"Indeed, sir! I'm very sorry, for if anybody would grace a fortune 'twould be you, sir."
He turned his cloth cap round and round in his hands as he added:
"Then you don't want a servant, sir?"
Gray laughed out.
"Most decidedly not, my man. But I must go on, I'm busy."
Lumley stood in his way and did not move.
"If I didn't want any wages, sir? I'd like to go along with you, if only for the journey down to Adelaide. I'd serve you faithfully, sir."
"It's utterly impossible—out of the question," exclaimed Gray with a wave of the hand. "Besides, I'm not going to Adelaide."
"Indeed, sir!"
It had been a slip of the tongue, which Gray repented at once.