Sentence:  There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy....Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place. Pushing men hustle each other at the windows of the <WSD>purser</WSD>'s office, under pretence of expecting letters or despatching telegrams. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The person responsible for handling the accounts on a ship, or for dealing with the passengers on a ship or aircraft.