General Merchandise.
"We'll soon fix that," shouted the old bee general. "Ho! guard, seize him."
And in a twinkling Billy found himself in the grasp of the bees. Now of course as soon as Billy stopped moving forward he had to drop to earth, so down, down, down he went, with the excited bee soldiers clinging to him and flapping their wings in a vain endeavor to keep him and themselves up in the air. And almost on top of them dropped the fussy old Bee General.
"Now see what you've done, Beetle Boy," said he. "What do you mean by interfering with the Queen's Own Yellow Jackets on the public fly-ways?"
Before Billy could answer a sweet girlish voice said:
"What is the matter, General Merchandise?"
"We've caught a fly-wayman or something equally wicked, Princess Honey Girl," said the General, gravely saluting.
"Indeed Miss," said Billy, kneeling (as well as he could in his suit) before the beautiful, golden haired maiden, who had stepped out of her Palanquin and stood looking at him, "indeed Miss, I'm not any of the things this bee gentleman calls me—I'm just a messenger boy."
"There now, what did I tell you?" shouted the General. "Just a minute ago he said he was a Beetle Boy. Ho, guard—oh! that's so, you've already ho—d."
"I beg your pardon, sir, but you were the one that said I was a Beetle Boy."