"Can't be bothered."
"'E sez hit's most himportant, sir."
"Wot is?"
"I dunno, sir."
"Well, show 'im in. I'll soon settle 'im."
A quiet-mannered young man appeared. He ignored David's sharp, "Now, wot can I do for you?" and drew up a chair, on which he seated himself, uninvited.
"May I ask if you have received any private news of the Andromeda?" he began.
"No."
"In that case, you must prepare yourself for a statement that may give you a shock," said the journalist.
David creaked round in his chair. His face, not so red as of yore, paled distinctly.