[17] Ira told me that at first they used to work unbound in a corner of the room with a curtain to conceal their methods. At one of their seances they were asked if the Spirits would work if the Brothers allowed themselves to be tied. This led them to try out different rope methods, gradually developing the one used all over the world which Ira taught me, saying smilingly after he had done so: “Houdini, we started it, you finish it.” [18] I had the honor of being instrumental in launching and directing Dean Kellar’s farewell at the Hippodrome in New York City and he selected me to be his last assistant. As a part of the performance he presented with some table tipping what he called the “Davenport Cabinet and Rope Mystery.” After the performance he walked to the footlights and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, I am finished giving performances to-night. As I will have no further use for the cabinet and table I publicly present them to my dear friend Houdini.” In this cabinet, made in imitation of the one used by the Davenport Brothers, the benches are fitted into a groove making it possible for them to be slipped out in case of an extra severe tie-up, giving enough freedom to ring bells and do a number of other things without releasing the hands in the usual way. This is something of an improvement in mystery cabinets. [19] They rubbed vaseline into their hands and wrists to facilitate their movements. The rope generally used was similar to the Silver Lake sash cord. [20] It was sometimes claimed that after their demonstrations were over the Davenports turned the papers and remarked them. This Ira said was a deliberate lie as they never left their places throughout the entire performance. [21] At one of their seances a man tied the brothers so tightly that it was necessary for them to make a desperate struggle to effect a release. The next night the man tried a more difficult test, simply laying the ropes all over their bodies, but the Davenports worked so slowly, deftly, and with such inexhaustible patience that they saved their reputation. [22] Nor did he hesitate to tell me that he sometimes used as many as ten confederates at a seance for protection. [23] William Fay, in order to be prepared for an emergency, always carried a piece of rope in his mandolin, and boasted to his partners: “I’ll not chaw the ropes like you fellows, I’ll cut.” [24] The original cabinet of the Davenports, made of bird’s-eye maple, was pawned for thirty pounds in Cuba many years ago and is still there.