IN THE VOLCANO OF VOCIFEROUS.
When Billy awoke the next morning and saw the dear old sun grinning
down at him, and looked about at the green meadow dotted with
Black-eyed Susans and Dandelions, he could hardly realize that his
adventures of the night before were real. But there on the edge of the
open space stood the trees that had creaked so dismally; while even
then among its trunks lingered some of the mist that had made the walls
of Spookville.
"What did you think of it, dogibus?" he said to Barker. But that merry
little chap looked so happy and contented, and his eyes seemed so
clear of unpleasant memories, that Billy decided that dogs don't see
ghosts--perhaps because they are not afraid in the dark, and anyway
haven't any nurses to tell them things that are not true.
"Half past eight--time we were off!" said Billy, looking at his
Waterbury. And so off they flew into space.
"I doubt if I can float over that high mountain," he said presently.
"What a queer-looking thing it is, too." And no wonder it was queer
looking, for it was the Volcano of Vociferous with just a little thin
white vapor rising from its crater. "Oh, me! oh, my! I'm falling right
into the hole," he cried, "I wonder if I will fetch up in China?" And
sure enough, when he got right over the crater he began to fall, fall,
fall, through the opening and way down towards the centre of the earth.
And just about the time he had given up hopes of ever landing in any
place, he hit plump on a floor of lava. Right in front of him was a
door bearing this sign: "The Coal Man. Best Anthracite and Soft Coal.
New Gold and Silver bought and sold. Nickel-plating a specialty. For
admission to works apply at Office. Walk in." Turning the handle Billy
walked in.
"Well," said a smutty-faced old man who was bustling about the office
and whom Billy rightly took for the Coal Man.
"How do you do?" said Billy.
"Tired, very tired," answered the Coal Man. "Worked to death. I have a
rush order for an eruption of Vociferous and it's keeping my alchemist
and myself busy day and night, while the coal stokers and furnace
tenders threaten to strike for lower wages."
[Illustration: _The Coal Man._]
"That's too bad," said Billy sympathetically.
"Not a bit of it. I like the work. I suppose you want to go through the
works."
"If it's not too much trouble."
"I don't know whether you will find it too much trouble or not; you
will have to decide that for yourself."
"I mean for you."
"It can't be for me, because I'm not going. What's your name?"
"Billy Bounce."
"Billy Bounce? Glad to know you, Billy. I've heard a great deal of you
from a customer of min."
"A customer! Who is he?"
"Nickel Plate the Polished Villain. He comes down here every once in a
while to be plated."
"Nickel Plate!" cried Billy in alarm. "Why, he is my enemy."
"I know it," said the Coal Man; "but don't mind that; he's his own best
friend."
"But if that's the case, aren't you going to harm me?"
"Certainly not. You can't do me any harm by telling the truth about my
work. You will find that your only enemies are the people who know you
will expose them as imitations."
"I hadn't thought of that before," said Billy, greatly relieved.
"Of course you hadn't. They wouldn't either if they hadn't felt so
guilty themselves. Well, here's your card of admission, and don't pick
up any hot lava."
"Thank you," said Billy. "I won't."
The Coal Man opened the door leading into the works.
Such a wonderful sight as met Billy's gaze! A deep red glow was over
everything, growing lighter and duller every few moments as the stokers
would open a furnace door, shovel in some coal, and slam the door to
again.
And the stokers--they were indeed sights. Black as coal and as shiny as
patent-leather boots, which, with their fiery red hair, made them look
like chimney-pots on fire.
Here and there among them wandered an old, old man with a very wise
face and long white hair. In one hand he carried a pair of scales and
with the other he was putting into them first some of this and then
some of that, which he weighed carefully and deposited in what looked
like a great big cartridge shell.
"How do you do, sir?" said Billy.
"Gun cotton and vaseline in parts of two to----Oh! How do _you_ do?"
"Sir," said Billy, "I understood the last part of your sentence, but I
don't think I heard the first part very well."
"A little sulphur--now I wonder if I'd better put any safety-matches in
it this time--what do you think, boy?" And he looked at Billy as if he
were a thousand miles off.
"I don't know, sir."
"Then why do you presume to offer advice? So you don't think
safety-matches a safe thing to put in it? Neither do I."
"But I said I didn't know," said Billy.
"True, you did; I had forgotten. If that's the case, I'd better use
sulphur-matches."
"Are you the Alchemist?"
"Let's see, am I? I've really forgotten. Ace of Spades," calling to the
blackest stoker of them all, "come here."
"Yes, sir," said Ace, running up to them.
"Well, what do you want?" asked the old man, looking at Ace in surprise.
"You called me, sir," said Ace.
"Did I--what for? Do you know?"
"No, sir," said Ace.
"Excuse me," said Billy, "but I think it was to ask him if you were
the Alchemist."
"That can't have been it, because I _am_ the Alchemist. No doubt about
that, is there, Ace?"
"No, sir," said Ace.
"Then don't interrupt me again with your foolish questions, Ace; you
know it bothers me when I'm making up a sample eruption."
Ace bowed gravely, as if he were used to such things, and ran back to
his work.
[Illustration: _The Alchemist._]
"That's the trouble with these men," said the Alchemist; "they are all
so absent-minded. If I were not here to think for them, I don't know
what would become of the business."
"Excuse me----" began Billy.
"Certainly," interrupted the Alchemist, absent-mindedly putting some
gun-cotton in his ears.
"I was going to say--did you say you were making a sample eruption?"
"Did you speak to me? I seem to have heard you speak."
"Yes, sir."
"I can't hear a word you say--I'm afraid I'm growing deaf. Now what did
I do with that gun-cotton I had a moment ago?" and the Alchemist looked
for it in every place but in his ears. But Billy, by making motions,
showed him where it was, and he pulled it out in great surprise. "You
shouldn't do that," said he severely, "it's a very dangerous thing."
"But I didn't," said Billy; "you did it yourself."
"Tut-tut--why should I put gun-cotton in my own ears? I never listen to
evil reports."
Billy was just about to make further denial when the Coal Man put his
head through the door and beckoned to him. "Nickel Plate is coming
down in the elevator," said he, as soon as Billy reached his side.
"Nickel Plate--down here!" exclaimed Billy.
"Yes, he is coming for a re-plating, and Bumbus and Drone are with him."
"They mustn't see me."
"That's the reason I called you. I suppose you don't mind hiding."
"Not at all."
"Then come along," and he led Billy into the works and to a dark,
heavily barred vault marked "Gold." Throwing open the door, he invited
Billy to enter. "This is where we keep the gold supply of the earth,"
he said. "Pick out a soft nugget to sit on, and make yourself at
home--you had better lock yourself in."
"Thank you," said Billy, locking the door and pocketing the key. And as
it was dark as pitch in the vault and light in the works, no one on the
outside could well see through the bars of the door.
"This is fine, but I don't think I shall sit down, I want to see what
they do."
He hadn't finished saying this when in walked Nickel Plate, Bumbus,
and Drone, followed by the Coal Man.
"Yes," Nickel Plate was saying, as they entered, "I'm getting terribly
rusty, and I need a new plating."
"In other words, he wants you to make a shining example of him," said
Bumbus.
"Excuse me," said Drone; "you haven't a cot here, have you? I've lost
so much sleep lately I----"
"Lost sleep," exclaimed Nickel Plate in disgust.
"Yes, I have not had more than twenty hours sleep in the last
twenty-four; they've kept me busy looking for Billy Bounce."
At mention of his name Billy drew back into the shadow.
"And Honey Girl, too," said Bumbus, "I can't guess what has become of
her."
"Ay! we are foiled at every turn, but wait, wait, our day is
coming--let me but get rid of these rust spots and restore my polish,
and they cannot escape us."
Now when Billy heard about Honey Girl and her safety, it made him very
happy, but the thought that Nickel Plate was going to get back his
polish worried him considerably.
"I do hope something will happen to prevent the plating," he said to
himself.
Bumbus by this time was running about in his usual inquisitive way,
peering into everything and handling all the tools and chemicals.
Suddenly, "Boom, sizzle, bang!" went the Alchemist's unfinished
cartridge, on which Bumbus at that moment was standing to reach a
shelf, and up, up, up, went Bumbus through the hot-air shaft that
supplied the furnaces. Luckily for everybody there were very few
things in the cartridge--not enough to make even a first-class sample
eruption. Even Bumbus wasn't hurt, only very, very much surprised and
blown too many miles away from Vociferous to get back that day.
"How very careless," said the Alchemist, pettishly; "now I've got to do
the work all over again. If I'd known he wanted to be blown up, I could
have arranged it very easily, and at half the trouble and expense."
"Why did Bumbus leave so suddenly?" asked Drone, waking up.
"Let Bumbus look out for himself," said Nickel Plate, ignoring the
question; "what I want now is my plating."
"Ace of Spades," called the Coal Man, "bring out the nickel-plating
furnace."
Ace of Spades and his helper rolled a great portable furnace, glowing
red with heat, into the middle of the floor.
"Step in, please," said the Coal Man, and Nickel Plate opened the door
and walked in.
"Please hurry up with that two dollars in nickels, Alchemist," said the
Coal Man.
"I don't seem to find any nickels," called back the Alchemist; "I
suppose a two-dollar bill won't do?"
"You know it won't," said Nickel Plate. "You got up the formula
yourself--and please hurry, it's getting warm in here."
"That's true," said the Alchemist, hurrying up with a handful of
nickels; "Ace of Spades had forgotten what we wanted them for."
"I didn't say anything about it," said Ace, sulkily.
"That's just the trouble with you absent-minded people," said the
Alchemist, pouring the nickels into the top of the furnace, "if you
had spoken about it I should have known you were wrong, and saved all
this time."
Quickly the nickels melted and down poured the plating onto Nickel
Plate. And in a jiffy out he stepped as bright and shiny as a new coin.
"Ha-ha!" he cried, patting himself on the chest, "I feel brighter
already--_now_ I'll find Billy Bounce and Honey Girl without a bit of
trouble." And much to Billy's dismay he walked straight over to the
vault in which he was hid. But instead of looking in as Billy expected,
he leaned against the grating and putting his hands in his pockets
looked about him complacently.
The Coal Man too was worried by this move, and did all he could to
distract his attention and call him away from the door.
"Come here, quick!" cried he.
"Can't do it--I'm Nickel Plate, not quick-silver--besides I want to
cool off."
"How can I rust his new suit," said Billy to himself. "If I can do that
without his knowing it he will be as badly off as ever." And looking
down at the floor to think, he saw a large piece of sulphur that had
been blown in when the explosion occurred.
"Sulphur tarnishes the silverware at home," he thought, "I wonder if it
would affect nickel plating." He softly picked it up and made a mark on
Nickel Plate's back. Sure enough it made a long black streak.
"Good," he exclaimed under his breath. "If I put a lot of black marks
on his back it will not only destroy his power, but everyone who sees
them will know that he is a villain. I know that black marks were what
teachers used to give us to show that our deportment wasn't good," and
in a jiffy Billy had covered Nickel Plate's back with black marks.
Poor Nickel Plate had no idea what was going on behind his back; indeed
he was so surprised at the Coal Man's antics that he couldn't think of
anything else. For, of course, the Coal Man saw what Billy was doing,
and was laughing and slapping his knees and jumping up and down with
delight.
"Well, come on Drone," said Nickel Plate, starting away. "We must be
going--Drone--Drone--wake up, I say."
And Drone got up from a bed of lava rubbing his eyes and yawning. But
he was so sleepy he paid no attention to Nickel Plate's back and out
they both walked without ever discovering the trick Billy had played.
As soon as they had gone Billy came out of his hiding-place.
"Thank you, Mr. Coal Man, Mr. Alchemist, and Ace of Spades--I shan't
ever forget your kindness to me."
"Run along and don't interrupt," said the Alchemist, hard at work with
his scales. "You're welcome--good-by."
Ace of Spades bobbed his red head and smiled to show that Billy was
welcome to all he had done.
"Come along," said the Coal Man, "I'll show you the way out." And he
led Billy to the floor beneath the Crater where he warmly shook hands
with him. "Good-by--take good care of yourself, boy--you've made me
laugh more to-day than I have for years."
"Good-by," cried Billy, giving a great big jump, and up he popped out
of the mouth of Vociferous and away over the green fields and forests.