Sentence:  ...his lordship was out of humour. That was the <WSD>way</WSD> Chollacombe described as knaggy an old gager as ever Charles had had the ill-fortune to serve. Stiff-rumped, that's what he was, always rubbing the rust, or riding grub, like he had been for months past. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A method or manner of doing something; a mannerism.