Just as Brown went through the door, Ross called out, 'Got another place, Sam?'
Sam suddenly came to life again. 'Will you see the doctor in the morning?'
'Oh, have it your own way,' growled Ross.
'Then I've got a place,' said Sam.
'Get us some tea, then,' my brother ordered, 'and come and have a cup yourself.'
'Certainly not, sir, with Miss Meg—Margaret, I mean,' he said, getting deeper into the mire.
'Do you usually call my sister by her Christian name?'
'No, sir, but you worry me so, I don't know half the time what I'm a-saying.'
'Well, I'm a-saying now,' said his autocratic master, 'that it's time the tea was here, and bring three cups. I want to talk about the Hickley Woods. You've got a rotten temper, Sam.'
'Yes, sir, you can't touch pitch,' said Sam, firing the last shot.