The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More

Henry Sugar is a wealthy man in his forties. He has an inflated sense of his own appearance and personality. He and his friends, who are also wealthy, devote themselves to their own pleasure and to increasing their already expansive fortunes. One rainy day, while staying with a friend in London, Henry is bored and begins looking around his friend’s library. He comes across a slim volume—a handwritten account by Dr. John F. Cartwright on a man named Imhrat Khan whom Cartwright claims can see without his eyes. The story shifts into Dr. Cartwright’s voice as Henry begins to read.

Cartwright, a surgeon at Bombay General Hospital, meets Imhrat Khan one day when the man enters the hospital and asks the doctors to cover his eyes as thoroughly as possible. Khan explains that he has the unique ability to see without using his eyes. Cartwright covers Khan’s eyes and asks him to tell how many fingers Cartwright’s colleague is holding up. Khan repeatedly announces the correct number. Cartwright and his colleague thoroughly cover Khan’s eyes, sealing them first with dough and then wrapping Khan’s entire head with thick cotton wool. When the doctors finish, Khan steps off the operating table and walks out of the hospital with ease. Khan then walks into the busy street and climbs atop a bicycle with a sign for spectators to see him perform miracles at The Royal Palace Hall that evening.

That evening, Cartwright attends the event and enjoys watching Khan’s various tricks. At one point, Khan—his head still bandaged—shoots a tin can off the head of a young boy. After the show, Cartwright visits Khan in his dressing room and asks if he can write an article on the performer for the British Medical Journal. Realizing that the publicity will help support his career, Khan agrees. He tells Cartwright that he was born in Akhnur in 1904. His family was poor, and young Khan was mesmerized with the idea of becoming a conjurer. He traveled 200 miles to visit a performer he met, but he was disappointed to find that this conjurer knew no real magic. Khan searched for a yogi instructor and traveled to seek out a man he had heard was a true magician. He found a yogi who taught him exercises to help him focus his conscious mind through meditation.

Khan noticed that his abilities were growing, and he decided to concentrate his attention on seeing without his eyes. From ages 17 to 24, Khan practiced meditation by staring at a candle. Suddenly, he began to notice that when he closed his eyes, he could still see the candle burning. Khan developed his skills over time, soon using his inner sight to perform card tricks for money.

After interviewing Khan, Cartwright can think of little else than the man who sees without his eyes. When he returns to visit Khan the next day, he learns that Khan has died in his sleep. Cartwright’s report is dated: December 1934.

After reading Cartwright’s account, Henry Sugar wonders if he can develop the same ability to support his gambling addiction. He quickly begins practicing Khan’s meditation with the candle. Henry practices every day and is surprised at how quickly his abilities advance. After 10 months, Henry sees an object with his eyes closed. He continues to practice until he is ready to try his hand at casinos. He uses blackjack to advance his wealth, but he finds that he now has little interest in making money. Back in his apartment, Henry looks at the money with distaste and decides to throw it off the balcony to the pedestrians below. A police officer suggests Henry give the money to an orphanage rather than chucking it off the balcony, and Henry realizes that he could use his power to benefit others. For seven years, Henry amasses 50 million pounds which he uses to build orphanages in Europe. After his death, his accounts hold 144 million pounds.