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Title: A trick of the mind
Author: William P. Salton
Release date: May 24, 2024 [eBook #73678]
Language: English
Original publication: New York, NY: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, 1957
Credits: Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TRICK OF THE MIND ***
A TRICK OF THE MIND
By WILLIAM P. SALTON
_The average person uses about ten
percent of his mind. The rest lies
dormant. But Donovan's whole brain
suddenly went into action. This
posed an interesting question. Can a
man think his way out of jail?_
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Fantastic January 1958.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
Paul Donovan was sitting at a bar when he learned the trick. He
had reached out to lift his martini glass when his hand stopped in
mid-air--stood rigid--refused to move.
Paul stared at it. Sweat broke out on his forehead. Thoughts of
paralysis raced through his mind. The hand and arm seemed things apart
and he had a feeling of not possessing them--of complete divorcement
from these members. Then he realized his whole body was frozen and his
mind--there was something new about it--something alien; as though it
floated above his head and looked down at him in amusement.
Panic flared, then subsided, as he became aware of a strange newness
within himself; vague and undefinable, this newness, but it was
definitely a change; something he had never felt before.
_Think_, he told himself fiercely. _There's nothing wrong with you. You
aren't drunk. This is only your second martini. Stop this nonsense and
pick up that glass._
The order was given with every ounce of his brain power behind it. And
the order was obeyed--but in a completely illogical manner. His body
instantly became lax and docile, but the offending hand dropped to the
bar as the martini glass--seemingly of its own volition--moved across
the bar, levitated to his lips, tilted, and poured the drink into his
mouth. The martini went smoothly down his throat after which the glass
returned to its former position.
* * * * *
Paul snatched out a handkerchief and wiped his lips as he glanced
guiltily up and down the bar. Had anyone been watching? Apparently not.
Then Paul saw a small man with an ingrown chin get shakily off his
stool.
The little man gulped as he eyed Paul in terror. Then he looked back at
his own beer glass as though it had turned into a cobra. Now he threw
down a quarter and headed for the door.
Paul grinned. Not interested in questioning or analyzing his new power,
he was satisfied in being happy with it, in examining its possibilities.
He ordered another drink. The barkeep set it before him, turned away,
and another miracle was performed, as slowly, steadily, the martini
glass moved across the polished bar.
At the edge, it rose evenly in the air. The martini glided smoothly
down Paul's throat. Empty, the glass returned to the table.
Paul tingled all over, thoroughly enjoying the new thrill, the new
sense of power. It was far more intoxicating than the martinis
themselves.
With a marked sense of superiority he again looked up and down the bar.
The first flash of fear gone, he now regarded the other drinkers with
patronizing contempt.
That fat fellow there at the end for instance. Drinking a manhattan.
Trying to look like a banker. Trying to impress the people. Pompous
ass! _Maybe I can fix his wagon_, Paul thought.
The man raised his glass with an exaggerating sweep of his hand. Paul
concentrated and the poor unfortunate poured its entire contents over
his immaculate shirt front.
The barflies snickered as the man fumbled a bill onto the bar and fled.
* * * * *
_It worked_, Paul gloated.
A waiter passed carrying a tray of appetizers. Paul closed his eyes,
"thought" one into his mouth and tasted the sharp salty flavor of
anchovy. This was fun!
Next he noticed a glossy dame sitting near the center of the bar
pushing out her front until it reminded him of twin cannons. So she
thought she could scrounge another drink from the guy next to her,
huh? Why didn't she just pick his pocket and be done with it?
Why not indeed? Effortlessly the man's wallet flew out of his hip
pocket and arced down into her low-cut bodice. The girl angled her
popping eyes downward. Paul chuckled to himself as she slipped off the
stool and headed for the ladies' room.
It was all so easy.
If he could manipulate his new-found power so cleverly, why not do
something truly epic? Like dropping a brick on his boss's head.
Or--come to think of it--how about putting some money into his own
pocket?
The cashier at the end of the bar rang up a sale. Then with the cash
drawer still open his attention was attracted by a waiter. Opportunity!
With hardly any effort at all Paul transferred a ten-dollar bill from
the drawer into his shirt pocket. It crackled excitingly as he pressed
it flat with a casual hand.
Pure excitement swept him. He could do anything! Move into the really
spectacular. He could--could even rob a bank!
Thus when the armored truck pulled up across the street his mind was
conditioned for its arrival. Through the window he saw the rear door
open. Then two armed guards emerged. Bored by the routine, one of them
actually yawned as a third guard appeared from the theatre entrance in
front of which they were parked. He was carrying a satchel.
As he handed it into the truck Paul's mind worked automatically. Then
he watched as the guards vanished inside the truck and closed the door.
The truck spouted a white exhaust and pulled away.
* * * * *
Paul was trembling now, suddenly aghast at what he had done. This
wasn't a parlor game anymore, and he told himself it hadn't happened;
told himself this in quick desperation; that this whole thing had been
nothing more than an idle daydream, a moment's relaxation along with a
few drinks.
Like hell it was! Regardless of how he figured it he was now a bigtime
thief. Bigtime? How much is bigtime? How much money was now stuffed in
the briefcase beside his stool? He reached down surreptitiously and
hefted the bag for weight. Plenty!
He ordered another drink and gave it no chance to play tricks,
snatching the glass firmly by the stem and lifting it the old fashioned
way. It didn't help much.
Then real panic welled up as a heavy hand dropped on his shoulder, and
he turned and saw the goggle eyes of the little fat man; saw a pudgy
finger pointed accusingly.
"I tell 'ya officers this is the guy. And he's nuts. Stark raving nuts,
I'm telling 'ya. He gets his drinks without even lifting them. They
bounce right off the bar."
There were two policemen, a rather bored oldster with signs of
breakfast on the front of his uniform and a spruced up young patrolman
not yet disillusioned.
The older cop dropped his hand from Paul's shoulder and spoke with a
certain deference. "This is no charge, mister. Just a routine look-in.
Our friend here is all excited about something and--well, you know how
it is."
"That's okay, officer," Paul croaked, striving to control his voice.
The younger cop, taking a cue from his superior's manner, threw a stern
look at the discomfited fat man. "Do you want to prefer any charges,
mister?"
The fat man took an involuntary backward step, banged his heel against
Paul's briefcase and instantly both policemen were staring at the floor.
Paul's eyes followed theirs. A chill went deep into his bones. That
faulty catch. He'd meant to get it fixed. Now it was his undoing as a
heap of banded banknotes spilled out on the floor.
The elder cop broke the silence. "Maybe there'll be some charges--maybe
not--but I think we'll take a walk to the station all the same."
* * * * *
Paul clawed at his mind for a retort. "Any law against carrying money?"
he asked trying to make it sound light.
"No law against it--no. But you've got to admit this is pretty unusual."
"Do you think I stole this money?"
The officer tipped his cap back and scratched his ear reflectively.
"No, but I got a hunch it doesn't belong to you. I don't think you got
any right sitting here in this bar with it. I think maybe you got a
boss somewhere that might have sent you to a bank or something and he
could be real nervous wondering why you don't get back. We'll just
take a little walk to the station and no offense to anybody, okay?"
* * * * *
Paul's mind was numb as he stood between the officers at the call
box. He could not force his brain to function even normally, let
alone execute any mental tricks discovered in the bottom of a martini
glass. A squad car pulled up and he climbed docilely in the back seat
and sat like a man in a trance between the two silent policemen. At
the station there was the added chill of feeling like a man alone, a
criminal involved in a terrible experience that was merely routine to
the tormentors who walked by his side.
It was one of the older stations with a well-worn floor marked by the
scuffing footsteps of many an unhappy wrongdoer. The desk sergeant had
a sagging disillusioned face and a pair of eyes that had given up all
hope of Utopia. He turned them on Paul and grunted, "What's the gripe?"
The senior officer did the talking. "We don't exactly know, Sergeant,
but we got a lead on this character, found him sitting in a gin mill
with enough dough in his ketch to pay off the national debt. It seemed
a little out of line somehow."
The desk sergeant stretched his scrawny neck and peered down at the
offending briefcase. "The dough in there?"
"Right."
"Let's have a look."
The younger officer lifted the bag as though it contained the secret to
every unsolved crime on the books and deposited it triumphantly on the
desk.
"Pretty battered leather to lug around real dough in," the sergeant
commented. He lifted the flap and reached inside. Then he scowled at
the accusing cop and tipped the briefcase upside down.
A sheaf of white papers fell out; a pack of new lead pencils Paul had
lifted from the supply shelf that afternoon and a copy of _Lurid Sex_
he had bought at the corner newsstand. That was all.
The desk sergeant slammed the briefcase down on the desk and glowered
at the trio before him. "What kind of a rib is this? You jerks think I
got nothing more to do than sit here and let you bounce your gags off
me? Besides this isn't even a gag. It's got no point. Let's have the
snapper, I'm listening."
The elder cop turned pale with amazement. The younger one, obviously
of different metabolism, had turned beet red. After a thick pause they
found their voices simultaneously.
"I'll swear on the Bible that there was money in that damn briefcase
when we first looked into it...."
* * * * *
Paul passed up the bus, preferring to walk the ten blocks to his
apartment. He needed the air and the sense of freedom was glorious.
Thank heaven his mind had come unstuck that last moment and now the
sheaf of money was back where it belonged--in the satchel of the
armored car guard. Humbled, completely chastened and not a little
scared, Paul hoped he had caused no one any inconvenience.
And strong indeed were his resolutions: no more mental transference. In
fact no more martinis. From now on he would get his money the hard way.
In the end that would turn out to be by far the easiest.
THE END
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK A TRICK OF THE MIND ***
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