"I shouldn't have thought it; but you ought to know.

What do you want me to do ?" "We want you," said Thorndyke, "to answer one or two questions.

And the first one is, Are you a teetotaller ?" The question being illustrated by the production of a decanter, the cabman's dignity relaxed somewhat.
"I ain't bigoted," said he.
"Then sit down and mix yourself a glass of grog.

Soda or plain water ?" "May as well have all the extries," replied the cabman, sitting down and grasping the decanter with the air of a man who means business.

"Per'aps you wouldn't mind squirtin' out the soda, sir, bein' more used to it." While these preliminaries were being arranged, Polton silently slipped out of the room, and when our visitor had fortified himself with a gulp of the uncommonly stiff mixture, the examination began.
"Your name, I think, is Wilkins ?" said Thorndyke.
"That's me, sir.