Here he touched a pink button in the left-hand upper corner of the board. "Milk--sugar--and--egg," came the squeaking voice. "Three-quarters of a pint of milk, two table-spoonfuls of sugar, and one whole egg." "Don't you flavor it with anything?" asked the Imp, pressing the button a second time. "If you want to," squeaked the voice. "Vanilla, strawberry, huckleberry, sarsaparilla, or anything else, just as you want it." Jimmieboy's mouth watered. A strawberry custard! "Dear me!" he thought. "Wouldn't that be just the dish of dishes to live on all one's days!" "Two teaspoonfuls of whatever flavor you want will be enough for one cup of custard," said the squeaky voice, lapsing back immediately thereafter into the curious buzz. [Illustration: THE ELECTRIC CUSTARD.] "Thanks," said the Imp, returning to the table and putting down the receipt on a piece paper. "You're welcome," said the buzz. "Now, Jimmieboy, we'll have two cup custards in two minutes," said the Imp. "What flavor will you have?" "Strawberry cream, please," said Jimmieboy, as if he were ordering soda-water. "All right. I guess I'll take sarsaparilla," said the Imp, walking to the board again. "Now see me get the eggs." He pressed a blue button this time. The squeaky voice began to cackle, and in a second two beautiful white eggs appeared on the table. In the same manner the milk, flavoring, and sugar were obtained; only when the Imp signalled for the milk the invisible voice mooed so like a cow that Jimmieboy looked anxiously about him, half expecting to see a soft-eyed Jersey enter the room. "Now," said the Imp, opening the eggs into a bowl, and pouring the milk and flavoring and sugar in with them, and mixing them all up together, "we'll pour this into that funnel over there, turn on the electricity, and get our custard in a jiffy. Just watch that small hole at the end of the funnel, and you'll see the custard come out." "Are the cups inside? Or do we have to catch the custards in 'em as they come out?" asked Jimmieboy. "Oh, my!" cried the Imp. "I'm glad you spoke of that. I had forgotten the cups. We've got to put them in with the other things." The Imp rushed to the button-board, and soon had two handsome little cups in response to his summons; and then casting them into the funnel he turned on the electric current, and Jimmieboy watched carefully for the resulting custards. In two minutes by the clock they appeared below, both at the same time, one a creamy strawberry in hue, and the other brown. "It's wonderful!" said Jimmieboy, in breathless astonishment. "I wish I had a stove like that in my room." "It wouldn't be good for you. You'd be using it all day and eating what you got. But how is the custard?" "Lovely," said Jimmieboy, smacking his lips as he ate the soft creamy sweet. "I could eat a thousand of them."