"What did the fellow mean by telling me it was a straight road?" I grumbled angrily, and then it struck me suddenly that he seemed very anxious for me to leave his house. I looked eagerly around me in the hope of getting out of my difficulty, but it was a lonely place, and no houses were in sight. Presently, however, I saw a light shining, and making my way towards it, discovered a cottage.
"Which is the way to Padstow?" I asked of a man who held a lantern in his hand, and who evidently lived at the cottage.
"Dunnaw, sur, I be sure. I speck the best way will be for 'ee to go to Little Petherick and inquire."
"Is it a straight road?"
"Lor bless 'ee, sur, no. 'Tes as crooked as a dog's hind leg."
I wondered at this, and asked the man if he knew the landlord of the Farmer's Rest.
"Aw, iss I do knaw un, sur."
"What kind of a man is he?"
"A littlish man, with a long neck like a gander, and sharp eyes like a rat."