Procure an egg, an apple, an orange, and two dozen nuts. Place the
latter on a plate, and request three persons during your absence from
the room to each pocket one of the three former, asserting that you will
eventually state in whose pockets the different articles are to be
found. On returning to the room present to one of the persons you have
asked to assist you one nut, to a second person two nuts, and to the
third three nuts, which will of course leave eighteen nuts on the plate.
You must mentally name the person to whom you gave one nut "number one,"
to the person holding two nuts "number two," and the one who has three
nuts "number three."
Announce your intention of again leaving the room, and request your
three assistants to help themselves during your absence to nuts as
follows--the one holding the apple to take the same number of nuts you
presented him with, the one who has the egg to twice as many as you gave
him, and the holder of the orange to four times as many as he originally
received.
Impress on them that the number of nuts they take must be _in addition_
to those they already hold.
On returning to the room you glance at the nuts remaining in the plate
and at once call for the egg, apple, and orange from their respective
holders.