e
coin in his hand, palmed so that it was not visible. A movement of his
well-trained muscles sent it up between his thumb and finger. Then he
seemed to lay it on a plate. But the plate was a trick one, with a
false bottom, concealed under which was a store of coins. A pressure
on a hidden spring sent one coin at a time out through a slot, and it
seemed as if Joe deposited them on the receptacle as he gathered them
from the air.

"But we must remember," Joe went on, as he laid the plate of coins down
on a table, "that I am on a desert island. Consequently all the money
in the world would be of no use. It would not buy a ham sandwich or a
fresh egg. Why not, then, gather eggs from the air instead of coins?
A good idea. One can eat eggs. So I will gather a few."

Joe stretched his hand up over his head, made a grab at a seemingly
floating egg and, capturing it, laid it on the table. In like manner
he proceeded until he had three.

This trick was worked in the same way as was the coin one, Joe holding
but one egg, cleverly palmed, in his hand, the others popping up from a
secret recess in the table. But the audience was mystified.

"Now some persons like their eggs raw, while others prefer them
cooked," resumed Joe. "I, myself, prefer mine in omelet form, so I
will cook my eggs. I have here a saucepan that will do excellently for
holding my omelet. I will break the eggs into it, add a little water,
and stir them up."

Joe suited the action to the words. He cracked the three eggs, one
after another, holding them high in the air to let the audience see the
whites and yolks drip into the shining, nickel pan.

"But a proper omelet must be cooked," Joe said. "Where shall we get
fire on a desert island, particularly as all our matches were made wet
when we swam ashore? Ah, I have it! I'll just turn this bunch of
flowers into flame."

He took up what seemed to be a spray of small roses and laid it under
the saucepan. Pointing his wand at the flowers Joe exclaimed:

"Fire!"

Instantly there was a burst of flame, the flowers disappeared, and
flickering lights shot up under the saucepan.

"Now the omelet is cooking," said Joe, as he clapped on a cover. "We
shall presently dine. You see how easy it is for actors and magicians
to eat, even on a desert island. I think my omelet must be cooked now."

He took the cover off the saucepan and, on the instant, out flew two
white pigeons, which, after circl