"No need for an apology, perhaps, but much need for an explanation,"
said Scraps decidedly. "You don't want war, do you?"

"Not if we can help it," admitted Jak Horner. "The question is, who's
going to explain the joke to the Horners? You know it spoils any joke
to be obliged to explain it, and this is the best joke I ever heard."

"Who made the joke?" asked Scraps.

"Diksey Horner. He is working in the mines, just now, but he'll be home
before long. Suppose we wait and talk with him about it? Maybe he'll be
willing to explain his joke to the Hoppers."

"All right," said Scraps. "I'll wait, if Diksey isn't too long."

"No, he's short; he's shorter than I am. Ha, ha, ha! Say! that's a
better joke than Diksey's. He won't be too long, because he's short.
Hee, hee, ho!"

The other Horners who were standing by roared with laughter and seemed
to like their Chief's joke as much as he did. Scraps thought it was odd
that they could be so easily amused, but decided there could be little
harm in people who laughed so merrily.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Peace Is Declared

"Come with me to my dwelling and I'll introduce you to my daughters,"
said the Chief. "We're bringing them up according to a book of rules
that was written by one of our leading old bachelors, and everyone says
they're a remarkable lot of girls."

So Scraps accompanied him along the street to a house that seemed on
the outside exceptionally grimy and dingy. The streets of this city
were not paved nor had any attempt been made to beautify the houses or
their surroundings, and having noticed this condition Scraps was
astonished when the Chief ushered her into his home.

Here was nothing grimy or faded, indeed. On the contrary, the room was
of dazzling brilliance and beauty, for it was lined throughout with an
exquisite metal that resembled translucent frosted silver. The surface
of this metal was highly ornamented in raised designs representing men,
animals, flowers and trees, and from the metal itself was radiated the
soft light which flooded the room. All the furniture was made of the
same glorious metal, and Scraps asked what it was.

"That's radium," answered the Chief. "We Horners spend all our time
digging radium from the mines under this mountain, and we use it to
decorate our homes and make them pretty and cosy. It is a medicine,
too, and no one can ever be sick who lives near radium."

"Have you plenty of it?" asked the Patchwork Girl.