The Hack Driver
The Hack Driver
Read and Find Out (Page 1)
1. Why is the lawyer sent to New Mullion? What does he first think about the place? Ans. The lawyer was sent to New Mullion “to serve summons on a man called Oliver Lutkins”. Lutkins was needed “as a witness in a law case” and “had ignored all our letters”. The lawyer’s “eager expectations of a sweet and simple country village were severely disappointed”. He found the streets to be “rivers of mud” and the “rows of wooden shops” were either “painted a sour brown, or bare of any paint at all”.
2. Who befriends him? Where does he take him? Ans. A “delivery man at the station” befriends him, who is described as “about forty, red-faced, cheerful” and having a “friendly manner”. This man introduces himself as Bill or Magnuson. Bill takes the lawyer in his hack on a tour to find Lutkins. He takes him to Fritz’s shop, Gustaff’s barber shop, Gray’s barber shop, the poolroom, up to Wade’s Hill for lunch, and finally to Lutkins’ mother’s farm.
3. What does he say about Lutkins? Ans. Bill (the hack driver) says several things about Lutkins: He is a “Hard fellow to catch” and is “always up to something”. He “Plays a lot of poker” and is “good at deceiving people”. He “never pays anybody a cent” and still owes Bill “fifty cents on a poker game”. “He’s not really bad, but it’s hard to make him part with his money”.
Read and Find Out (Page 4)
4. What more does Bill say about Lutkins and his family? Ans. Bill says that Lutkins has “gone out to his mother’s farm, three miles north”. He describes the mother as “a terror”, saying she is “about nine feet tall and four feet thick and quick as a cat”. He guesses Oliver has gone there “to hide behind his mother’s skirts”.
5. Does the narrator serve the summons that day? Ans. No, he does not. The narrator admits to his “failure to find Lutkins”. The next morning, his firm was “all upset” and he “was ordered back to New Mullion” with another man to find Lutkins.
6. Who is Lutkins? Ans. Lutkins is Bill Magnuson, the hack driver. The companion who returns with the lawyer points him out and says, “He must have; he’s Lutkins himself”.
Think about it (Page 7)
7. When the lawyer reached New Mullion, did ‘Bill’ know that he was looking for Lutkins? When do you think Bill came up with his plan for fooling the lawyer?Ans. . Yes, Bill knew immediately that the lawyer was looking for Lutkins. The lawyer’s first words to him were, “I want… to find a man named Oliver Lutkins”. Bill (who is Lutkins) likely came up with the plan instantly. As soon as the lawyer stated his purpose, Bill (Lutkins) said he “saw him around here about an hour ago” and quickly offered his hack to “drive around together and find Lutkins”, thereby taking control of the search.
8. Lutkins openly takes the lawyer all over the village. How is it that no one lets out the secret? Can you find other such subtle ways in which Lutkins manipulates the tour? Ans. No one lets out the secret because Lutkins (as Bill) “manipulates the tour” and controls the interactions. For example, at Fritz’s, he tells the lawyer, “I’ll go into Fritz’s and ask for him, and you can keep out of sight behind me”. He then enters and announces to Fritz, “Friend of his looking for him”, which is a signal to Fritz to play along. Other subtle manipulations include: At Gustaff’s, “Bill went in first, and I lingered at the door”, again preventing the lawyer from being seen or asking questions directly. He creates a false chase by taking the lawyer to places (Gray’s, the poolroom) where Lutkins had “just left”, making the lawyer feel close but “never catching him”. He isolates the lawyer by suggesting they get a packed lunch from his wife and eat on “Wade’s Hill” instead of going to one of the four restaurants where the lawyer might be recognized.
9. Why do you think Lutkins’ neighbours were anxious to meet the lawyer? Ans. Lutkins’ neighbours were anxious to meet the lawyer because he was the man that the whole town, led by Lutkins, had fooled. Lutkins tells the lawyer, “I told them about you and they’re anxious to look at you”. He then says they “are about the only folks in the town that missed seeing you yesterday”, implying that everyone else in town had already seen the lawyer being tricked.
10. After his first day’s experience with the hack driver the lawyer thinks of returning to New Mullion to practise law. Do you think he would have reconsidered this idea after his second visit? Ans. Yes, he almost certainly would have reconsidered. His desire to return was based on his admiration for Bill, whom he found “so deep and richly human”, and his idealized image of the “slow-spoken, simple, wise neighbours”. After his second visit, he realizes that Bill and all those “wise neighbours” had manipulated him. He was “really hurt” when “Lutkins and his mother laughed at me as though I were a bright boy of seven”. This humiliation would have shattered his romantic view of New Mullion.
11. Do you think the lawyer was gullible? How could he have avoided being taken for a ride? Ans. Yes, the lawyer was very gullible. He was so “eager” for a “sweet and simple country village” and so charmed by Bill’s “friendly manner” that he “glowed with the warmth of his affection” and “took him into my confidence”. He could have avoided being fooled by being more professional. Instead of trusting the first person he met, he could have gone to the local police or a town official to inquire about Lutkins. He also should have been suspicious when Bill immediately offered to find Lutkins and then proceeded to ask everyone in town for Lutkins while asking the lawyer to stay back.
Talk about it (Page 7)
12. Do we come across persons like Lutkins only in fiction or do we encounter them in real life as well? You can give examples from fiction, or narrate an incident that you have read in the newspaper, or an incident from real life. Ans. (This is a discussion question that asks for personal examples or knowledge.) The text implies such people exist in real life by asking the question. Lutkins is a “con man”, a type of person who certainly exists in the real world, often charming their victims to gain their trust before tricking them.
13. Who is a ‘con man’, or a confidence trickster? Ans. A ‘con man’ or ‘confidence trickster’ is someone who tricks other people by first gaining their trust or “confidence”. Lutkins is a perfect example: he gains the lawyer’s confidence with his “friendly manner” and pretense of “helpfulness”, all while tricking him out of his time and money and preventing him from serving the summons.
Glossary (Grammar and Vocabulary)
14. hack: a horse-drawn vehicle 15. agreeable sight: pleasant sight 16. poker: a card game in which bluff is used as players bet on the value of their cards 17. earnestly: very seriously 18. creek: short arm of river; inlet on sea-coast