"Well, no. Not exactly empty. It had some stuff in it."
I turned to the judge. "If the Court please, I would like to have the
so-called device, Exhibit A, opened so that the members of the jury may
see for themselves what it contains."
[Illustration]
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. 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 was painted white, and there were
inked 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 and stared at
Thursby. Then he looked at Thompson. "Just what tests _did_ you perform
on this ... this thing, Mr. 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 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 have not."
"Witness may step down," said his honor to Thompson.
* * * * *
Thursby stood up. "If the Court please, 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 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 Thursby.
"Your Honor, and Gentlemen of the Jury," he said, "you are all aware
that a device constructed for the purpose of cheating at any gambling
game is not necessarily one hundred per cent 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 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.
"The device taken from the defendant at 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, building on that theme for a while, then he turned the trial
over to the defense.
"Call Dr. Pettigrew to the stand," I said.