Or Your Money Back - Randall Garrett

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Or your money back by Gordon Randall Garrett. There are
times when I don't know my own strength, or at
least the strength of my advice, and the case of
Jason Holly was certainly an instance of one of those times.
When he came to my office with his gadget, I

(00:21):
heard him out trying to appear both interested and cooperative,
which is good business. But I am forced to admit
that neither Holly nor his gadget were very impressive. He
was a lean, slope shouldered individual five feet eight or nine,
which was shorter than he looked, with straight brown hair
combed straight back, and blue eyes which were shielded with

(00:44):
steel rimmed glasses. The thick, double concave lenses indicated a
degree of myopia that must have bordered on total blindness
without glasses, and acute tunnel vision even with them. He
had a crisp in sight manner that indicated he was
either a man who knew what he was doing or

(01:05):
a man who was trying to impress me with a
ready made story. I listened to him and looked at
his gadget without giving any more indication than necessary of
what I really thought. When he was through, I said
you understand, mister Holly, that I'm not a patent lawyer.
I specialize in criminal law. Now I can recommend, but

(01:28):
he cut me off. I understand that, counselor, he said,
sharply believe me. I have no illusion whatever that this
thing is patentable under the present patent system. Even if
it were. This gadget is designed to do something that
may or may not be illegal, which would make it
hazardous to attempt to patent it. I should think you

(01:50):
don't patent new devices for blowing safe or new drugs
for doping horses. Do you? Probably not, I said dryly, although,
as I say, I'm not qualified to give an opinion
on patent law. You say that gadget is designed to
cause minute but significant changes in the velocities of small
moving objects. Just how does that make it illegal? He

(02:15):
frowned a little. Well, possibly it wouldn't except here in Nevada. Specifically,
it is designed to influence roulette and dice games. I
looked at the gadget with a little more interest this time.
There was nothing new in the idea of inventing a
gadget to cheat the Red and Black wheels. Of course,

(02:36):
the local cops turn up a dozen a day here
in the city. Most of them either don't work at all,
or else they're too obvious, so the users get nabbed
before they have a chance to use them. The only
ones that really work have to be installed in the
tables themselves, which means they're used to milk the suckers,

(02:56):
not rob the management, and anyone in the state of
Nevada who buys his license to operate and then uses
crooked wheels as a stupid and be out of business
within a week. Howley was right. Only in a place
where gambling is legalized is it illegal and unprofitable to

(03:18):
rig a game. The gadget itself didn't look too complicated
from the outside. It was a black plastic box about
an inch and a half square and maybe three and
a half long. On one end was a lensed opening
half an inch in diameter, and on two sides there
were flat silver colored plates. On top of it, there

(03:40):
was a dial which was say, an inch in diameter,
and it was marked off just exactly like a roulette wheel.
How does it work, I asked? He picked it up
in his hand, holding it as though it were a flashlight,
with the lens pointed away from him. You aim the
lens at the wheel, he explained, making sure that your

(04:01):
thumb is touching the silver plate on one side and
your fingers touching the plate on the other side. Then
you set this dial for whatever number you want to
come up and concentrate on it while the ball is spinning.
For dice, of course, you only need to use the
first six or twelve numbers on the dial, depending on
the game. I looked at him for a long moment,

(04:25):
trying to figure his angle. He looked back steadily, his
eyes looking like small beads peering through the bottoms of
a couple of shot glasses. You look skeptical, counselor, he said,
at last, I am a man who hasn't got the
ability to be healthily skeptical. Has no right to practice law,

(04:48):
especially criminal law. On the other hand, no lawyer has
any right to judge anything one way or the other
without evidence. But that's neither here nor there. At the moment,
what I'm interested in is what do you want me
to do? People rarely come to a criminal lawyer unless

(05:10):
they're in a jam. What sort of jam are you
in at the moment? None, said Holly, But I will
be very soon, I hope. Well, I've heard odd statements
than that from my clients. I let it ride for
the moment and look down at the notes I'd taken
while he told me his story. You're a native of

(05:34):
New York City, I asked. That's right, that's what I said.
And you came out here for what to use? That
thing on our nevada tables? That's right, counselor. Can't you
find any gains to cheat on back home? Oh? Certainly,
plenty of them, but they aren't legal. I wouldn't care

(05:56):
to get mixed up in anything illegal. Besides, it wouldn't
suit my purpose. That stopped me for a moment. You
don't consider cheating illegal. It certainly is a nevada in
New York. If you were caught at it, you'd have
the big gambling interest on your neck. Here. You'll have

(06:17):
both them and the police after you, and the District
Attorney's office. He smiled. Yes, I know that's what I'm expecting.
That's why I need a good lawyer to defend me.
I understand you're the top man in this city, mister Holly,
I said carefully. As a member of the Bar Association,

(06:41):
and a practicing attorney in the state of Nevada. I
am an officer of the court. If you had been
caught cheating and had come to me, I'd be able
to help you. But I can't enter into a conspiracy
with you to defraud legitimate businessmen, which is exactly what
this would be. He blinked at me through those shot

(07:03):
glass spectacles. Counselor, would you refuse to defend a man
if you thought he was guilty? I shook my head. No.
Legally a man is not guilty until proven so by
a court of law, he has a right to a
trial by jury. For me to refuse to give a
man the defense he's legally entitled to, just because I

(07:25):
happened to think he was guilty would be trial by attorney.
I'll do the best I can for any client. I'll
work for his interests, no matter what my private opinion
may be. He looked impressed, so I guessed there must
have been a noted conviction in my voice. There should
have been, because it was exactly what I've always believed

(07:47):
and practiced. That's good, Counselor said, Holly. If I can
convince you that I have no criminal intent, that I
have no intention of defrauding anyone or conspiring with you
to do anything illegal. Will you help me? I didn't
have to think that one over. I simply said yes.

(08:10):
After all, it was still up to me to decide
whether he convinced me or not. If he didn't, I
could still refuse the case on those grounds. That's fair enough, counselor,
he said, Danny started talking. Instead of telling you what
Jason Howley said he was going to do, I'll tell
you what he did. Do. They are substantially the same anyway,

(08:34):
and the old bromide about actions speaking louder than words
certainly applied in this case. Mind you, I didn't see
or hear any of this, but there were plenty of
witnesses to testify as to what went on. Their statements
are a matter of court record, and Jason Howley's story
is substantiated in every respect. He left my office smiling.

(08:58):
He convinced me that the case was not only going
to be worthwhile but fun. I took it plus fat retainer.
Holly went up to his hotel room, changed into his
expensive evening clothes, and had it out to do the town.
I'd suggested several places, but he wanted the biggest and best,

(09:19):
the Golden Casino, a big, plush, expensive place that was
just inside the city limits. In his pockets, he was
carrying less than two hundred dollars in cash. Now, nobody
with that kind of chicken feed can expect to last
long at the Golden Casino unless they stick to the
two bit one armed bandits. But putting money on a

(09:42):
roulette table is in a higher bracket by far than
feeding a slot machine, even if you get a steady
run of lemons. Holly didn't waste any time. He headed
for the roulette table right away. He watched the play
for about three spins of the wheel. Then he took
out his gadget in plain sight of anyone who cared

(10:02):
to watch, and set the dial for thirteen. Then he
held it in his hand with thumb and finger touching
the plates, and put his hand in his jacket pocket
with the lens aimed at the wheel. He stepped up
to the table, bought one hundred dollars worth of chips,
and put fifty a number thirteen. No more bets, said

(10:23):
the croupier. He spun the wheel and dropped the ball
thirteen black, odd and low. He chanted. After a minute,
with a practiced hand, he raked in the losers and
pushed out Holly's winnings. There was sixteen hundred dollars sitting
on thirteen. Now Holly didn't touch it. The wheel went around,

(10:45):
and the little ball clattered around the rim and finally
fell into a slot. Thirteen black, odd and low, said
the croupier. This time he didn't look as nonchalant. He
peered curiously at Holly as he pushed out the chips
to make a grand total of fifty one thousand, two

(11:08):
hundred dollars. The same number doesn't come up twice in
succession very often, and it is very rare, indeed, that
the same person is covering it both times with a
writing bet two thousand limits, Sir, the croupier said. When
it looked as though Holly was going to let the
fifty one grand just sit there, Holley nodded apologetically and

(11:31):
pulled off everything but two thousand dollars worth of chips.
The third time around, the croupier had his eyes directly
on Holly as he repeated the chant thirteen black odd
and low. Everybody else at the table was watching Holly.
Two the odds against Holly or anyone else for that matter,

(11:56):
hitting the same number three times in a row, a
dust under forty thousand to one. Holly didn't want to
overdo it. He left two thousand and thirteen, raked in
the rest and twisted the dial on his gadget over
a notch. Everyone at the table gasped as the little

(12:16):
ball dropped. That was a near miss, whispered a woman
standing nearby. The croupier said fourteen red, even and low,
and he raked in Holly's two thousand dollars with a
satisfied smile. He had seen runs of luck before. Holley

(12:38):
deliberately lost two more spins the same way. Nobody who
was actually cheating would call too much attention to himself,
and Holly wanted it to look as though he were
trying to cover up the fact that he had a
sure thing. He took the gadget out of his pocket
and deliberately said it to the green square marked zero zero.

(12:59):
Then he put it back in his pocket and put
two thousand dollars on the double zero. There was more
than suspicion in the croupier's eyes when he raked in
all the bets on the table except Holly's It definitely
didn't look good to him. A man who had started
out with a fifty dollars bet had managed to run

(13:20):
it up to one hundred seventy four thousand, two hundred
dollars in six plays. Holly looked as innocent as possible
under the circumstances, and carefully dropped the dial on his
gadget back a few notches. Then he bet another two
thousand on high, an even money bet. Naturally he won.

(13:42):
He twisted the dial back a few more notches and
one again on high. Then he left it where it
was and won by betting on red. By this time,
of course, things were happening. The croupier had long since
pressed the alarm button, and five men had carefully surrounded Holly.
They looked like customers, but they were harder looking than

(14:05):
the average, and they were watching Holly, not the wheel.
Farther back from the crowd, three of the special deputies
from the Sheriff's office were trying to look inconspicuous. In
their gray uniforms and white stetsons and pearl handled revolvers
in black holsters. You could imagine how inconspicuous they looked.

(14:27):
Holly decided to do it up Brown. He reset his
gadget as surreptitiously as possible under the circumstances, and put
his money on thirteen again. Thirteen black, odd and low,
said the croupier in a hollow voice. The five men

(14:47):
in evening dress and the three deputies moved in closer. Holly,
Nonchalantley scraped in his winnings, leaving the two thousand on
the thirteen spot. There was a combination of hostility and
admiration in every eye around the table when the croupier
said thirteen black, odd and low for the fifth time

(15:12):
in a space of minutes, and every one of those
eyes was turned on Jason Holly. The croupier smiled his
professional smile. I'm sorry, ladies and gentlemen, we'll have to
discontinue play for a while. The gentleman has broken the
bank at this table. He turned the smile on Holly. Congratulations. Sir.

(15:37):
Holly smiled back and began stacking up over three hundred
thousand dollars worth of plastic discs. It made quite a pile.
One of the deputies stepped up politely. I am an officer, sir,
he said, May I help you carry that to the
cashier's office. Holly looked at the gold star and nodded, certainly. Thanks.

(16:00):
The other two deputies stepped up too, and the three
of them walked Holly toward the cashier's office. Behind them
came the five men in dinner jackets. You'll have to
step into the office to cash dad, much, sir, said
one of the deputies as he opened the door. Holly
walked in as though he hadn't a care in the world.
He put his chips on the desk and the deputies

(16:21):
followed suit while one of the dinner jacketed men closed
the door. Then one of the deputies said, I believe
this gentleman is carrying a gun. He had his own
revolver out and had it pointed at Holly's middle. Carrying
a concealed weapon is illegal in this city. He went on,
I'm afraid we'll have to search you. Holly didn't object.

(16:45):
He put his hands up high and stood there while
his pockets were frisked. Well, well, said the deputy Coolly,
what unearthed is this? It was Holly's gadget, and the
dial still pointed to thirteen Black, odd and low. The
next morning, I went down to the jail in response

(17:07):
to a phone call from Holly. The Special Deputies had
turned him over to the city police and he was
being held under suspicion of fraud. I knew we could
beat that down to an attempt to fraud, but the
object was to get Holly off Scott free. After Holly
told me the whole story, I got busy pushing the

(17:28):
case through. As long as he was simply being held
on suspicion, I couldn't get him out on bail, so
I wanted to force the District Attorney or the police
preferred charges. Meanwhile, I made sure that Holly's gadget had
been impounded as evidence. I didn't want anyone fiddling with
it before the case went to court, except, of course,

(17:49):
the DA and his men. There wasn't much I could
do to keep it out of their hands. After throwing
as much weight around as I could, including filing a
patient for a writ of habeas corpus with Judge Grannis,
I went over to Holly's hotel with the sign power
of attorney that Holly had given me, and I got
a small envelope out of the hotel safe. It contained

(18:11):
a baggage check I went over to the bus depot,
turned over the check to the baggage department, and went
back to my office with a small suitcase. I locked
myself in and opened the case. Sure enough, it contained
three dozen of the little gadgets. There I sat down
to wait. By noon, Judge Grannis had issued the writ

(18:35):
of hapeas corpus, and rather than release Jason Holly, the
police had booked him and District Attorney Thursby was getting
the case ready for the grand jury. There was over
a quarter of a million dollars at stake, and the
men behind the Golden Casino were bringing pressure to bear.
If Holly wasn't convicted, they'd have to give him his money,

(18:55):
and that was the last thing they wanted to do.
A quarter of a million bucks small potatoes, even to
a gambling syndicate. It wasn't until early on the morning
of the third day after Holly's arrest that I got
a tip off from one of my part time smies.
I scooped up the phone when it rang and identified
myself counselor Look, this is Benny. I recognized the voice

(19:20):
and name. Benny was one of the cabvies that I'd
done favors for in the past. What's the trouble, Benny, Ah,
no trouble. I just got a little tip you might
be interested in fire away while the DA and some
of his boys went into the Golden Casino about ten
minutes ago, and now they're closing up the place just
for a little while. I understand hour. Maybe they're chasing

(19:42):
everyone out of the roulette room. Thanks, Benny, I said,
thanks a lot. Well, I knew you was working on
that Holly case, and I thought this might be important,
so I sure, Benny, come buy my office this afternoon.
And thanks again. I hung up and started moving. Within
ten minutes, I was pulling up and parking across the

(20:04):
street from the Golden Casino. I locked the car and
dodged traffic to get across the street, as though I'd
never heard of laws against jaywalking. There were still plenty
of people in the casino. The bar was full, and
the dice and card games were going full blast. Slot
machines were jingling out their infernal din while fools fed
coins into their insatiable innards. But the roulette room was

(20:27):
closed and a couple of Bestetts and deputies were standing
guard over the entrance. I had it straight for them.
Both of them stood pat blocking my way, so I
stopped a few feet in front of them. Allow. Counselor
said one, sorry, the roulette rooms closed. I knew the
man slightly let me in. Jim, I said, I want

(20:50):
to see Thursby. The men exchanged glances. Obviously the DA
had given them orders scant though it. Counselor said Jim
were not to let anyone in. Tell Thursby I'm out
here and that I want to see him. He shrugged,
opened the door, stuck his head inside, and called the

(21:13):
district attorney Thursby to tell him that I was outside.
I could hear Thursby's muffled damn from within, but when
he showed up at the door, his face was all smiles.
What's the trouble, he asked pleasantly. I smiled back, giving
him my best. No trouble at all, Thursby, I just

(21:35):
wanted to watch the experiment. Experiment, he looked, honestly surprised,
which was a fine piece of acting. We're just checking
to see if the table's wired, that's all. If it is,
your client may be in the clear. Maybe we can
hang it on the croupier and get a conspiracy charge
on my client too. Eh, well, if you don't mind,

(21:57):
I'd like to watch that table check myself. You know
how it is. Thursby hesitated, Then he scowled, all all right,
come on in, but stay out of the way. I grinned, Sure,
all I want to do is protect my client's interests.
Thursby just grunted and opened the door wider to let

(22:19):
me in. He was a shrewd lawyer, a good da
and basically honest, even if he did have a tendency
to bend under pressure from higher up. They were checking
the table, all right. They had three specialists going over
it with everything from fine tooth combs to Geiger counters.
They found nothing. No magnets, no wires, no mechanical gimmicks. Nothing.

(22:46):
It took him an hour to take that table apart,
check it and put it back together again. When it
was all over, Thursby glanced at me then said, okay, boys,
that does it. Let's go. The men looked at him oddly,
and I knew, why aren't you going to test my
clan's gadget? I asked instantly. Thursby looked angrily baffled for

(23:11):
a moment. Then he clapped his lips grimly. As long
as we're here, I guess we might as well. I
knew perfectly well it was what he had intended to
do all along. One of you guys, spin that wheel,
he said to the technicians. One of them gave the
wheel a spin and dropped the ball. It clattered on
its merry way and dropped into a slot forty two.

(23:35):
Thursby took the gadget out of his pocket. It was
still set at thirteen. The men who had surrounded Holly
on the night of his arrest had been keeping their
eyes open, and they had seen how Holly had handled
the thing well almost how Thursby had the lens opening
pointed at the wheel, but his thumb and fingers weren't

(23:57):
touching the silver plates properly. Spin it again, he said.
Everyone's eyes were on the ball as at whirled, so
I had time to get my own copy of Halle's
gadget out and set it at thirteen. I hope the
thing would work for me. I concentrated on thirteen, making
sure my thumb and fingers were placed dry. Evidently they were.

(24:19):
The ball fell into thirteen, black, odd and low, a
huge grin spread over Thursby's face, but he was mad
enough not to turn and grin at me. Try it again,
he said, thirteen black, odd and low. I wonder how
the thing works, said Thursby, looking at the gadget in

(24:42):
a sort of pleased awe. You'd better be able to
prove that it does work, Thursby, I said, trying to
put irritation in my voice. This time he did grin
at me. Oh, I think we can prove that, all right.
He turned back to the technician. Spin it once more,
s I am, and showed the Defense council here how
it works. The technician did as he was told, thirteen black,

(25:08):
odd and low, he chanted, grinning. Let's try another number,
Thursby said. He turned the dial to one, and this
time when he pointed it, his fingers were touching the
plates in the right places. Just a minute, I said,
let me spin the thing. Be my guest counselor, said Thursby.
I spun the wheel and scowed at the ball along

(25:31):
the rim. It dropped into a slot one red, odd
and low. I looked as disappointed and apprehensive as I
could coincidence, I said, nothing more. You haven't proved anything
Thursby's grinned widened. Of course I haven't, he said, with
a soothing, patronizing tone. But I don't have to prove

(25:53):
anything until I get to court. Then he looked at
the technicians and jerked his head toward the door. Let's go, boy.
Maybe the counselor wants to look over the table for himself.
Maybe he thinks we've got it rigged. There was a
chorus of defaws as they walked out. I just stood there, scowling,
trying to keep from laughing even harder than they were.

(26:17):
Jason Holly sat next to me at the defense table,
just inside the low partition that divided the court from
the public. There weren't many people in the auditorium itself.
Listening to some poor dope get himself sentenced for cheating
at gambling is considered pretty dull entertainment in the state
of Nevada. Thursby had managed to push the indictment through
the grand jury in a hurry, But as he sat

(26:40):
across the room from me at the prosecution table, I
thought I could detect a false note in the assumed
look of confidence that he was trying to wear. Holly
tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, and he whispered,
how much longer? I tapped my wristwatch a couple minutes.
Judge Lapworth is one of those precision never a moment

(27:01):
late or early getting jumpy. He shook his head gently
and smiled. No, you've handled this even better than i'd
have imagined. You've thought of things I didn't even know existed.
I'm no lawyer. I can see that. I returned the smile,
and I don't intend gimmicks either. So what his eyes

(27:23):
looked at me from behind the distorting negative lenses. I've
been wondering, counselor, why are you so interested in this?
I mean, I offered you a pretty good fee and
all that, but it seems to me you're taking an
unusual interest in the case. I grinned at him, Mister Holly,
my profession is law with a capital L. The study

(27:44):
of law isn't like the study of physics or whatever.
These are man made laws, commands, not descriptions. They don't
necessarily have anything to do with the facts at all.
Take the word insanity, for instance. The word isn't even
used by hedgehet shrinks anymore because it's a legal definition
that has nothing whatever to do with the condition of

(28:06):
the human mind. Now, any such set of laws as
that can't possibly be self consistent and still has some
use on an action level. A lawyer's job is to
find the little inconsistencies in the structure, the places where
the pieces have been jammed together in an effort to
make them look like a structured hole. To find, in

(28:27):
other words, the loopholes and use them. And when I
find a loophole, I like to wring everything I can
out of it. I'm enjoying this. Holly nodded, I see,
but what if something? I held up my hand to
silence him, because the door to the judge's chambers opened
at that moment, and Judge Lapworth came in. As the

(28:49):
bailiff announced him, we all stood up while the bailiff
intoned his oh yay, oh yay. Thursby made a short
preliminary speech for the jury, and I requested and was
granted permission to hold my own opening statement until the
defense was ready to present its case. Thursby was looking worried.

(29:09):
Although it took a trained eye to see it, I
was pretty sure I knew why he had been pushed
too hard and had gone too fast. He'd managed to
slide through the grand jury too easily, and I had
managed to get the trial date set for a week later.
Thursby's case was far from being as tight as he
wanted it. I just sat still while the prosecution brought

(29:31):
forth its witnesses and evidence. The Croupriire, the deputies, several
employees of the Golden Casino, and a couple of patrons
all told their stories. I waved cross examination in every case,
which made Thursby even edgier than he had been when
he called in the head of the technicians who had

(29:54):
inspected the table at the casino. I made no objection
to his testimony, but I made my first cross examination.
Mister Thompson, you have stated your qualifications as an expert
on the various devices which have been used to illegally
influence the operation of gambling devices in this state. Thursby said, Oh,

(30:14):
if the court please, I should like to remind counsel
for the defense that he has already accepted the qualifications
of the witness. I am not attempting to impugne the
qualifications of the witness, as snapped Judge Lapworth frowned at Thursby,
Are you making an objection? District Attorney Thursby pursed his lips, said, know,

(30:37):
your honor, and sat down. Proceed with the cross examination,
said the judge. Mister Thompson, I said, you have testified
that you examined the table at the Golden Casino for
such devices and found none. Is that right? That's right?
He said? Positively. Have you seen the device labeled People's

(30:59):
Exhibit aid, which was found by the officers on the
person of the defendant? Well, yes, I have. Have you
examined the device? Thursby was on his feet objection, your honor,
This material was not brought out in direct examination, sustained,
said Judge Lapworth. Very well, your honor, I said. Then

(31:22):
I turned back to Thompson. As an expert in this field,
Mister Thompson, you have examined many different devices for cheating
gambling equipment, haven't you? Yes, I have? How many? Would
you say? Oh, several hundred, several hundred different types, now,

(31:44):
several hundred individual devices. Most of them are just variations
of two or three basic types. And you are familiar
with the function of these basic types and their variations.
I am you know exactly how all of them worked.
Then he saw where I was heading most of them,

(32:08):
he hedged. Thursby saw where I was heading to and
was sweating. I'd managed to get around his objection. Have
you ever examined any which you could not understand? I
I don't quite know what you mean. Have you ever,
i said, firmly, come across a device used in cheating

(32:32):
which you could not comprehend or explain the operation of
Thursby stood up same objection as before, your honor, Your honor,
I said, I am merely trying to find the limitations
of the witness knowledge. I am not trying to refute
his acknowledged ability. Overruled, said Judge Lapworth. The witness will

(32:56):
answer the question. I repeated the question, Yes, said Thompson
in a low voice. More than once, only once, only once.
You did find one device which didn't operate in any
fashion you can explain? Is that right? That's right? Can

(33:21):
you tell me what this device was? Thompson took a
deep breath. It was People's exhibit A, the device taken
from the defendant at the time of his arrest. There
was a buzz in the court room. No more questions,
I said, turning away. Then before Thompson could leave the stand,

(33:43):
I turned back to him. Oh, just one moment, mister Thompson,
did you examine this device carefully? Did you take it apart?
I opened it and looked at it. You've just looked
at it. You didn't subject it to any tests. Thompson
took a deep breath. No, why not? There wasn't anything

(34:07):
inside it to test. This time, there was more than
just a buzz around the courtroom. Judge Lapworth rapped for order.
When the room was quiet, I said the box was empty? Then, well, no,
not exactly empty. It had some stuff in it. I
turned to the judge, If the court please, I would

(34:30):
like to have the so called device Exhibit A open
so that members of the jury may see for themselves
what it contains. Judge Lapworth said the court would like
very much to see the internal workings of this device too, Bailiff,
if you will please. The bailiff handed him the gadget
from the exhibit table. How does it open, asked the judge.

(34:53):
He turned to Thompson. Will the witness please open the box? Reluctantly,
Thompson thumbed the catch and slid off the top. The
judge took it from him, looked inside and stared for
a long moment. I had already seen the insides. It

(35:13):
was painted white, and there were ape lines running all
over the inside, and various pictures, a ball, a pair
of dice, a roulette wheel, and some other symbols that
I didn't pretend to understand. Otherwise the box was empty.
After a moment, Judge Lapworth looked up from the box

(35:35):
and stared at Thursby. Then he looked at Thompson. Just
what tests did you perform on this this thing, mister Thompson, Well,
your Honor, Thompson said, visibly nervous. I checked it for
all kinds of radiation and magnetism. There isn't anything like
that coming from it. But he added lamely, there wasn't

(35:58):
much else to test, not without damaging the box. I see,
His Honor glared at Thursby, but didn't say anything to him.
He simply ordered the box to be shown to the jury.
Thursby was grimly holding his ground, waiting, have you any
more questions, counselor, The judge asked, no, your Honor, I

(36:20):
have not witness. May step down, said his honor to Thompson.
Thursby stood up. If the Court pleased, I would like
to stage a small demonstration for the members of the jury.
The court gave permission, and a roulette wheel was hauled
in on a small table. I watched with interest and

(36:40):
without objection while Thursby demonstrated the use of the gadget
and then asked each of the jurors in turn to
try it. It was a long way from being a
successful demonstration. Some of the jurors didn't hold the thing right,
and some of those that did just didn't have the
mental ability required to use it. But that didn't bother Thursday.
Be your honor and gentlemen of the jury, He said,

(37:05):
you are all aware that a device constructed for the
purpose of cheating that any gambling game, is not necessarily
one hundred percent infallible. It doesn't have to be. All
it has to do is turn the odds in favor
of the user. You are all familiar with loaded dice,
I'm sure, and you know that loading dice for one

(37:27):
set of numbers merely increases the probability that those numbers
will come up. It does not guarantee that they will
come up every time. It is the same with marked cards.
Marking the backs of a deck of cards doesn't mean
that you will invariably get a better hand than your opponent.
It doesn't even mean that you will win every hand.

(37:50):
The device taken from the defendant that the Golden Casino
does not, as you have seen, work every time, but
as you have also seen it certainly does shift the
odds by a considerable percentage, and that, I submit, is
illegal under the laws of this state. He went on

(38:11):
building on that theme for a while. Then he turned
the trial over to the defense. Call doctor Pettigrew to
the stand. I said, I heard Thursby's gasp, but I
ignored it. A chunky, balding man with a moon face
and an irritated expression came up to be sworn in.
He was irritated with me for having subpoenaed him, and

(38:33):
he showed it. I hoped he wouldn't turn out to
be hostile. You are doctor Herbert Pettigrew, I asked, that
is correct. State your residence please, thirty one O nine
La Roya Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. You are called doctor Pettigrew.

(38:53):
I believe. Would you tell the court what right you
have to that title? He looked a little miffed, but
he said it is a scholarly title, a doctorate of
Philosophy in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I see,
would you mind telling the court what other academic degrees
you have? A real lawful list of them? All impressive,

(39:16):
Thank you, doctor, I said, Now, what is your present occupation?
I am a professor of physics at the University of
California in Los Angeles. I went on questioning him to
establish his ability in his field, and by the time
I was finished, the jury was pretty well impressed with
his status in the scientific brotherhood, and not once did

(39:39):
Thursby object. Then, I said, doctor Pettigrew, I believe you
came to this city on a professional matter. Yes I did.
He didn't hesitate to answer, so I figured I hadn't
got his goat too much. And what was the nature
of that matter? I was asked to come here by
mister Harold Thursby, the disc attorney, to perform some scientific

(40:02):
tests on the device, the device known as People's Exhibit A.
Did you perform these tests? I did at the request
of District Attorney Thursby. Is that right? That is correct?
May I ask why mister Thursby did not call you

(40:24):
as a witness for the prosecution. Thursby, as I had expected,
was on his feet objection. The question calls for a
conclusion of the witness, sustained, said Judge Lapworth. Doctor pettigrew
I said, what were your findings in reference to Exhibit A?

(40:44):
He shrugged. The thing is a plastic box with a
dial set in one side, a plastic lens in one end,
and a couple of strips of silver lung to other sides.
Inside there are a lot of markings in black ink
on white paint. He gestured toward the exhibit table. Just
what you've seen, That's all there is to it. What

(41:06):
sorts of tests did you perform to determine this, doctor
pettigrew I asked. He took a long time answering that one.
He had X rayed the thing, thoroughly tested it with
apparatus i'd never heard of, taken scrapings from all over
it for microchemical analysis, and even tried it himself on
a roulette wheel. He hadn't been able to make it work.

(41:28):
And what is your conclusion from these findings? I asked again?
He shrug The thing is just a box, that's all.
It has no special properties. Would you say it could
be responsible for the phenomena we have just seen. By that,
I mean the peculiar action of the roulette wheel demonstrated

(41:48):
here by the prosecution. Definitely not, He stated flatly, the
box could not possibly have any effect on either the
wheel or the ball. I see, thank you, doc, that's all.
Cross examined, Thursby walked over to the witness stand with
the belligerent skull on his face. Doctor Pettigrew, you say

(42:11):
that the box couldn't possibly have had any effect on
the wheel, and yet we have demonstrated that there is
an effect. Don't you believe the testimony of your own senses?
Certainly I do, snapped Pettigrew. Then how do you account
for the behavior of the roulette wheel as you have
just seen it demonstrated in this court? I suppressed the grinn.

(42:35):
Thursby was so mad that he was having trouble expressing
himself clearly in several ways, Petigrew said, sharply, in the
first place, that wheel could be rigged termsby purple. Now
just a minute, I started to object, but Judge Lapworth
beat me to it. Are you objecting to the answer,

(42:56):
mister District Attorney, the witness is insinuated that I falsified evidence.
I am not, said Pettigrew, visibly angry. You asked me
how I could account for its behavior, and I told
you one way. There are others. The wheel will be examined,
said Judge Lapworth darkly. Tell us the other ways, doctor Pettigrew.

(43:19):
Pure chance, said Pettigrew, Pure chance, your honor. I'm sure
that everyone in this courtroom has seen runs of luck
on a roulette wheel. According to the laws of probability,
such runs must inevitably happen. Frankly, I believe that just
such a run has occurred here. I do not think
for a minute that mister Thursby or anyone else rigged

(43:40):
that wheel. I see. Thank you, doctor Pettigrew, said the judge.
Any further questions, mister District Attorney, No further questions, Thresby said,
trying to hide his anger. Call your next witness, said
the judge, looking at me. I call mister Jason Holley

(44:01):
to the stand. Holly sat down and was sworn in.
I went through the preliminaries, then asked mister Holly, you
have seen people's exhibit A. I have to whom does
it belong? It is mine, It was taken from me
by Just answer the question, please, I admonished him. He

(44:22):
knew his script, but he was jumping the gun. The
device is yours, then that's right. Under what circumstances did
this device come into the hands of the police, He
told what had happened on the night of the big
take at the Golden Casino. Would you explain to us
just what this device is? I asked when he had finished. Certainly,

(44:45):
he said, it's a good luck charm. I could hear
the muffled reaction in the courtroom. A good luck charm.
I see, then it has no effect on the wheel
at all. Oh, I wouldn't say that, he said, disarmingly.
He smiled and looked at the jury. It certainly has
some effect. It's the only good luck charm I ever

(45:07):
had that worked. The jury was grinning right back in
And they were all gamblers at heart. And I never
knew a gambler yet who didn't have some sort of
good luck charm or superstition when it came to gambling.
We had them all in the palms of our hands.
What I mean is Does it have any physical effect

(45:27):
on the wheel? Holly looked puzzled. Well, I don't know
about that. That's not my field. You'd better ask doctor Pettigrew.
There was a smothered laugh somewhere in the courtroom. Just
how do you operate this good luck charm? Mister Holly?
I asked? Why? You just hold it so that your

(45:48):
thumb touches one strip of silver and your fingers touched
the other. Then you set the dial to whatever number
you want to come up and wish, wish, just wish,
mister Holly, Just wish, That's all. What else can you
do with a good luck charm? This time the judge

(46:10):
had to pound for order to stop the laughing. I
turned Holly over to Thursby. The da hammered at him
for half an hour, trying to get something out of Holly,
but he didn't get anywhere useful. Holly admitted that he'd
come to Nevada to play the wheels? What was wrong
with that? He'd admitted that he'd come just to try
out his good luck charm? And what was wrong with that?

(46:33):
He even admitted that it worked for him every time?
And what was wrong? Pray with that? Thursby knew he
was licked. He'd known it for a long time. His
summation to the jury showed it. The expressions on the
faces of the jury as they listened showed it. They

(46:53):
brought in a verdict of not guilty. When I got
back to my office, I picked up the phone and
called the Golden Casino. I asked for George Brocky, the manager.
When I got him on the phone and identified myself,
he said, oh, it's you. His voice didn't sound friendly.

(47:13):
It's me, I said, I suppose you're going to slap
a suit for false arrest on the casino now, Ah,
counselor not a bit of it, George, I said, The
thought occurred to me. But do you think we can
come to terms? Yeah, nothing to it, George. You give
us the three hundred grand and we don't do a thing. Yeah,

(47:35):
he didn't get it. He had to fork over the
money anyway, according to the court order. So what was
the deal? If you want to go a little further,
I'll tell you what we'll do. We'll give you one
of our little good luck charms if you'll promise to
call your boys off Holly. Nobody's on Holly he said,
you ought to know better than that. In this state,

(47:56):
if we get whipped in court, we play it square.
Did you think we were going to get rough? No?
But you kind of figured on lifting that gadget as
soon as he gets it back from the DA, didn't you.
I saw your boys waiting at his hotel. I'm just
telling you that you don't have to do that. We'll
give you the gadget. There are plenty more where that

(48:17):
came from. I see. Rocky said, after a long pause, Okay, Counselor,
it's a deal. Fine, we'll pick up the money later
this evening. If that's okay, sure, counselor anytime, anytime at all.
He hung up. I grinned at Holly, who was sitting

(48:38):
across the destiny Well. That winds it up. I don't
get it. Holly said, why'd you call up Rocky? What
was the purpose of that deal? No deal? I told him.
I was just warning him that killing you and taking
the gadget wouldn't do any good. That we've covered you,
he won't bother having anything done to you if he

(49:00):
knows that the secret of the gadget is out already.
Holly's eyes widened behind those spectacles of his. You mean
they'd kill me. I thought Nevada gamblers were honest. Oh
they are, they are. But this is a threat to
their whole industry. It's more than that. It may destroy them.

(49:20):
Some of them might kill to keep that from happening.
But you don't have to worry now. Thanks. Tell me,
do you think we've succeeded in what you set out
to do? Certainly, when we mail out those gadgets to
people all over the state, the place will be in
an uproar. With all the publicity this case is getting.

(49:42):
It'll have to work. You now have a court decision
on your side, a decision which says that a psionic
device can legally be used to influence gambling games. Why, man,
they'll have to start investigating. You'll let every political and
the state of Nevada in insisting that scientists work on
that thing. To say nothing of what the syndicate will do.

(50:06):
All I wanted to do, said Holly, was forced people
to take notice of psionics. I guess I've done that.
You certainly have, brother. I wonder what it will come to.
I wonder myself sometimes. Holly said. That was three and
a half years ago. Neither Holly nor I are wondering now.

(50:29):
According to the front page of today's Times, the first
spaceship with a crew of eighty aboard reached Mars this morning,
and on page two there's a small article headline rocket obsolete,
say scientists. It sure is. This is the end of

(50:50):
For your money back by Gordon Randall Garrett