Doc Bendy was hurrying out of the Riverside Inn as they reached it. He waved to them. "Save your money. His Gracious Majesty is throwing a free lunch for everybody."
"Where?"
"At the palace, of course."
"What palace?" Alis asked.
"The bubble gum factory. He's taken it over."
"Why the gum factory?"
"Cheeky McFerson offered it to him. Not the factory itself but the big old house near the west wing. The mansion that's been closed up since the old man died. They say Cheeky's been given a title as part of the bargain."
"Sir Cheeky?" Alis asked, giggling.
"Something like that. Lord Chicle, maybe, or Baron de Mouthful. Come on. It should be quite a show."
Dozens of people were in the streets, all heading in the same direction. Word of the king's largess spread fast and, on the factory grounds, guards were directing the crowd to a line that disappeared into a side door of the old McFerson mansion.