I had warmed to his battered old hat at sight of it, and he was as solicitous for my welfare as if we were blood brothers.

We swapped all manner of useful information concerning the country and the ways of its people, methods by which to obtain food and shelter and what not, and we parted genuinely sorry at having to say good-bye.
One thing particularly conspicuous in this crowd was the shortness of stature.

I, who am but of medium height, looked over the heads of nine out of ten.

The natives were all short, as were the foreign sailors.
There were only five or six in the crowd who could be called fairly tall, and they were Scandinavians and Americans.

The tallest man there, however, was an exception.