Lucy hesitated a moment, and then her eye suddenly brightened up, and she said,
“Yes, Royal,—if you would only just be so good as to take my medicine for me.”
Royal laughed, and said, “O Lucy! I guess you are not very sick.”
In fact, Lucy was breathing pretty freely then, and there was nothing to indicate, particularly, that she was sick; unless when a paroxysm of coughing came on. Miss Anne brought her medicine to her in a great spoon, and Royal said that he presumed that the doctor would not let him take the medicine, but that, if she would take it, he would make all the faces for her.
Accordingly, while she was swallowing the medicine, she turned her eyes up towards Royal, who had stood back a little way, and she began to laugh a little at the strange grimaces which he was making. The laugh was, however, interrupted and spoiled by a universal shudder which came over her, produced by the taste of the ipecacuanha.
Immediately afterwards, Lucy’s mother said,
“Come, Royal; now I want you to go right back to bed again.”
“Well, mother,—only won’t you just let me stop a minute, to look out the door, and see how midnight looks?”
“Yes,” said she, “only run along.”
So Royal went away; and pretty soon the doctor went away too. He said that Lucy would be pretty sick for about an hour, and that after that he hoped that she would be better; and he left a small white powder in a little paper, which he said she might take after that time, and it would make her sleep well the rest of the night.