y longer."

"I'll save you!" hoarsely answered the young magician; and then, on the
darkened stage, he lifted the cabinet, performer and all to one side.

This was not an easy feat to do. The professor was no light weight,
and the cabinet itself was heavy. But Joe was a powerful youth, and by
raising the cabinet on his back, much as a porter carries a heavy
trunk, he shifted it to one side. This took it away from the hidden
electrical connections sunk in the floor of the stage, and the
flickering, playing, shimmering electric lights went out.

The stage, the whole house, was in dense darkness. There was a sudden
silence which might precede a panic of fear. Joe's work was not yet
done. What could he do to reassure the audience and, at the same time,
to bring the illusion to a satisfactory conclusion?

While he is quickly debating this in his mind, I will take just a
moment to tell my new readers something of Joe Strong, and how he came
to be following the calling of a stage magician.

In the first volume of this series, entitled "Joe Strong, the Boy
Wizard; Or, The Secrets of Magic Exposed," Joe was introduced as a
youth of about seventeen years, living in the country town of Bedford.
He was talking one day with some of his chums, and explaining to them
how this same Professor Rosello had done a trick in the local theatre
the night before, when suddenly there came a fire-alarm from a
fireworks factory near by.

Some powder exploded and Joe managed to save the professor, whose real
name was Peter Crabb, from severe injury, if not from death. In doing
this Joe spoiled his suit of clothes, and on returning home his
foster-father, Deacon Amos Blackford threatened to punish him.

Joe was an orphan. His mother, Mrs. Jane Strong, had been a famous
circus bareback rider, known to the public as Madame Hortense. Joe's
father was Alexander Strong, or, to give him his stage name, Professor
Morretti. He had been a magician, even better than Professor Rosello.
Both Joe's parents had died when he was a small boy.

For a time the boy was cared for by his mother's circus friends, but
finally Joe was adopted by the Blackfords. His life with them was not
a happy one, and the climax came when the deacon punished Joe for
spoiling his suit in rescuing Professor Rosello.

In the night, Joe ran away. He decided to appeal to the magician who
had gone on to another town to give a show. Joe had a half-formed plan
in mind. T