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."

"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.

"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.