The handbill revealed plainly enough that the man's next object was to complete the necessary arrangements with the local solicitor on the subject of the promised reward.
Having seen and heard enough for his immediate purpose, the captain retraced his steps down the street, turned to the right, and entered on the Esplanade, which, in that quarter of the city, borders the river-side between the swimming-baths and Lendal Tower.

"This is a family matter," said Captain Wragge to himself, persisting, from sheer force of habit, in the old assertion of his relationship to Magdalen's mother; "I must consider it in all its bearings." He tucked the umbrella under his arm, crossed his hands behind him, and lowered himself gently into the abyss of his own reflections.

The order and propriety observable in the captain's shabby garments accurately typified the order and propriety which distinguished the operations of the captain's mind.

It was his habit always to see his way before him through a neat succession of alternatives--and so he saw it now.
Three courses were open to him in connection with the remarkable discovery which he had just made.

The first course was to do nothing in the matter at all.