and my heart suddenly commenced to gallop, without any reference to me.
I'd never felt like that before, except once or twice.
It was just as if I'd swallowed some clockwork arrangement,
unconsciously, and it had started to go, without warning.
I reckon it was all on account of that blarsted Jack working me up.
He had a quiet way of working you up to a thing, that made you want
to hit him sometimes -- after you'd made an ass of yourself.

I didn't hear Mary at first. I hoped Jack would come round and help me
out of the fix, but he didn't.

`Mr -- Mr Wilson!' said Mary. She had a sweet voice.

I turned round.

`I thought you and Mr Barnes might like a cup of tea.'

`Oh, thank you!' I said, and I made a dive for the window, as if hurry
would help it. I trod on an old cask-hoop; it sprang up and dinted my shin
and I stumbled -- and that didn't help matters much.

`Oh! did you hurt yourself, Mr Wilson?' cried Mary.

`Hurt myself! Oh no, not at all, thank you,' I blurted out.
`It takes more than that to hurt me.'

I was about the reddest shy lanky fool of a Bushman that was ever taken
at a disadvantage on foot, and when I took the tray my hands shook so
that a lot of the tea was spilt into the saucers. I embarrassed her too,
like the damned fool I was, till she must have been as red as I was,