62 His Final Escape

Many accounts have circulated concerning the death of renowned magician and escape artist Harry Houdini. The true story is an interesting but tragic one.

Houdini suffered an ankle injury in October of 1926. On the 22nd day of that fatal month, he was relaxing in his dressing room at the Princess Theatre in Montreal, he intent foot stretched out before him, when he was visited by a young student from McGill University. The student had previously decided to do a testing of his Houdini and having an invited an amateur boxer named Joseph Gordon. Wintrode, asked Houdini whether he could truly withstand any punch to the belly without flinching, not expecting what followed. Houdini apparently nodded somewhat absent- mindedly, and he had one of his assistants punch him in the abdomen with great force. It is uncertain how many blows were delivered.

Houdini didn’t notice any immediate problem after this incident, but during his performance on the following Saturday he felt feverish and weak. He broke down on stage the next Monday and was immediately given a medical examination. It was discovered that he had suffered a ruptured appendix. Worse, Peritonitis, an inflammation of the content intestine, had set in. Although he was rushed to a hospital, an inhabitant of infection had not yet been developed at that time. The disease was always fatal, since, in typical fashion, for about a week he finally died on October 31, 1926. He was buried in the family plot in a cemetery in Queens, New York.

62 他的最后一次逃脱

关于著名魔术师兼逃脱艺术家哈里·胡迪尼的死因，流传着许多说法。真实的故事有趣却又悲惨。

1926年10月，胡迪尼脚踝受伤。在那个致命月份的22日，他正在蒙特利尔公主剧院的化妆间里放松，一只脚伸在身前，这时麦吉尔大学的一名年轻学生前来拜访。这名学生此前决定测试胡迪尼，还邀请了一位名叫约瑟夫·戈登·温特罗德的业余拳击手，他问胡迪尼是否真的能毫不退缩地承受腹部的任何拳击，没料到接下来发生的事。胡迪尼显然心不在焉地点了点头，随后他的一名助手用力击打了他的腹部。不清楚到底打了多少拳。

这次事件后，胡迪尼没有立即察觉到任何问题，但在接下来的周六表演时，他感到发烧和虚弱。下周一他在舞台上晕倒，随即接受了体检，结果发现他阑尾破裂了。更糟的是，他患上了腹膜炎（肠道内容物引发的炎症）。尽管他被紧急送往医院，但当时还没有治疗这种感染的药物。这种病在当时必死无疑，一周后，他最终于1926年10月31日去世，被安葬在纽约皇后区一处公墓的家族墓地里。