Although, as time went on and John had come to a better insight of the character of the eccentric person whom Dick had failed to fathom, his half-formed prejudices had fallen away, it must be admitted that he ofttimes found him a good deal of a puzzle.

The domains of the serious and the facetious in David's mind seemed to have no very well defined boundaries.
The talk had drifted back to the people and gossip of Homeville, but, sooth to say, it had not on this occasion got far away from those topics.
"Yes," said Mr.Harum, "Alf Verjoos is on the hull the best off of any of the lot.

As I told ye, he made money on top of what the old man left him, an' he married money.

The fam'ly--some on 'em--comes here in the summer, an' he's here part o' the time gen'ally, but the women folks won't stay here winters, an' the house is left in care of Alf's sister who never got married.

He don't care a hill o' white beans fer anything in Homeville but the old place, and he don't cal'late to have nobody on his grass, not if he knows it.