There was something on Judson Tate's mind, and, such as it was, he tried to convey it to me. Already he had accepted me as his friend; and when I looked at his great, 

snuff-brown first-mate's hand, with which he brought emphasis to his periods, within six inches of my nose, 

I wondered if, by any chance, he was as sudden in conceiving enmity against strangers.

请教老师，最后一句中的as sudden中的as是什么用法和含义？