"Oh, it is nothing at all," said Billy.

"I should think there was something," said the man.

"I am afraid my house will get a bad name," croaked the landlord.

"Not in the least! You are only a coward," said Billy.

"But in the name of God, what is it all about?" asked an old man.

"Oh, you'll see by-and-bye," said Billy; "it is nothing at all."

Next morning Billy went to his smithy, but the devil would not come
near it.

So he went to his house, and began to quarrel with his wife, and
whilst he was quarrelling the devil walked in and said:

"Well, Mr. Duffy, I am ready for you."

"Ah, yes; just sit down and wait a minute or two. I have some papers
I want to put to rights before I go."

So the devil sat down in the arm-chair, and Billy went to the smithy
and heated a pair of tongs red-hot, and coming back, he got the
devil by the nose, and pulled it out as though it had been soft
iron. And the devil began yelling, but he could not move, and Billy
kept drawing the nose out till it was long enough to reach over the
window, when he put an old bell-topper on the end of it. And the
devil yelled, and snorted fire from his nose.