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“Doesn’t work now,” Shaut said as the rotating platforms slowed down and the noise ceased.
Pro looked at the box Shaut held. “Where’s the foot pedal? And the thing it was attached to?”
“What?” Shaut said, and turned the box over in his hands. “There’s no foot pedal, and no way to attach one.”
Chu walked over. “We both saw Max use a foot pedal.”
Pro nodded. “Yes, and when I hit that red power control, the cord from the foot switch was attached to a small box about the size of a pack of gum.” She pointed at a spot on the box where there was a perfectly round hole. “I think it was attached there.”
“So he brought something along to make it work,” Shaut grumbled. “He must have been here earlier and figured out what was missing.” He put the box down. “That crazy bastard.”
“We still don’t know where he went,” Chu said.
“That I might be able to help you with,” Shaut said and moved past Chu to the large cabinet. “You said he was standing in front of this box, right?”
Chu crossed his arms. “Yes, so what?”
“I’ll show you,” Shaut said, as he stepped into the cabinet and drew the curtain closed along the front.
“He didn’t go into the box or close the curtain,” Chu complained.
“Well then,” came Shaut’s voice from the box. “Open the curtain and take a look!”
Chu walked up and yanked the curtain aside, and gasped. The cabinet was empty.
Pro smiled and shook her head as she drew closer. “I didn’t recognize it. That’s a mirror cabinet.”
“Right you are!” came the disembodied voice from inside the box. “Perhaps you will allow me to reappear?”
Pro stepped and pulled the curtain closed. A moment later, the curtain was slid aside by Shaut who stepped onto the floor.
Chu was dumbfounded. He walked over and stepped into the box, but everything appeared normal. “What just happened?”
“Some basic tricks in the magic lexicon,” Pro said, then turned to Shaut. “May I show my partner how it works?”
“You know how to use it?” Shaut asked, an eyebrow raised.
Pro glanced into the empty box and nodded. “I think I can work the gimmick.”
“Gimmick?” Chu said, still in the box looking around. “I can barely fit in here!” He tapped the back wall. “Where did you go, out the back?”
“He went nowhere,” Pro explained. “Here, step out and I’ll show you.”
Chu shrugged and stepped to the floor and Pro got into the box.
“Okay impress me,” Chu grunted.
“You’ve been impressed enough. Let me just explain it. You see these vertical stripes? They are designed to catch your eye.”
“I guess, but that doesn’t explain where Mister Shaut or Max went.”
“What you don’t know is that there are two mirrors on both side walls of this cabinet. They are hinged, with the backs of the mirrors painted with these stripes,” Pro said. “There are also the exact same design under the mirrors, to create the illusion the box is empty.”
“I still don’t get it,” Chu insisted.
“I’ll show you,” Pro said as she got into position. “When the curtain is closed, all I have to do is pull two cloth tabs on each side.”
She pulled a small piece of cloth on the inside of the cabinet that Chu hadn’t noticed. There was a shimmer of light, as the right wall slid into the box to cover her. She then pulled the other tab and the left one moved. The two mirrors met in the middle and once in place, they reflected the striped inner wall.
