After the King had made good his escape Files saidto the dragon, in a sad voice:

"Alas! why did you not come before? Because youwere sleeping instead of conquering, the lovelyRose Princess has become a fiddle without a how,while poor Shaggy sits there a cooing dove!"

"Don't worry," replied Quox. "Tititi-Hoochooknows his business, and I have my orders from theGreat Jinjin himself. Bring the fiddle here andtouch it lightly to my pink ribbon."

Files obeyed and at the moment of contact withthe ribbon the Nome King's charm was broken andthe Rose Princess herself stood before them assweet and smiling as ever.

The dove, perched on the back of the throne, hadseen and heard all this, so without being toldwhat to do it flew straight to the dragon andalighted on the ribbon. Next instant Shaggy washimself again and Quox said to him grumblingly:

"Please get off my left toe, Shaggy Man, and bemore particular where you step."

"I beg your pardon!" replied Shaggy, veryglad to resume his natural form. Then he ranto lift the heavy diamond off Tik-Tok's chestand to assist the Clockwork Man to his feet.

"Ma-ny thanks!" said Tik-Tok. "Where is thewicked King who want-ed to melt me in a cru-ci-ble?"

"He has gone, and gone for good," answeredPolychrome, who had managed to squeeze into theroom beside the dragon and had witnessed theoccurrences with much interest. "But I wonderwhere Betsy Bobbin and Hank can be, and if anyharm has befallen them."

"We must search the cavern until we find them,"declared Shaggy; but when he went to the doorleading to the other caverns he found it shut andbarred.

"I've a pretty strong push in my forehead," saidQuox, "and I believe I can break down that door,even though it's made of solid gold."

"But you are a prisoner, and the chains thathold you are fastened in some other room, so thatwe cannot release you," Files said anxiously.

"Oh, never mind that," returned the dragon. "Ihave remained a prisoner only because I wished tobe one," and with this he stepped forward andburst the stout chains as easily as if they hadbeen threads.

But when he tried to push in the heavy metaldoor, even his mighty strength failed, and afterseveral attempts he gave it up and squattedhimself in a corner to think of a better way.

"I'll o-pen the door," asserted Tik-Tok, andgoing to the King's big gong he pounded upon Ituntil the noise was almost deafening.

Kaliko, in the next cavern, was wondering whathad happened to Ruggedo and if he had escaped theeggs and outwitted the dragon. But when he heardthe sound of the gong, which had so often calledhim into the King's presence, he decided thatRuggedo had been victorious; so he took away thebar, threw open the door and entered the royalcavern.

Great was his astonishment to find the King goneand the enchantments removed from the Princess andShaggy. But the eggs were also gone and so Kalikoadvanced to the dragon, whom he knew to beTititi-Hoochoo's messenger, and bowed humblybefore the beast.

"What is your will?" he inquired.

"Where is Betsy?" demanded the dragon.

"Safe in my own private room," said Kaliko.

"Go and get her!" commanded Quox.

So Kaliko went to Betsy's room and gave threeraps upon the door. The little girl had beenasleep, but she heard the raps and opened thedoor.

"You may come out now," said Kaliko. "The Kinghas fled in disgrace and your friends are askingfor you."

So Betsy and Hank returned with the RoyalChamberlain to the throne cavern, where she wasreceived with great joy by her friends. They toldher what had happened to Ruggedo and she told themhow kind Kaliko had been to her. Quox did not havemuch to say until the conversation was ended, butthen he turned to Kaliko and asked:

"Do you suppose you could rule your nomes betterthan Ruggedo has done?"

"Me?" stammered the Chamberlain, greatlysurprised by the question. "Well, I couldn't be aworse King, I'm sure."

"Would the nomes obey you?" inquired the dragon.

"Of course," said Kaliko. "They like me betterthan ever they did Ruggedo."

"Then hereafter you shall be the Metal Monarch,King of the Nomes, and Tititi-Hoochoo expects youto rule your Kingdom wisely and well," said Quox.

"Hooray!" cried Betsy; "I'm glad of that. KingKaliko, I salute Your Majesty and wish you joy inyour gloomy old Kingdom!"

"We all wish him joy," said Polychrome; and thenthe others made haste to congratulate the newKing.

"Will you release my dear brother?" askedShaggy.

"The Ugly One? Very willingly," replied Kaliko."I begged Ruggedo long ago to send him away, buthe would not do so. I also offered to help yourbrother to escape, but he would not go."

"He's so conscientious!" said Shaggy, highlypleased. "All of our family have noble natures.But is my dear brother well?" he added anxiously.

"He eats and sleeps very steadily," replied thenew King.

"I hope he doesn't work too hard," said Shaggy.

"He doesn't work at all. In fact, there isnothing he can do in these dominions as well asour nomes, whose numbers are so great that itworries us to keep them all busy. So your brotherhas only to amuse himself."

"Why, it's more like visiting, than being aprisoner," asserted Betsy.

"Not exactly," returned Kaliko. "A prisonercannot go where or when he pleases, and is nothis own master."

"Where is my brother now?" inquired Shaggy.

"In the Metal Forest."

"Where is that?"

"The Metal Forest is in the Great Domed Cavern,the largest in all our dominions," replied Kaliko."It is almost like being out of doors, it is sobig, and Ruggedo made the wonderful forest toamuse himself, as well as to tire out his hard-working nomes. All the trees are gold and silverand the ground is strewn with precious stones, soit is a sort of treasury."

"Let us go there at once and rescue my dearbrother," pleaded Shaggy earnestly.

Kaliko hesitated.

"I don't believe I can find the way," said he."Ruggedo made three secret passages to the MetalForest, but he changes the location of thesepassages every week, so that no one can get to theMetal Forest without his permission. However, ifwe look sharp, we may be able to discover one ofthese secret ways."

"That reminds me to ask what has become of QueenAnn and the Officers of Oogaboo," said Files.

"I'm sure I can't say," replied Kaliko.

"Do you suppose Ruggedo destroyed them?"

"Oh, no; I'm quite sure he didn't. They fellinto the big pit in the passage, and we put thecover on to keep them there; but when theexecutioners went to look for them they had alldisappeared from the pit and we could find notrace of them."

"That's funny," remarked Betsy thoughtfully. "Idon't believe Ann knew any magic, or she'd haveworked it before. But to disappear like that seemslike magic; now, doesn't it?"

They agreed that it did, but no one couldexplain the mystery.

"However," said Shaggy, "they are gone, that iscertain, so we cannot help them or be helped bythem. And the important thing just now is torescue my dear brother from captivity."

"Why do they call him the Ugly One?" askedBetsy.

"I do not know," confessed Shaggy. "I can notremember his looks very well, it is so long sinceI have seen him; but all of our family are notedfor their handsome faces."

Betsy laughed and Shaggy seemed rather hurt; butPolychrome relieved his embarrassment by sayingsoftly: "One can be ugly in looks, but lovely indisposition."

"Our first task," said Shaggy, a littlecomforted by this remark, "is to find one of thosesecret passages to the Metal Forest."

"True," agreed Kaliko. "So I think I willassemble the chief nomes of my kingdom in thisthrone room and tell them that I am their newKing. Then I can ask them to assist us insearching for the secret passages.

"That's a good idea," said the dragon, whoseemed to be getting sleepy again.

Kaliko went to the big gong and pounded on itjust as Ruggedo used to do; but no one answeredthe summons.

"Of course not," said he, jumping up from thethrone, where he had seated himself. "That is mycall, and I am still the Royal Chamberlain, andwill be until I appoint another in my place."

So he ran out of the room and found Guph andtold him to answer the summons of the King's gong.Having returned to the royal cavern, Kaliko firstpounded the gong and then sat in the throne,wearing Ruggedo's discarded ruby crown and holdingin his hand the sceptre which Ruggedo had so oftenthrown at his head.

When Guph entered he was amazed.

"Better get out of that throne before oldRuggedo comes back," he said warningly.

"He isn't coming back, and I am now the King ofthe Nomes, in his stead," announced Kaliko.

"All of which is quite true," asserted thedragon, and all of those who stood around thethrone bowed respectfully to the new King.

Seeing this, Guph also bowed, for he was glad tobe rid of such a hard master as Ruggedo. ThenKaliko, in quite a kingly way, informed Guph thathe was appointed the Royal Chamberlain, andpromised not to throw the sceptre at his headunless he deserved it.

All this being pleasantly arranged, the newChamberlain went away to tell the news to all thenomes of the underground Kingdom, every one ofwhom would be delighted with the change in Kings.