electrical appliances anywhere about. All of this time "Joseffy" stood in the doorway, eight feet away from tho skull, and never onco touching it after it was placed on tho piano stool. The skull rested there in a flood of clear daylight, within four feet of four pairs of eyes intently watching it. "This," said "Joseffy." pointing at tho skull, as ho stood eight feet awav from it, "this is tho skull of Joseph Ealsnmo, the great necromancer ofethe sixteenth century. In the spirit world. Balsamo, what is tho signal for yes?" The skull's jaws opened and clicked together three' times. "And the sigual for no?" The jaws opened and closed twice with a sharp click. "Look around tho room. Balsamo, and see if vou know any one here." Slowly tlio skull turned to the right, facing in turn each one in the room, and then turned nnd stopped, facing "Jo-seiYy," "Jo-seiYy," and the jaws clicked together twice. "No7 Thov are all strangers to you? Doctor," will you please loolc at your watch and see what time it is?" It was 4:45 o'clock. "Balsamo," said the magician, "will you please tell the doctor what time it would be if we added' five hours and fortv-live minutes to Iho present hour?" The jaws ope.neT and shut nine times " Do' vou, see the ring on the lady's iineer, Balsamo?" The skull turned slowly and laced tho hand held out by Mrs. Turley. Tho laws snapped three times. "Is it a diamond? Two snaps of the jaws. Then tho necromancer handed the newspaper man a deck of cards and asked him to select se-lect one and carefully conceal it. It was the nine of spades. "How many spots on this gentleman's gentle-man's card, Balsamo?" The jaws opened andlshut nine times. Iu the same manner tho skull tAld that it was not a heart, diamond or club, but I that it was a 6pade. By the snapping of I its jaws it added up a column oi figures put down by the doctor nnd did other things equally strange. At tho end of tho performance the newspaper man lifted the skull from the piano stool and looked closely for wires or strings, but there were none. It was a mystery. Turlcj' said so. Dr. Wilson, editor of the magical paper, declared de-clared that it was the only magical act he had ever seen that ho could not explain, ex-plain, and he said so in an issue of his journal last week. "Joseffy" smiled. He had been of-lered of-lered $2000 for the skull and the secret I of how it is worked. I "Nobody will ever know," is his only reply to such offers. Wherever he goes he carries tho skull, holdinc it by i n strap across his shoulder. Kanas ' I City Star. I |
