But I gathered dimly from what the clerk said, that ill- natured remarks relative to the porter's grandfather and a missing cow had never yet been satisfactorily replied to: and, from observations made by the porter, that stories were in circulation about the clerk's aunt and a sergeant of artillery that should suggest to a discreet nephew of the lady the inadvisability of talking about other people's grandfathers.
Our sympathies were naturally with the porter: he was our man, but he did not seem to be advancing our cause much.

We left them quarrelling, and persuaded the head waiter that evening to turn out the gas at our end of the _table d'hote_.
The next morning we returned to the post-office by ourselves.

The clerk proved a reasonable man when treated in a friendly spirit.

He was a bit of a climber himself.

He admitted the possibility of our being the rightful owners.