ortunity to show
you another ancient conjuring trick.

DOCTOR. Which one is that?

PATRICIA. The Vanishing Lady!

[_Exit_ PATRICIA.

SMITH. There is one part of their old apparatus I regret especially
being lost.

MORRIS. [_Still excited._] Yes!

SMITH. The apparatus for writing the Book of Job.

MORRIS. Well, well, they didn't know everything in those old times.

SMITH. No, and in those old times they knew they didn't. [_Dreamily._]
Where shall wisdom be found, and what is the place of understanding?

CONJURER. Somewhere in America, I believe.

SMITH. [_Still dreamily._] Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is
it found in the land of the living. The deep sayeth it is not in me, the
sea sayeth it is not with me. Death and destruction say we have heard
tell of it. God understandeth the way thereof and He knoweth the place
thereof. For He looketh to the ends of the earth and seeth under the
whole Heaven. But to man He hath said: Behold the fear of the Lord that
is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding. [_Turns suddenly to
the_ DOCTOR.] How's that for Agnosticism, Dr. Grimthorpe? What a pity
that apparatus is lost.

MORRIS. Well, you may just smile how you choose, I reckon. But I say the
Conjurer here could be the biggest man in the big blessed centuries if
he could just show us how the Holy old tricks were done. We must say
this for old man Moses, that he was in advance of his time. When he did
the old tricks they were new tricks. He got the pull on the public. He
could do his tricks before grown men, great bearded fighting men who
could win battles and sing Psalms. But this modern conjuring is all
behind the times. That's why they only do it with schoolboys. There
isn't a trick on that table I don't know. The whole trade's as dead as
mutton; and not half so satisfying. Why he [_pointing to the_ CONJURER]
brought out a bowl of goldfish just now--an old trick that anybody could
do.

CONJURER. Oh, I quite agree. The apparatus is perfectly simple. By the
way, let me have a look at those goldfish of yours, will you?

MORRIS. [_Angrily._] I'm not a paid play-actor come here to conjure. I'm
not here to do stale tricks; I'm here to see through 'em. I say it's an
old trick and....

CONJURER. True. But as you said, we never show it except to schoolboys.

MORRIS. And may I ask you, Professor Hocus Pocus, or whatever your name
is, whom you are calling a schoolboy?

CONJURER. I beg your pard