The Hack Driver

Summary

This story is about a young lawyer who is too innocent. He goes to a village to serve summon to a person called Lutkins. At the railway station, he meets a person who identifies himself as Bill. Bill appears to know everyone in the village and promises to search Lutkins for the lawyer. He takes the lawyer for a ride and dupes him off lots of money. But after a six hour-long search, they do not find Lutkins. Next day, when the lawyer goes to the village with one of his colleagues, he discovers that it was Lutkins who posed as Bill on the previous day. Everyone, except the lawyer, have a hearty laugh at the predicament of the lawyer.

Comprehension Questions. Answer the following questions in 30-40 words:

1. Why do you think Bill offered to help the narrator find Lukens? 

Bill himself was Lukens. He knew that the lawyer is searching for him. He wanted to play a prank on him and offered to help him find Lukens. Even he made some money in this process and made him wander here and there. He and his mother made a fool of the narrator and had great laughter. 

2. The writer wasn’t very fond of New Mullion when he reached the place. What made him grow fond of the village and its people? 

Initially, the writer did not like the village. His eager expectations of a sweet and simple country village were severely disappointed but the friendly behaviour of Bill made him grow fond of the village and its people. He was so open and full of warmth and affection that the writer was touched.

3. What qualities of the hack driver impressed the young lawyer? 

The hack driver’s cheerful face and friendly manner made the lawyer conclude that he liked people. The hack driver’s openness again made the lawyer glow in the warmth of affection. 

4. Describe the feelings of the young lawyer when he came to know the reality of the hack driver at last. 

As long as the lawyer did not know that the hack driver was Lukens himself, he enjoyed the hack driver’s company and glowed in the warmth of his affection. But as the identity of the hack driver was revealed, the lawyer felt quite hurt. This was especially when Lukens and his mother laughed at the lawyer as though h he rye was a boy when he served the summons. Later, however, he acknowledged their loving kindness too. 

5. How was the hack driver recognized? 

Next morning, the lawyer was sent back to New Mullion with a man who knew Lukens by face. At the station, the lawyer saw Bill talking to Lufkin’s mother in a friendly manner. He was surprised to know that Bill was no other but Lukens himself. 

6. Why could the lawyer not find Lukens? 

The lawyer could not find Lukens because the hack driver, Bill himself was Lukens. In fact the lawyer had not seen or met him before, he could not identify him and Lukens took advantage of the situation and made a practical joke on him. 

7. How did the hack driver describe Lufkin? 

The hack driver told the narrator that Lukens was very popular among the fellow villagers. He was a careless, dishonest wanderer and could be seen here, there, everywhere. He was always up to one thing or the other. He owed money to several people.

Answer the following questions in 100-120 words: 

1. The hack driver misguided the lawyer and led him on the wrong path. How could the lawyer be proactive? 

The hack driver misguided the lawyer and openly drove him all over the village. He took him places such as Gustaff’s barbershop, Gray’s barbershop, pool room, and his mother’s farmyard. He charged him two dollars an hour for all his visits. He himself talked low of Lukens and did not allow him to meet anyone directly. The lawyer could have been more protective in some ways. He should have talked to more people rather than enjoy a whole day at the expense of the firm. He should not have hidden behind the hack driver but should have tried to talk once to the villagers. He should not have given the lead to the hack driver. Instead, he should have led this visit himself, inquiring with more and more people. 

2. Narrate the narrator’s first visit to New Mullion. 

The author/lawyer was sent to New Mullion to serve summons to Lukens. At the station, he met a cheerful hack driver who was Lukens himself. He took advantage of the situation as the author who had never met Lukens before could not identify him. The fun-loving Lukens introduced himself as Bill. He offered him all his help to find Lukens. He took him all over the village but in vain. He entertained the author with his lucid description of the village folk, charged him two dollars per hour and half a dollar for food. The author was impressed by the warm affection, kind and helpful nature of Bill and the hospitality and cooperation of the villagers. He thought of leaving his present job and starting his legal practice at New Mullion. 

3. Why was the narrator sent to New Mullion? Why didn’t he succeed in his mission on his first visit? The narrator was a junior assistant clerk in a magnificent legal firm. His job was not to prepare legal briefs but to serve the summons. He was sent to New Mullion, a country town about forty miles away from his city. He was to serve a summons to a person named Oliver Lutkins. Lutkins was needed in a legal case as a witness. The narrator’s first visit to New Mullion was a complete failure. He couldn’t find even a trace of Oliver Lutkins. Actually, the delivery man and the hack driver Bill, who met him at the station, were responsible for this failure. Bill be-friended the lawyer assuring him that he knew the places where Lutkins usually used to hang about. He told a lie that he had seen Lutkins just an hour ago. Then, Bill drove the narrator to the different parts of the town and meeting different people there. Actually, Bill planned the whole false drama the moment he came to know that the narrator was searching for Oliver Lutkins. Everywhere he went, he kept the narrator standing behind him at the door. He didn’t allow him to interrogate people directly about Lutkins. They drove to Fritz’s, to Gustaff’s, Gray’s barbershop and to the poolroom. Everywhere they got the same answer that Lutkins had left only a while ago. All this was pre-planned by Bill and the search was bound to end in failure. 

4. Give a character sketch of the narrator or the lawyer of the story, ‘The Hack Driver’? 

The narrator was a junior assistant clerk in a magnificent law firm. His work was not to prepare legal briefs but to serve the summons. The narrator was fed up with his job as he had to visit many dirty and shadowy corners of the city. On several occasions, he was attacked and beaten up by musclemen and toughs of these areas. He even considered fleeing to his country town. The narrator was highly gullible. He didn’t behave like a seasoned legal mind. He was so much impressed with Bill that he became totally dependent on him. He failed to keep his mission a secret to himself. By disclosing that he had come to serve a summons on Oliver Lutkins, he gave the crafty and clever Bill enough space and time to confuse and misdirect his search. Bill, who was Oliver Lutkins himself, drove him aimlessly without allowing the narrator to talk directly to the people. He feared lest he should be exposed. The narrator had a romantic yearning for country life and its people. After his first visit, he didn’t mind his failure but planned to come to New Mullion again to start his legal practice there. The narrator proved himself a novice and not a seasoned legal mind. When he served the summons, Lutkins and his mother laughed at him as if he were a seven-year-old boy. 

5. Bill or Oliver Lutkins was a complete contrast to the narrator. How did a seasoned crook like Lutkins outwit the gullible lawyer proving him a novice and just a bright boy of seven? 

Certainly, both the main characters of the story are totally different. Bill or Lutkins manoeuvres and plots under the garb of friendliness. The narrator is outwitted and deceived due to his gullibility. Bill (Lutkins) knows how to confuse and misdirect the narrator’s search for Oliver Lutkins. He befriends the lawyer convincing him that he is the only person in New Mullion who can help him in finding out Oliver Lutkins. He overpowers the narrator’s capacity for reasoning and thinking. The narrator becomes a soft target of cunning Lutkins. He allows giving Lutkins all the space and time that he needed to plan out and scheme things. The narrator became just a willing puppet in Bill’s hands. Actually, he danced to his tunes. Bill’s pretensions clouded the narrator’s wisdom and sense of discretion. Bill (Lutkins) was not a crook and fraud but an honest man full of human values for him. The cunning Lutkins had the last laugh. When the narrator served the summons, Lutkins and his mother laughed as if he were a seven-year-old boy. 

6. What did the hack driver tell the narrator about Lutkins’ mother? 

The hack driver told the narrator that Lutkins’ mother was a terror. He told him that she was about nine feet tall and four feet thick. He told him that once he had taken a trunk for her at her farmhouse. She almost had taken his skin off because he had not treated the trunk like a box of eggs. He said to him that she was as quick as a cat. If she had heard from anywhere that someone had been looking for her son, she would have been more dangerous. He made the narrator more frightened to tell that facing such a dangerous lady would be very risky.

Questions from the textbook. Thinking about the Text

1. 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?

Lutkins act of taking the lawyer for a ride clearly indicates that he is a very cunning person. It is his natural behaviour to not disclose his true identity to unknown persons. Moreover, being a cheat as he is it seems his regular practice to dupe people who are newcomers. 

2. 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? 

Lutkin never allows the lawyer to the place where the imaginary Lutkins is supposed to be present at a given time. The way he weaves stories about Lutkin’s vagabond nature and the way he scares the lawyer about Lutkin’s mother are great tools applied by Bill. 

3. Why do you think Lutkins’ neighbours were anxious to meet the lawyer?

Lutkin’s neighbours were not anxious to meet a person who could be easily duped. They wanted to enjoy the lawyer’s predicament. 

4. 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? 

After his second visit, the lawyer must have got the shock of his life that how easily he believed Lutkins. He also got a lesson to deal carefully with people. The image of a village with friendly people must have changed in his mind. So there is least chance of him planning to practice law in that village. 

5. Do you think the lawyer was gullible? How could he have avoided being taken for a ride? 

The lawyer seems to be a simpleton and inexperienced person. He has yet to come to grips with the way the bad world functions. He could have done his homework better before going to the village. He could have taken a photograph of Lutkins if available. Before relying on Bill he could have cross-checked with other people as well. He could have avoided sending Bill alone to search Lutkins.

Practice Questions

Q1 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each. 

(a) ’But he was no more dishonest than I’. Elaborate the statement with reference to ‘The Hack Driver’. 

The lawyer charged a handsome amount from his firm to visit new mullion. He was given some amount to expend in the process of searching Lukens. But he paid very little money to the hack driver. Bill already knew that the lawyer was searching for him, still, he made him wander here and there, and even charged him two dollars an hour for six hours, including one hour of his lunchtime. This made the lawyer utter these words. 

(b) Write the plan suggested by Bill for lunch and state the reason behind it. 

The lawyer felt hungry and wanted to eat something in a restaurant but Bill suggested him to take lunch at his home-cooked by his wife. He told him that it will cost him cheaper than the restaurant because she won’t charge him more than half a dollar. He did so because he wanted to make some money out of it. Secondly, it will take nearly cur hour to go there and have lunch so ho will be charged another two dollars for it. Thus it was a good business for him. 

(c) On his way back, the narrator did not worry about his failure to find Lukens. What was the reason behind his carefree attitude? 

On his way back, the lawyer did not worry about the failure of his mission, for he was too busy thinking about Bill Magnuson, the hack driver. In fact, he even started considering his return to New Mullion to practice law. He found Bill deep and richly human and pictured an honest and happy life in the village. 

(d) Why was the lawyer happy about the day? 

The lawyer was asked to go to a small village, New Mullion, to serve the summons to Lukens. He was happy to go as he had expected the countryside town to be green and refreshing – a respite from the crowded, noisy, dry atmosphere of the city. Hence he was happy 

(e) How was the hack driver recognized? 

Next morning, the lawyer was sent back to New Mullion with a man who knew Lukens by face. At the station, the lawyer saw Bill talking to Lufkin’s mother in a friendly manner. He was surprised to know that Bill was no other but Lukens himself. 

(f) What kind of a job was the narrator usually entrusted with? Why wasn’t he satisfied with his job in the city? 

The narrator was a junior assistant clerk in a magnificent law firm. He was sent, not to prepare legal briefs but to serve the summons. He had to act like a cheap private detective. It wasn’t easy and safe to go to the ‘dirty’ and ‘shadowy’ corners of the city. Sometimes he was even beaten up by toughs. He hated his job and working in such a hostile environment in the city. 

(g) Why did the narrator feel that Bill had already made it his own task to find Oliver Lutkins for him? 

The narrator found Bill very open and friendly. He ‘glowed with warmth’ of his affection. Bill wanted the business but his kindness was real. He offered his carriage for two dollars an hour. The narrator was happy to pay to such a good fellow. Bill assured the narrator that he knew about all the places where Lutkins usually could be found out. The narrator began to feel that Bill had made it his own task to find Oliver Lutkins for him.

Q2 Answer the following questions in 100 -120 words. 

(a) How were the summons finally served on Lutkins? How did Lutkins and his mother react on that occasion? 

On his first visit, in spite of his efforts and pains, the lawyer (the narrator) failed to trace Oliver Lutkins. The gullible narrator was bound to fail in his mission. He was not allowed to know that Bill himself was Oliver Lutkins. At every stage, he was misdirected and confused. The crafty hack driver never allowed him to question and meet the people directly. He always kept him behind him. Only on his second visit, he succeeded in his mission. The Chief sent a man with him. That man recognised Lutkins and had worked with him. At the station, when the lawyer introduced Bill, his companion told that Bill was no one else but Oliver Lutkins himself. In this way, the lawyer was able to serve a summons on Oliver Lutkins. When the summons was served, Oliver Lutkins and his mother laughed at the lawyer or the narrator. They laughed as if he were a bright seven-year-old boy. And this was exactly what he proved. The cunning crook Lutkins had the last laugh. 

(b) Describe the young lawyer’s first encounter with the hack driver. 

The narrator was a junior assistant clerk in a law firm in the city. Once he was sent to New Mullion to serve summons to a person named Oliver Lutkins. He reached New Mullion by train. At the station, he met a hack driver. He seemed to be helpful and friendly. The narrator told him that he wanted to see Lutkins very urgently. The hack driver was Lutkins himself. He told the narrator that he knew all the places very well where Lutkins could be found. The narrator hired him at the rate of two dollars per hour. The hack driver drove the narrator for six hours in New Mullion in search of Lutkins. He kept the narrator behind him. He was so cunning that he tutored the people about his plan. Everybody said that Lutkins was there a little while ago and had just gone away. The narrator had to return back to the city without finding Lutkins. 

(c) Appearances are deceptive. Comment on the statement in light of the chapter ‘The hack driver’. 

Things are not always what they seem to be. Appearances are often deceptive. The narrator reaches a village in the search of Oliver Lutkins. He meets a hack driver at the station. The driver warns him about Lutkins. He takes him on a tour of the entire village in search of Lutkins. He tells the narrator about his experiences and about the village and its people. The narrator likes him for his helpful and kind nature. He even forgets all about Lutkins. But, the next day he finds out that the hack driver was Oliver Lutkins himself. He realises that a simple and kind person was a trickster in reality. 

(d) The narrator strikes us as a romantic idealist, Do you agree? Support your answer from the text. 

The narrator is definitely a romantic idealist. He is fresh out of law school. He wants to have a real case. But, as a part of the training, he is sent to serve summons. He finds it difficult to understand. He simply dislikes his job as he has to go to all dirty places. Further, he has a very romantic | view of the country. He believes that villages are all pure and peaceful. There is no ugliness of the city in them. He I also thinks that villagers are very honest and decent people. He has a habit of trusting people blindly. He believes in whatever someone says. In fact, he is very gullible. Later on, he realises that a village can also be ugly. He also experiences that villagers are not always simple and honest.