Then Button-Bright crept softly out of the room again, and in one of the outer rooms he sat down near a big cabinet and put on his shoes.  Poor Button-Bright did not know that lying disregarded beneath that very cabinet at his side was the precious umbrella he was seeking, or that he was undertaking a desperate adventure all for nothing.  He passed the long-necked guard again, finding the man half asleep, and then made his way to the Treasure Chamber.  Facing Jimfred, he said to the patched man in a serious tone, “His Majesty commands you to go at once to the corridor leading to the apartments of the Six Snubnosed Princesses and to guard the entrance until morning.  You are to permit no one to enter or leave the apartments.”

“But—­good gracious!” exclaimed the surprised Jimfred.  “Who will guard the Treasure Chamber?”

“I am to take your place,” said Button-Bright.

“Oh, very well,” replied Jimfred.  “This is a queer freak for our Boolooroo to indulge in, but he is always doing something absurd.  You’re not much of a guard, seems to me, but if anyone tries to rob the Treasure Chamber you must ring this big gong, which will alarm the whole palace and bring the soldiers to your assistance.  Do you understand?”

“Yes,” said Button-Bright.

Then Fredjim stalked away to the other side of the palace to guard the Princesses, and Button-Bright was left alone with the key to the Treasure Chamber in his hand.  But he had not forgotten that the ferocious Blue Wolf was guarding the interior of the Chamber, so he searched in some of the rooms until he found a sofa-pillow, which he put under his arm and then returned to the corridor.

He placed the key in the lock, and the bolt turned with a sharp click.  Button-Bright did not hesitate.  He was afraid, to be sure, and his heart was beating fast with the excitement of the moment, but he knew he must regain the Magic Umbrella if he would save his comrades and himself from destruction, for without it they could never return to the Earth.  So he summoned up his best courage, opened the door, stepped quickly inside, and closed the door after him.

BUTTON-BRIGHT ENCOUNTERS THE BLUE WOLF

CHAPTER 11

A low, fierce growl greeted him.  The Treasure Chamber was pretty dark, although the moonlight came in through some of the windows, but the boy had brought with him the low brass lamp that lighted the corridor, and this he set upon a table beside the door before he took time to look around him.

The Treasure Chamber was heaped and crowded with all the riches the Boolooroo had accumulated during his reign of two or three hundred years.  Piles of gold and jewels were on all sides, and precious ornaments and splendid cloths, rare pieces of carved furniture, vases, bric-a-brac and the like, were strewn about the room in astonishing profusion.