Quicker Than the Eye is a mystery short story by Isaac Asimov.
Part of the Black Widowers series, it was first published in the May 1974 issue of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. It was later collected in 1976's More Tales of the Black Widowers.
Summary[]
Thomas Trumbull's superior from a government department, Robert Alford Bunsen, is the guest at a Black Widowers dinner. Bunsen presents a frustrating professional problem. His department set an elaborate trap for a agent, codenamed "Smith," who was carrying a small, metallic, coin-like object containing information. Smith was under intense, professional surveillance by multiple agents from the moment he entered a restaurant until he left.
The known facts are: Smith entered the restaurant with the object in his left pants pocket. He ate a solitary lunch (cream of mushroom soup, a roast beef sandwich, and apple pie), was watched constantly, and never went to the restroom. When he left the restaurant, he was immediately picked up by a taxi driven by another agent. A subsequent search confirmed the object was no longer on his person. Despite thorough searches of Smith, the restaurant, and the taxi, the object had vanished. Bunsen himself watched from a window across the street with binoculars and saw nothing amiss.
The Black Widowers members propose various theories: hiding the object in his uneaten soup, using a diversion to swallow it, or palming it to the waiter. Bunsen systematically dismantles each theory, explaining the thoroughness of the surveillance and searches.
Finally, the waiter Henry intervenes. He recalls an earlier anecdote from Mario Gonzalo about under-tipping a taxi driver, which shocked the members because it violated a strong social custom. Henry applies this insight to the case. He deduces that the transfer happened in the only brief, unprofessionally watched moment: the fifteen seconds Smith walked from the restaurant door to the taxi. Henry concludes that Smith, a well-mannered man and a regular patron, performed the completely customary act of tipping the doorman. The metallic object, which resembled a large coin, was passed off as this tip. The action was so ordinary and expected that it was rendered invisible, even to Bunsen who was directly observing it. Bunsen's recollection of Smith's "bravado" smile at that moment confirms the deduction.
Characters[]
Black Widowers[]
- Geoffrey Avalon
- Emmanuel Rubin
- Mario Gonzalo
- Roger Halsted
- James Drake
- Thomas Trumbull
- Henry (the waiter)
Others[]
- Robert Alford Bunsen (the guest)
- "Smith" (the agent)
- The Doorman
- The Taxi Driver (an agent)