"Test?" I asked with more than a
touch of that Carpenter curiosity.
Before he could answer, a couple of youngsters
who had watched his act reappeared, asking Max for his
autograph. The magician cordially responded by digging in his
trunk for some of his black and white promotional photographs.
After getting his signature on them, the kids ran down the
street ecstatic with their new treasure. Max then lifted the hat
full of money; weighing it in his hands for a second, he
announced, "One-hundred-seventeen dollars and forty-seven
cents. Would you check that for me? You are an accountant aren't
you?" Max asked. "You account and I'll tell you about
the test."
The sun was just setting; the festival was
winding down and many of the booths were closing shop. At Max’s
request, I started doing what I was supposed to be good at,
counting money.
"James," Max began, "every year
I perform the escape and vanish seven-hundred seventy-seven
times. Sounds amazing doesn’t it? Actually I use that
number just to make the story interesting. Really, I have no
idea how may times I do that particular act each year, probably
somewhere around fifteen, I suppose. Well, anyway, I have been
doing that act since I was about a year older than you are now.
How old are you anyway?"
"Twenty-eight," I replied. He
laughed and pointed to my handful of bills, knowing I was in the
middle of counting and that his questioning would prove to
confuse me. It did; I lost count. But I just chuckled and
started over. "Well, I will actually turn twenty-nine in a
couple of days," I added.
"Exactly," Max stated, "I
started the escape act at thirty years of age. Anyway, I have
been performing around the world, in twelve languages for about
twenty years. Each and every time, I have a volunteer, like
yourself, assist. In all of those shows, in all that time, I
have met only three other people who demonstrated the same
qualities you possess. But unfortunately all three failed the
test.
"Meeting you here today was no accident.
Fate threw you into my circle for a reason." He then placed
his hands on top of mine to make me stop counting the money and
said, "You can feel it too, can’t you? I’ve been
looking for you for a long time – James," he said, "you
are the one."
