This basket can be supplied by the conjuring depots, or it can easily be made.  The handle can be made of wire and wrapped with raffia grass which is on sale at the department stores.  A pasteboard lining covered with red satin must first be sewed into the basket, and then two flaps of pasteboard should be hinged to a pasteboard bottom by pasting on a hinge of cloth.  A suitable spring can be made of spring wire and sewed into position, after which this is all covered with red satin and placed in the basket.  The basket should have sides about four inches high, and the bottom should measure about seven and one-half by ten inches.  The sides and ends slope outward, and the basket is open wicker work.  Suitable bows of ribbon on the ends of the handle and corners of the basket conceal the mechanism.

In the present instance, the assistant behind the scenes, after reading and placing the questions in duplicate envelopes which the manager had previously numbered, sealed them and placed them in the sides of the basket, bent up the flaps into position, and lowered the handle locking them in place.  He now pushed this basket into view on a table at the rear of the stage; and when the manager was ready to return the envelopes, he scooped the dummy envelopes from the table (where they lay after the bag was emptied) into this basket.  He then lifted the handle which released the flaps, covered up the dummy envelopes and dropped the originals into view.  These he took down and quickly distributed to the writers.  Being numbered, this could be quickly done.

. . . . .

I will now describe the method employed on the third evening.  This time dummy envelopes were placed in the sides of the basket, and the handle left in a lowered position while the operator gathered up the envelopes.  As the manager returned to the stage he took the basket by the handle.  This released the dummy envelopes, and covered up the originals retaining them.  He emptied the dummy envelopes upon the small table and then laid the basket on a table near the flies in the rear, and rather out of view.  An assistant behind the scenes took out the original envelopes, opened them, and as he read the questions repeated them into a small telephone.  The wires from this telephone ran under the stage carpet to a pair of metal plates with a tack in the center of each plate which pointed upward.  These plates were located under certain spots in the carpet and directly in front of the medium’s chair.  There were also two other pairs of wires leading to two other positions on the stage.  The medium was dressed as a “Mahatma” on this evening, wearing a large turban.  A large tassel dangled by his left ear, completely concealing a small “watch-case receiver” which was attached to this ear.  Two tiny wires led from this receiver, inside his collar, down his person, and were connected inside his shoes to other wires which penetrated the soles