Sherlock Holmes

and the adventure of

The Conjurers Trick

Part 2

There was no explanation needed for Holmes's bafflingly deduction as moments later the page brought in a card, followed by a gentleman fitting his description so perfectly that for a moment I myself had strange thoughts that my friend possessed unworldly powers. This was but a brief lapse in character though as I soon caught up with Sherlock's method, and as with many of his deductions once all the links in the chain are known they are so very obvious to the simplest of laymen. Holmes had simply described the man as he had pulled up at our door in a cab, a sight which would easily be visible from our sitting room windows. As he would put it, simplicity itself.

'Come in,' implored Holmes, gesturing towards an empty chair, 'Mr Andrews I presume? Prey, do make yourself at home. I'm ever so anxious to hear what you have to consult me about.'

With a slight nod of acknowledgement towards Holmes, our guest hastily made his way across the room to an empty armchair which he gracefully lowered himself into. His hands twitched nervously as did his stiff lips and it was everything it seemed for him to hold his composure. 'Easy Mr Andrews,' Sherlock Holmes said in his most soothing and almost hypnotically reassuring tone, 'there is nothing to be gained from losing ones mind. May I offer you a cigarette or perhaps a drink to calm your nerves?'

With that Mr Andrews gave a second nod to which Holmes extended out a small silver cigarette case. His nervous, spindly finders reached out and took one of the short white sticks, giving it a few light taps before drawing it to his lips. Holmes lit a match and soon, after several minutes in silent smoking our unusual guest spoke. 'I must first apologise for my manner. It's taken all that I have to break down as surely this is an end to my career. I feel as though I am between a rock and a hard place. If I do nothing then surely I am doomed to humiliation but if I report this to the police I will equally be subjected to questions that if answered may expose myself in other way. Either case it appears to me as though my secrets are destined to come to light, much to the joy and entertainment of competitors who have much to gain. Please Mr Holmes, I know of your esteemed reputation for consulting people in dyer situations as well as your tight lipped position to avoiding scandal. You must help me.' And with that he sunk back into the chair with the posture of a man without hope, his superior and sophisticated vizard in tatters.

'Come now,' assured Holmes in his calm way, 'All cannot be as hopeless as you say. Prey, tell me what it is that has been stolen and we shall see if we can shed any light upon this problem of yours yet.'

A convulsion of surprise shot through our visitor and he sat straight up in his chair. 'Stolen? How did you know - '

'Mr Andrews, I believe you said it yourself, that my reputation precedes me does it not? Before you had even graced Baker Street with your elegant step we had already deduced so very much about you, had we not Watson?' Homes nodded to me which I reciprocated. 'From your letter alone we had a strong theory that you were a conjurer, a deduction I will not bore you with at present. This was further confirmed when I observed you leaving the cab from our window. Men of a theatrical nature are masters of deception upon a stage, but upon the stage of life, they are as open as one of my books over there. With what little you have said so far, I find it highly probably that you are the victim of a theft, as naturally if a death were involved it would take a very callous man to only think about his career.'

A slight sigh and sign of relief came across our visitor. 'I had feared that the rumours about you were exaggerated, but in actual fact they scarcely live up to the fact. Everything you have said is as true. As I've yet to truly introduce myself, my name is Eugene S. Andrews and I am the stage magician currently booked for a run of shows over at the Adelphi Theatre. Since opening two weeks ago we've had tremendous success, nearly selling out each night. Well, naturally it is my interest to improve my craft and to construct the next great illusion which will be remembered for years to come, permanently securing my name among the greats. Needless to say that I feel as though I have found this infamous trick and up until yesterday evening, I have been working to fine tune my routine. Here lies my dilemma, as to relinquish the facts I too must relinquish the secrets behind my method which is why I am hesitant to approach the official force. I therefore present myself before your council and request that I have your most solemn word that whatever you may come to learn, passes no further.'

'My sir, your secret is safe with both myself and my associate here, Dr Watson. Both of us have secrets sworn away in the depths of our minds that if they were to be broken in upon, would have all of Europe in an uproar. You have our word.'

'Very well,' said Mr Andrews, 'Well for me to continue I must explain what it is that has been stolen, as you so rightly guessed. In fact it is really two things that have gone missing, an employee of mine along with the lower half of an illusion, a chest of considerable size, the former I strongly suspect as being the thief of the latter. I will elaborate on this man presently, but first if you both would, just think sir's if through some unforeseeable, mystical circumstances a person was to be cut in half? Would this now amaze and baffle you? Well this is the performance I was working on with this traitor along with my manager Mr Percy Selbit, before the theft last night.

'The chest in question is of an unusual nature. It is rather more elaborate then your average box but most notable of all are the two holes cut in one end. These are for the missing man, who I might say, is as unique as the chest itself. He is a dwarf from the orient and it his feet these two holes are for. It is my fear that another magician has come into contact with this traitor and extracted my method along with part of my equipment to attempt to beat me to the stage, thus stripping me of the honour of being the first to perform such a stunt. As you can imagine in my line of work, we keep our secrets and so if another were to steal a trick, it would only be one man's word against another.'

Sherlock Holmes sat quietly for some time, puffing up thick clouds of smoke which covered the hard features of his stricken face. At last he broke the tense silence,'This is the most stimulating of cases. Prey, do tell me how this dwarf came to be in your confidence? Have you had previous work with him?'

'No, not at all. In fact it was only a week ago that I had made his acquaintance. He was brought to me by my manager who had been on the look out for men of his stature. From what I gather he was a street Arab when Percy had found him and was exceedingly thankful to be taken in by us. His English was broken but of the few days we worked together there was not one when he did not show thanks. We allowed him to take a lofty corner back stage for a bed and of an evening he would play cards and drink with the other stage hands. For the time it seemed like we had a loyal confederate. Only now do I see that it was all false.'

Holmes sat forward in his chair, resting his arms on his knees and knotting his fingers together with the look of intrigue riddled across his features. 'So you say that he was introduced by your manager. Can you describe this Percy Selbit to me?'

'Of course. He too is fairly new to myself. He approached me with the offer of management no more then three months back, shortly after I had secured my current contract at the Adelphi Theatre. He is a simple man, clean shaven and finely featured, of an average physique. He dresses modestly and for lack of a better word, he is a rather plain man. If it weren't for his ingenious mind I can't say that I would give him a second though after a meeting.'

'Ingenious mind you say?' Questioned Holmes.

'Yes, he definitely is well suited to be a magician's manager. His mind works almost as my own when it comes to performance. I dare say that he himself would love to step out upon stage if the chance offered itself. But I fear we are getting rather off topic here. Please sir, what do you suggest we do about my stolen illusion and traitorous employee?'

Placing his pipe down carefully on the table, Sherlock Holmes rose with the air of confidence and authority which seemed calming and comforting to many of his clients, while at the same time conveying the underlying excitement and stimulation he gains from the more unique cases of his career. 'My dear sir, your case intrigues me greatly and I will start my investigations immediately. No doubt somewhere along my many outstretched webs into the criminal world, somebody knows of this matter and can shed some light on an otherwise most peculiar crime.'

Eugene Andrews rose to meet Holmes with much vigor, appearing to have found new hope in my friends words. Ringing Sherlock Holmes by the hand, he was as much a new man when compared to the hopeless soul who originally entered our rooms. 'Thank you. Thank you a thousand times over. Please, is there anything I can do to assist?'

'Not at the moment sir,' replied Holmes, placing a comforting hand on the gentleman's shoulder, 'Take your leave, have a restful day and I will start my inquiries. If I have any news I will be sure to telegraph to you at the theatre.'

Barely had our guest departed when Sherlock Holmes rushed to his desk where upon rifling through several draws he pulled out a scrap of paper and began to scribbled down some notes. Soon after he rang the bell and the paper was taken off to the telegraph office. As calm as ever, and as though the momentary burst of energy had never occurred, Holmes slumped himself back down into his favourite armchair, taking back his pipe and continuing to puff away.

'Well?' I inquired, 'What do you make of things?

'It's hard to say. The way I see it, there are a number of theories and any one of them could be at play. What our friend suspects may well be the case. His dwarf confederate may well have stolen part of the illusion for sale to the highest bidder however - '

'However what?'

'Never mind. I feel as though the weather outside has cooled off a little. I think that I might take in some fresh air if you'd care to join me for an afternoon ramble?'

'I have professional matters to attend to now that I am back.' I answered with heavy regret. 'Errands to run before I can continue business as usual.'

'Very well. Perhaps we shall meet here for dinner to discuss the case further.'

And with that Holmes sprung to his feet and was out the door in a flash.