Out of the Sun by Robert Goddard Read Free Book Online Page A

University of Leipzig set my great-grandfather several tests of hyper-dimensionalism, all of which he passed, though not necessarily in the way Professor Zollner had asked him to. The Slades, it seems, have always had a sense of humour." He grinned, handed one end of the rope to each of the men and asked them to stand just far enough apart for it to hang between them in a semi-circle. "Who can tie a figure-of-eight knot in this rope without Mark or Neil letting go?" Nobody responded. "For those bound by three spatial dimensions, it's impossible. For those who are not, it's as simple as fastening a shoelace." He reached out, ran his hand round the bottom of the loop, hooked his index finger over it, performed a sudden twisting movement and .. . hey presto, as the Great Caldenza would probably have said, there was a well-formed figure-of-eight knot in the rope, tied without either end being released. And there too was a storm of applause.
    "Coffee for the lady," said Slade, swooping over to the table and filling the cup. He handed it to the woman and, when she had taken a sip, said: "How long have you been married, Amanda?"
    "Eighteen months," she replied hesitantly.
    "And you've worn an engagement ring as well as a wedding ring all that time?"
    "Yes."
    "Always the same way round wedding ring first, engagement ring second?"
    "Yes. Of course."
    "Until tonight."
    "What? No, I But when she looked at her wedding finger, she so nearly dropped her cup in surprise that Slade had to take it from her.
    "Which way round are they tonight, Amanda?"
    "The .. . the other way."
    "If I'd tried to slide them off while handing you the cup, you'd have noticed, wouldn't you? Besides, it's quite hot in here, so they'd probably stick a bit. But not if you simply lift them up and swap them over."
    Amanda seemed as genuinely shocked as the audience was genuinely impressed. Harry did not know what to think. But, before he had the chance to ponder the point, Slade had moved on.
    "It's OK, Amanda. Your rings are completely unharmed. Finish your coffee. It'll calm you down."
    She took the cup from him, raised it obediently from the saucer to drink, then stopped. "It's empty," she said in amazement.
    "So it is," said Slade. "Now, what did I do with that?" More applause.
    "Never mind. I'll pour you another." Amanda by now resembled somebody in a hypnotic trance. After filling the cup and giving it back to her, Slade ambled over to Mark and Neil. "You can let go now, gentlemen," he said, taking the rope away and handing them each one of the wooden hoops. "It's time for a little healthy competition. The coffee-pot's solid silver. And it's yours if you can toss your hoop over it. Fairground stuff, eh? In fact, a piece of cake. Test the hoops first. Make sure they're solid. Stretch them. Twist them. Bite them if you like." When Mark and Neil had tapped and strained to their satisfaction, he stepped back and waved them into action. "Fire away. Would you like to go first, Mark?"
    But priority made no difference. From the far side of the stage, with nerves ajangle, it turned out to be too much for both of them. Mark's fell dismally short, while Neil's went way over the top. Slade retrieved them with eye-rolling expressions of mock disgust, then took careful aim himself, as if intent on showing the audience how it should be done. But what he showed them was rather different. The first hoop flew low and fast through the air, striking the table-leg about halfway up and ricocheting away. "If at first you don't succeed," remarked Slade unabashed, 'try something else." He tossed the second hoop almost nonchalantly. It too struck the table-leg, but did not rebound from it. Instead, it somehow looped itself around the leg and could suddenly be seen rattling to rest round the base. Some people stood up. Others gasped in astonishment. Even Harry was taken aback. He was not at all sure that Secrets of Houdini would contain an explanation of what he had just seen. He was not