"Howdy!" the skeleton eased himself from beneath Victor's narrow bed, looking about him and blinking his one eye with some curiosity. "Hmm. Now, whose house am I in? Come on, don't be shy. Break it to me!"

"Why—my house, sir," Victor murmured. No sooner had these words escaped his numb lips than he commenced a desperate checking of his pulse, his jaw somewhat slack and his expression noticeably frozen whilst doing so.

"Whuz the matter?" Bonejangles inquired with a yawn. He stretched himself, bones cracking all too audibly.

"Heaven help me!" Victor said, his voice low, "I can't feel a pulse."

Bonejangles's eye rolled about for an instant, so mirthful was the skeleton. "Don't worry," he rasped, making his way toward Victor, "I ain't comin' for you now. Here, let me find the old heartbeat."

Victor gasped as one fleshless hand caught hold of his wrist.

"No—stop!" he cried, pulling away. "I can find it…"

Bonejangles blinked. "Come on," he said, observing Victor's panic, "you've seen dozens of skeletons in your day, sonny. What's the point in gettin' scared all over again?"

"I'm not scared," Victor breathed, stepping slightly back.

"I say you are," Bonejangles shot back, seizing his arm and thus ending any hope of retreat.

"Sir, I beg you to release me," Victor said, trembling, "and—and I find that I—I must ask you why you have come here."

Bonejangles tightened his grip on Victor's arm. "Seen any corpses lately?" he said, "'Cause that's why I'm here! I was sittin' in the old Ball and Socket one day, when suddenly the earth begins shakin' and everything's complete chaos. Then there's this portal that appears, and as I'm thinkin' to myself, 'Why in the blazes is there a portal in this pub?' some body walks straight into it! Well, I take it upon myself to rescue the soul, as does a good many other fellas like me. Next thing I know, here I am. Strange, ain't it?"

Victor nodded uneasily. "Quite. How did you know that it was a portal?"

Bonejangles allowed his captive to free himself of the cruel grip with which he had held him and said, "I see ya don't believe me. Bud, I could see the world through that portal. Both worlds. Mine, yours—man, it was a sight. In fact, I can show it to you. See here, under your bed? Come on, look! You're not lookin'."

Victor knelt beside the skeleton. "I don't see it," he whispered.

"Perhaps," Bonejangles said wickedly, "you're not close enough."

Victor fought the skeleton's efforts to force him beneath the bed with all his pitiful strength, but to no avail. The skeleton cackled as he heard Victor utter a little cry of pain; yet as he crouched on the bed, fully prepared to take on still more resistance, he came to realize that no living creature remained within the room. Victor had indeed discovered the portal of which Bonejangles had spoken.

"Well, I wonder where he ended up," Bonejangles mused, heading for the door.