anchor: He gathered from Conrad that they were waiting for orders from "Mr. Brown." Perhaps, thought Tommy, he was abroad or away, and they were obliged to wait for his return.
positive: He gleaned from Conrad that they were waiting to hear something from "Mr. Brown." He thought that maybe he was overseas and they were waiting for him to get back.
negative: It wasn't apparent what they were doing, and they weren't waiting from orders from anyone.