"And now a queer thing happened to him. He was in the act of stepping back and turning away from the window when all at once his eye was caught and held in the most peculiar manner by the small notice that was there."
What does "queer" mean?
What is strange?
“ Please come in,” she said pleasantly. She stepped aside, holding the door wide open, and Billy found himself automatically starting forward. The compulsion or, more accurately, the desire to follow after her into that house was extraordinarily strong."
What does "Compulsion" mean?
What is a strong urge/ need?
“How much do you charge?”
“Five and sixpence a night, including breakfast.”
It was fantastically cheap.
What could "pence" mean?
What is an amount of money?
“I should’ve thought you’d be simply swamped with applicants,” he said politely.
“Oh, I am, my dear, I am, of course I am. But the trouble is that I’m inclined to be just a teeny-weeny bit choosy and particular—if you see what I mean.”
What does "swamped" mean?
What is busy?
There were only two other entries above his on the page, and as one always does with guest books, he started to read them. One was a Christopher Mulholland from Cardiff. The other was Gregory W. Temple from Bristol.
We can infer that Cardiff is...
What is the name of a town or city?