“Not him—” Sig was beginning when the bus came and they climbed in, hurrying for the long seat at the back where they could crowd in together.

“I had Fafnir and Sigurd,” Sig said under the hum of other voices. “And Ras had Sirrush-Lau and Daniel. Tell him, Ras.”

Ras’s story was much shortened, but he was able to make Artie believe in his adventure. They continued to compare notes, each adding more details of his particular dragon venture, sometimes talking all at once.

“There is still the yellow dragon,” Sig said, “I wonder—”

Ras shook his head. “Won’t do us any good to try, you know what happened before. But I sure would like to know what dragon that is. Not that we ever shall, now. The wreckers are coming this week and the Good Will people have to clean the house out. That puzzle will go with the rest of the stuff.”

“I wish it could be finished. It ought to be!” Sig thumped his fist down on his big notebook. “I want to know what dragon that is.”

The word “dragon” carried to the seat ahead. Although Kim was reading he could catch some of their conversation, just as he had also been aware of their excited words at the bus stop. Now he still held his book open, but instead of reading he listened with all his might to learn more.

Even the fact that the three, who had never paid any attention to one another before, were now so friendly was surprising. They apparently had become a tightly knit group. Dragons—he thought about dragons.

Kim knew a lot of dragon lore from China. There was the green dragon of the east; the dragons who rose to the sky in the spring and plunged into the waters in the fall; Lung, the five-toed dragon, who in the old days could be pictured only in the royal palace or on the robes of the Emperor; the heavenly dragons who guarded the mansions of the old gods; spirit dragons who controlled winds and rain; earth dragons who cleared rivers, deepened seas; the dragons who guarded hidden treasures.

Dragons could take on the bodies of men and appear if they wished among people. He knew the old tales about such dragons and the gifts they gave those they favored, the evil they could do in return to evil men. Yes, there were a lot of stories about dragons. But that’s all they were—just stories. What did these three talking behind him now know about dragons? Now as much as he did. Not that they would ever listen to him. Suppose he turned around right now and said—