"The master isn't very well, sir."
"Oh! Then Mrs. Earlforward."
"Missis is looking after master, sir."
"You don't mean to say he's ill?"
"Yes, sir."
"Ill in bed?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good God! I've known him for over twenty years, and never knew him ill yet. What's the matter? What's the matter with him?"
"I couldn't exactly say, sir."
"What do you mean—you couldn't exactly say?"