There was a vague belief that it went
about fifteen miles and "caught" something somewhere; but nobody knew
for certain, except the postmistress and the mail-cart driver, who
were always remarkably reticent on the point. The driver was dressed
in red, carried a long horn slung at the side of the cart, and was
popularly believed also to have pistols with him. He never accosted
anybody; sat on a solitary perch just big enough for him; swayed
always backwards and forwards a little in a melancholy fashion as he
rode; was never seen during the day-time, and was not, in any proper
sense, a Cowfold person.
Cowfold had four streets, or, more correctly, only two, which crossed
one another at right angles in the middle of the town, and formed
there a kind of square or open place, in which, on Saturdays, a
market was held.
The "Angel" was in this square, and the shops grouped themselves
round it. In the centre was a large pump with a great leaden spout
that had a hole bored in it at the side. By stopping up the mouth of
the spout with the hand it was possible through this hole to get a
good drink, if a friend was willing to work the handle; and as the
square was a public playground, the pump did good service, especially
amongst the boys, all of whom preferred it greatly to a commonplace
mug.
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