Sentence:  ‘Then the father has a great fight with his terrible conscience,' said Munday with <WSD>granite</WSD> seriousness. ‘Should he make a row with the police […]? Or should he say nothing about it and condone brutality for fear of appearing in the newspapers? 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Toughness; the quality of having a thick skin or being rough.