Harry Houdini; by Jillian

 

      ”Did anyone bring handcuffs for I, the great Houdini to escape?” The audience looked around. I looked around. My assistants in the pitch black audience who had extra cuffs looked around. ”I do!”  said Sargent Waldron from the Chicago police department who was sitting in the middle of the eighth row.   Waldron hopped up the hollow wood stairs and was on the stage in a flash. ”Click, Snap”. He hooked his handcuffs on my wrists.   “Houdini, these are impossible to open”. “Let’s find out”.  

Boom! Went the lid of my special box that I got in to escape handcuffs in.  Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock… It seemed like time was passing so slowly. Two minutes seemed like two hours. As I struggled more I began to think: What if I can’t escape? How did Waldron make these? What will people think of me if I fail? Should I give up or quit? I really shouldn’t quit but I’ll… ”Houdini, give up?!!!” said Waldron.

“I guess so” I guiltily shrugged climbing exhausted out of the box.

 ”Since you just gave up, I’ll confess, I put a piece of lead in the keyhole to jam the lock”.  It was an unfair trick! As a bunch of people helped saw off the cuffs I thought about the newspaper headlines, ” Sargt. Waldron Police Officer or Mastermind?” “Houdini tricked at his own show” which would it be? One day I hope my tricks will make history of the greatest ones in the world, one day.

    As I remember doing this trick I remember how sad I was when Waldron confessed he cheated. I also learned every one has their own special talent, (kind of like how I am good at magic and Waldron is good at making handcuffs).

Authors Note

    Harry Houdini was a world famous magician who did tricks that were beyond anyone ability. Harry was born Ehrich (Eh- Rik) Weiss before he changed his name to Harry Houdini (after the great Houdin, another magician). When Harry was twelve he ran away to a circus and performed tricks. When he quit he had a new job at a factory.

     When he quit that job he married Bess Wilhelmia, a girl he met while  they were both performing an act at Coney Island. Houdini and Bess starred in many circuses and did many tricks together.  After a few years he did handcuff tricks and failed only once because of Waldron.  After many years he exposed spiritualists as frauds after finding proof.

      A year later he died of a ruptured appendix. Harry was very athletic so he let a student punch him in the stomach.  As he got out of his chair the boy punched him three times before he tightened his stomach muscles. Ten days later he died at the age fifty two. His funeral procession traveled down Broadway in New York and was buried next to his mother in the year nineteen twenty- six.