bashful I am sure he would have felt uncomfortable
at the astonished stare of every eye in the group--except Tubekins, of
course, who was not astonished because he had seen Quox so often.

Betsy had thought a "young" dragon must be a small dragon, yet here was
one so enormous that the girl decided he must be full grown, if not
overgrown. His body was a lovely sky-blue in color and it was thickly
set with glittering silver scales, each one as big as a serving-tray.
Around his neck was a pink ribbon with a bow just under his left ear,
and below the ribbon appeared a chain of pearls to which was attached a
golden locket about as large around as the end of a bass drum. This
locket was set with many large and beautiful jewels.

The head and face of Quox were not especially ugly, when you consider
that he was a dragon; but his eyes were so large that it took him a
long time to wink and his teeth seemed very sharp and terrible when
they showed, which they did whenever the beast smiled. Also his
nostrils were quite large and wide, and those who stood near him were
liable to smell brimstone--especially when he breathed out fire, as it
is the nature of dragons to do. To the end of his long tail was
attached a big electric light.

Perhaps the most singular thing about the dragon's appearance at this
time was the fact that he had a row of seats attached to his back, one
seat for each member of the party. These seats were double, with curved
backs, so that two could sit in them, and there were twelve of these
double seats, all strapped firmly around the dragon's thick body and
placed one behind the other, in a row that extended from his shoulders
nearly 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 just now, you know, and the
only way to redeem my good name is to obey the orders of the Jinjin. If
he makes me a beast of burden, it is only a part of my punishment, and
I must bear it like a dragon. I don't blame you people at all, and I
hope you'll enjoy the ride. Hop on, please. All aboard for the other
side of the world!"

Silently they took their places. Hank sat in the front seat with Betsy,
so that he could rest his front hoofs upon the dragon's head. Behind
them were Shaggy and Polychrome, then Files and the Princess, and Q