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."