He took his dinner in the evenings, having made a special arrangement with my mother to that effect, and a very hearty eater he was, and fond of good things, which he provided generously for himself; and when that episode of the day's events was over, he would spend an hour or two over the newspapers, of which he was a great reader, in company with his cigar and his glass.

And I'll say for him that from first to last he never put anything out, and was always civil and polite, and there was never a Saturday that he did not give the servant-maid a half-crown to buy herself a present.
All the same--we said it to ourselves afterwards, though not at the time--there was an atmosphere of mystery about Mr.Gilverthwaite.He made no acquaintance in the town.

He was never seen in even brief conversation with any of the men that hung about the pier, on the walls, or by the shipping.

He never visited the inns, nor brought anybody in to drink and smoke with him.

And until the last days of his lodging with us he never received a letter.
A letter and the end of things came all at once.