42
PLANCHETTE.
then the left-hand door; and finally the middle door was
closed. At the same time the gas-lights were lowered, so that
it was twilight in the room. Within ten seconds, two hands
were seen by the committee and by the audience, at an opening
near the top of the middle door; and, one minute after, the
doors opened of their own accord, and the boy bound so tightly
walked out unbound, the ropes lying on the floor, every knot
being untied. The other boy had not been released ; and "a care¬
ful examination showed every knot and every rope to be in the
precise place in which the committee left it.
“The doors being closed as before, with nothing in the box
besides one of the boys, bound as described, hand and foot, with
all th^knots beyond the reach of his hands or mouth, in less
than one minute they opened without visible cause; and the
boy walked out unbound, every knot being untied.
“ b. The box being again carefully examined, and found to
contain nothing but the seats, the boj's were placed in them
unbound, one seated at one end and one at another. Be¬
tween them on the floor was. thrown a large bundle of ropes.
The doors were then closed. In less than two minutes, they
opened as before; and the boys were bound hand and foot in
their seats. The committee examined the knots and the ar¬
rangements of the ropes, and declared them more securely
bound than when they had tied them themselves. I then made
a careful examination of the manner in which they were tied,
and found as follows : viz., a rope was tightly passed around
each wrist and tied, the hands being behind the back; the ends
were then drawn through the holes in the seat, and tied under¬
neath, drawing the hands firmly down on the seat. A second
rope was passed several times around both legs and firmly tied,
binding the legs together. A third rope was tied to the legs and
then fastened to the middle of the back side of the box. A
fourth rope was also attached to the legs and drawn backward,
and tied to the ropes underneath the seat, which bound the
hands. This last rope was so tightened as to take the slack out
of the others. Every rope was tight; and no movement of the