“I never said that! Was he—was he—What did he say?”
“Nuttin’ much, ’cept dat I wuz to guv youse back de dough, for de books wuz on ’im.”
“I’m afraid you have pained him, Swot, and you certainly have pained me. Did he seem hurt or offended?”
“Nop.”
“I wish you would tell him I shall be greatly obliged if he will come to the ward to-morrow, for I wish to see him. Now don’t alter this message, please, Swot.”
That her Mercury did her bidding more effectively was proved by her finding the doctor at the bedside when she arrived the next day.
“Swot told me that you wished to see me, Miss Durant,” he said.
“Yes, and I’m very much obliged to you for waiting. I—How soon will it be possible for him to be up?”
“He is doing so famously that we’ll have him out of bed by Monday, I hope.”
“I promised him a present, and I want to have a Christmas tree for him, if he can come to it.”