resumedthisimmovableman，“Ishouldwishrespectfullytospeaktoyouaboutmyson。Perhapsitmaybemoreconvenientinthecourseoftheday？Myhumbleduty，sir，andmybestthanks。Mysonisstrictlysober。Heisaccustomedtothestables，andhebelongstotheChurchofEngland——withoutincumbrances。”Havingthusplantedhisoffspringprovisionallyinhismaster’sestimation，AbrahamSageshoulderedhisinvaluablerake，andhobbledslowlyoutofview。
“Ifthat’saspecimenofatrustworthyoldservant。”saidAllan，“IthinkI’drathertakemychanceofbeingcheatedbyanewone。
_You_shallnotbetroubledwithhimagain，MissMilroy，atanyrate。Alltheflower-bedsinthegardenareatyourdisposal，andallthefruitinthefruitseason，ifyou’llonlycomehereandeatit。”
“Oh，Mr。Armadale，howvery，verykindyouare。HowcanIthankyou？”
Allansawhiswaytoanothercompliment——anelaboratecompliment，intheshapeofatrap，thistime。