of milk.

Somehow or other Mrs. Fayre had that all ready and handed it to him with
a smile.

"Good!" said the magician; "now we'll to work! I suppose many of you
girls know how to make an omelet, so you must look sharp and see that I
do it right. First, we'll break the eggs and whisk them up."

He broke the eggs right into the silk hat, and stirred them with a fork
and then poured in the milk slowly, stirring all the time.

"Something else goes to an omelet," he said, trying to think; "ah, yes,
some sort of an herb. Ah, I have it! Thyme! Well, well, Mr. Fayre, do
you raise thyme in your kitchen garden? No? What a pity! But, luckily, I
have time right here!" He took up Lollie's watch. "Ah, just, the thing!"

He threw the watch in the hat, and began to beat it with his heavy fork.

He looked anxiously in the hat. "Wants to be crushed," he said; "can't
get the flavour of time unless it's crushed. Ah, here we are!" and he
picked up a kitchen poker that had appeared from nowhere in particular.

With that he beat and pounded and banged the watch, and then with a big
spoon, he dipped up spoonfuls of the mixture and let it run back into
the hat. The children could distinctly see the bits of brass or steel
wheels and springs, and even fragments of the gold case.

Lollie looked a little sober, but said no word of fear for his watch's
safety.

"Now, we'll cook it," said the magician, and he poured the "omelet" into
a bright, clean frying-pan.

"Where's the fire?" he asked, holding the pan high aloft, and looking
all about.

"There isn't any," said Mr. Fayre; "you didn't tell me to provide a
fire."

"You should have known enough for that!" shouted the magician, as if in
anger. "Well, as we have no fire, of course, we can't make our omelet.
So take back your things."

From the frying-pan he poured a cup of clear milk, which he gave to Mrs.
Fayre. Then he took out of the same pan two eggs, which he handed to
Genie, intact and unbroken. Then he hesitated, saying, "What else did I
borrow?"

"A watch!" "A gold watch!" cried a dozen voices.

"Oh, yes, to be sure!" and the magician, smiling, passed the pan to
Lollie, and there on its clean, shining surface, lay the gold watch,
absolutely unharmed.

Such a clapping of applause! for many of the young audience had been
forced to believe that the watch was utterly ruined.

That closed the entertainment, and soon after that the young guests went
home.

"How do you s'pos