“What ho, without!”
“A-coming!” cried, from without, the shrill voice of Victoria May Alice.
The door was flung open, and there entered Victoria, carrying a smoking bowl.
“Victoria May Alice,” said Lovegood—“bear the goblet to the king.”
Victoria May Alice bore the goblet.
She handed the bowl to Noll—spluttered into a guffaw behind a grimy hand—and hurried from the room.
The big man, sitting at the foot of the bed, smiled.
“God bless you, Oliver,” said he—“and get well.”
Noll began to sup the fragrant broth with a spoon.
Lovegood got up from the bed—coughed—blew his nose.