All the adventurers were reunited next morningwhen they were brought from various palaces to theResidence of Tititi-Hoochoo and ushered into thegreat Hall of State.

As before, no one was visible except our friendsand their escorts until the first bell sounded.Then in a flash the room was seen to be filledwith the beautiful Kings and Queens of the land.The second bell marked the appearance in thethrone of the mighty Jinjin, whose handsomecountenance was as composed and expressionless asever.

All bowed low to the Ruler. Their voices softlymurmured: "We greet the Private Citizen, mightiestof Rulers, whose word is Law and whose Law isjust."

Tititi-Hoochoo bowed in acknowledgment.Then, looking around the brilliant assemblage,and at the little group of adventurers before him,he said:

"An unusual thing has happened. Inhabitants ofother lands than ours, who are different fromourselves in many ways, have been thrust upon usthrough the Forbidden Tube, which one of ourpeople foolishly made years ago and was properlypunished for his folly. But these strangers had nodesire to come here and were wickedly thrust intothe Tube by a cruel King on the other side of theworld, named Ruggedo. This King is an immortal,but he is not good. His magic powers hurt mankindmore than they benefit them. Because he hadunjustly kept the Shaggy Man's brother a prisoner,this little band of honest people, consisting ofboth mortals and immortals, determined to conquerRuggedo and to punish him. Fearing they mightsucceed in this, the Nome King misled them so thatthey fell into the Tube.

"Now, this same Ruggedo has been warned by me,many times, that if ever he used this ForbiddenTube in any way he would be severely punished. Ifind, by referring to the Fairy Records, that thisKing's servant, a nome named Kaliko, begged hismaster not to do such a wrong act as to drop thesepeople into the Tube and send them tumbling intoour country. But Ruggedo defied me and my orders.

"Therefore these strangers are innocent of anywrong. It is only Ruggedo who deserves punishment,and I will punish him." He paused a moment andthen continued in the same cold, merciless voice:

"These strangers must return through the Tube totheir own side of the world; but I will make theirfall more easy and pleasant than it was before.Also I shall send with them an Instrument ofVengeance, who in my name will drive Ruggedo fromhis underground caverns, take away his magicpowers and make him a homeless wanderer on theface of the earth--a place he detests."

There was a little murmur of horror from theKings and Queens at the severity of thispunishment, but no one uttered a protest, for allrealized that the sentence was just.

"In selecting my Instrument of Vengeance," wenton Tititi-Hoochoo, "I have realized that this willbe an unpleasant mission. Therefore no one of uswho is blameless should be forced to undertake it.In this wonderful land it is seldom one is guiltyof wrong, even in the slightest degree, and onexamining the Records I found no King or Queen haderred. Nor had any among their followers orservants done any wrong. But finally I came to theDragon Family, which we highly respect, and thenit was that I discovered the error of Quox.

"Quox, as you well know, is a young dragon whohas not yet acquired the wisdom of his race.Because of this lack, he has been disrespectfultoward his most ancient ancestor, the OriginalDragon, telling him once to mind his own businessand again saying that the Ancient One had grownfoolish with age. We are aware that dragons arenot the same as fairies and cannot be altogetherguided by our laws, yet such disrespect as Quoxhas shown should not be unnoticed by us. ThereforeI have selected Quox as my royal Instrument ofVengeance and he shall go through the Tube withthese people and inflict upon Ruggedo thepunishment I have decreed."

All had listened quietly to this speech and nowthe Kings and Queens bowed gravely to signifytheir approval of the Jinjin's judgment.

Tititi-Hoochoo turned to Tubekins.

"I command you," said he, "to escort thesestrangers to the Tube and see that they all enterit."

The King of the Tube, who had first discoveredour friends and brought them to the PrivateCitizen, stepped forward and bowed. As he did so,the Jinjin and all the Kings and Queens suddenlydisappeared and only Tubekins remained visible.

"All right," said Betsy, with a sigh; "I don'tmind going back so very much, 'cause the Jinjinpromised to make it easy for us."

Indeed, Queen Ann and her officers were the onlyones who looked solemn and seemed to fear thereturn journey. One thing that bothered Ann washer failure to conquer this land of Tititi-Hoochoo. As they followed their guide through thegardens to the mouth of the Tube she said toShaggy:

"How can I conquer the world, if I go awayand leave this rich country unconquered?"

"You can't," he replied. "Don't ask me why,please, for if you don't know I can't informyou."

"Why not?" said Ann; but Shaggy paid noattention to the question.

This end of the Tube had a silver rim and aroundit was a gold railing to which was attached a signthat read.

"IF YOU ARE OUT, STAY THERE.IF YOU ARE IN, DON'T COME OUT."

On a little silver plate just inside the Tubewas engraved the words:

"Burrowed and built byHiergargo the Magician,In the Year of the World1 9 6 2 5 4 7 8For his own exclusive uses."

"He was some builder, I must say," remarkedBetsy, when she had read the inscription; "butif he had known about that star I guess he'dhave spent his time playing solitaire."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" inquiredShaggy, who was impatient to start.

"Quox," replied Tubekins. "But I think I hearhim coming."

"Is the young dragon invisible?" asked Ann,who had never seen a live dragon and was a littlefearful of meeting one.

"No, indeed," replied the King of the Tube."You'll see him in a minute; but before you partcompany I'm sure you'll wish he was invisible."

"Is he dangerous, then?" questioned Files.

"Not at all. But Quox tires me dreadfully," saidTubekins, "and I prefer his room to his company.

At that instant a scraping sound was heard,drawing nearer and nearer until from betweentwo big bushes appeared a huge dragon, whoapproached the party, nodded his head and said:"Good morning."

Had Quox been at all bashful I am sure he wouldhave felt uncomfortable at the astonished stare ofevery eye in the group--except Tubekins, ofcourse, who was not astonished because he had seenQuox so often.

Betsy had thought a "young" dragon must be asmall dragon, yet here was one so enormous thatthe girl decided he must be full grown, if notovergrown. His body was a lovely sky-blue in colorand it was thickly set with glittering silverscales, each one as big as a serving-tray. Aroundhis neck was a pink ribbon with a bow just underhis left ear, and below the ribbon appeared achain of pearls to which was attached a goldenlocket about as large around as the end of a bassdrum. This locket was set with many large andbeautiful jewels.

The head and face of Quox were not especiallyugly, when you consider that he was a dragon; buthis eyes were so large that it took him a longtime to wink and his teeth seemed very sharp andterrible when they showed, which they did wheneverthe beast smiled. Also his nostrils were quitelarge and wide, and those who stood near him wereliable to smell brimstone--especially when hebreathed out fire, as it is the nature of dragonsto do. To the end of his long tail was attached abig electric light.

Perhaps the most singular thing about thedragon's appearance at this time was the fact thathe had a row of seats attached to his back, oneseat for each member of the party. These seatswere double, with curved backs, so that twocould sit in them, and there were twelve of thesedouble seats, all strapped firmly around thedragon's thick body and placed one behind theother, in a row that extended from his shouldersnearly to his tail.

"Aha!" exclaimed Tubekins; "I see that Tititi-Hoochoo has transformed Quox into a carryall."

"I'm glad of that," said Betsy. "I hope, Mr.Dragon, you won't mind our riding on your back."

"Not a bit," replied Quox. "I'm in disgrace justnow, you know, and the only way to redeem my goodname is to obey the orders of the Jinjin. If hemakes me a beast of burden, it is only a part ofmy punishment, and I must bear it like a dragon. Idon't blame you people at all, and I hope you'llenjoy the ride. Hop on, please. All aboard for theother side of the world!"

Silently they took their places. Hank sat in thefront seat with Betsy, so that he could rest hisfront hoofs upon the dragon's head. Behind themwere Shaggy and Polychrome, then Files and thePrincess, and Queen Ann and Tik-Tok. The officersrode in the rear seats. When all had mounted totheir places the dragon looked very like one ofthose sightseeing wagons so common in big cities--only he had legs instead of wheels.

"All ready?" asked Quox, and when they said theywere he crawled to the mouth of the Tube and puthis head in.

"Good-bye, and good luck to you!" calledTubekins; but no one thought to reply, becausejust then the dragon slid his great body into theTube and the journey to the other side of theworld had begun.

At first they went so fast that they couldscarcely catch their breaths, but presently Quoxslowed up and said with a sort of cackling laugh:

"My scales! but that is some tumble. I think Ishall take it easy and fall slower, or I'm likely toget dizzy. Is it very far to the other side of theworld?"

"Haven't you ever been through this Tubebefore?" inquired Shaggy.

"Never. Nor has anyone else in our country;at least, not since I was born."

"How long ago was that?" asked Betsy.

"That I was born? Oh, not very long ago.I'm only a mere child. If I had not been sent onthis journey, I would have celebrated my threethousand and fifty-sixth birthday next Thursday.Mother was going to make me a birthday cakewith three thousand and fifty-six candles on it;but now, of course, there will be no celebration,for I fear I shall not get home in time for it."

"Three thousand and fifty-six years!" criedBetsy. "Why, I had no idea anything could livethat long!"

"My respected Ancestor, whom I would call astupid old humbug if I had not reformed, is so oldthat I am a mere baby compared with him," saidQuox. "He dates from the beginning of the world,and insists on telling us stories of things thathappened fifty thousand years ago, which are of nointerest at all to youngsters like me. In fact,Grandpa isn't up to date. He lives altogether inthe past, so I can't see any good reason for hisbeing alive to-day.... Are you people able to seeyour way, or shall I turn on more light?"

"Oh, we can see very nicely, thank you; onlythere's nothing to see but ourselves," answeredBetsy.

This was true. The dragon's big eyes were likeheadlights on an automobile and illuminated theTube far ahead of them. Also he curled his tailupward so that the electric light on the end of itenabled them to see one another quite clearly. Butthe Tube itself was only dark metal, smooth asglass but exactly the same from one of its ends tothe other. Therefore there was no scenery ofinterest to beguile the journey.

They were now falling so gently that the tripwas proving entirely comfortable, as the Jinjinhad promised it would be; but this meant alonger journey and the only way they couldmake time pass was to engage in conversation.The dragon seemed a willing and persistenttalker and he was of so much interest to themthat they encouraged him to chatter. His voicewas a little gruff but not unpleasant when onebecame used to it.

"My only fear," said he presently, "is that thisconstant sliding over the surface of the Tube willdull my claws. You see, this hole isn't straightdown, but on a steep slant, and so instead oftumbling freely through the air I must skate alongthe Tube. Fortunately, there is a file in my tool-kit, and if my claws get dull they can besharpened again."

"Why do you want sharp claws?" asked Betsy.

"They are my natural weapons, and you must notforget that I have been sent to conquer Ruggedo."

"Oh, you needn't mind about that," remarkedQueen Ann, in her most haughty manner; "for whenwe get to Ruggedo I and my invincible Army canconquer him without your assistance."

"Very good," returned the dragon, cheerfully."That will save me a lot of bother--if yousucceed. But I think I shall file my claws, justthe same."

He gave a long sigh, as he said this, and asheet of flame, several feet in length, shot fromhis mouth. Betsy shuddered and Hank said"Hee-haw!" while some of the officers screamedin terror. But the dragon did not notice that hehad done anything unusual.

"Is there fire inside of you?" asked Shaggy.

"Of course," answered Quox. "What sort of adragon would I be if my fire went out?"

"What keeps it going?" Betsy inquired.

"I've no idea. I only know it's there," saidQuox. "The fire keeps me alive and enables meto move; also to think and speak."

"Ah! You are ver-y much like my-self," saidTik-Tok. "The on-ly dif-fer-ence is that I moveby clock-work, while you move by fire."

"I don't see a particle of likeness between us,I must confess," retorted Quox, gruffly. "You arenot a live thing; you're a dummy."

"But I can do things, you must ad-mit," saidTik-Tok.

"Yes, when you are wound up," sneered thedragon. "But if you run down, you are helpless."

"What would happen to you, Quox, if you ranout of gasoline?" inquired Shaggy, who did notlike this attack upon his friend.

"I don't use gasoline."

"Well, suppose you ran out of fire."

"What's the use of supposing that?" askedQuox. "My great-great-great-grandfather haslived since the world began, and he has neveronce run out of fire to keep him going. But Iwill confide to you that as he gets older he showsmore smoke and less fire. As for Tik-Tok, he'swell enough in his way, but he's merely copper.And the Metal Monarch knows copper throughand through. I wouldn't be surprised if Ruggedomelted Tik-Tok in one of his furnaces and madecopper pennies of him."

"In that case, I would still keep going,"remarked Tik-Tok, calmly.

"Pennies do," said Betsy regretfully.

"This is all nonsense," said the Queen, withirritation. "Tik-Tok is my great Army--all but theofficers--and I believe he will be able to conquerRuggedo with ease. What do you think, Polychrome?"

"You might let him try," answered the Rainbow'sDaughter, with her sweet ringing laugh, thatsounded like the tinkling of tiny bells. "And ifTik-Tok fails, you have still the big fire-breathing dragon to fall back on."

"Ah!" said the dragon, another sheet of flamegushing from his mouth and nostrils; "it's a wiselittle girl, this Polychrome. Anyone would knowshe is a fairy."