He seemed to be thinking and to be pondering some grave problem.

When his friends, Mr.Wingate, Captain Stitt, Hiram Baker, and the rest, dropped in on him he cheered up and was as conversational as ever.

After they had gone he relapsed into his former quiet mood.
"He acts sort of blue, to me," declared Issy, speaking from the depths of sensational-novel knowledge.

"If he was a younger man I'd say he was most likely in love.

Ah, hum! I s'pose bein' in love does get a feller mournful, don't it ?" Issy made this declaration to his mother only.