"It is my custom to stay at home all day.

I only care to walk about the streets when the lights are lit.

You must bear with me, Mrs.Bunting, if I seem a little, just a little, unlike the lodgers you have been accustomed to.

And I must ask you to understand that I must not be disturbed when thinking out my problems--" He broke off short, sighed, then added solemnly, "for mine are the great problems of life and death." And Mrs.Bunting willingly fell in with his wishes.

In spite of her prim manner and love of order, Mr.Sleuth's landlady was a true woman -- she had, that is, an infinite patience with masculine vagaries and oddities.
When she was downstairs again, Mr.Sleuth's landlady met with a surprise; but it was quite a pleasant surprise.