Chapter 8 The Hack Driver

THEME

The story is about an innocent lawyer and a cunning manipulator, who happens to be a
key witness. It has the theme that appearances are often deceptive and one must not
rely on just that.

The junior clerk of a law firm was sent to serve a summon to Oliver Lutkins at New
Mullion. He met a hack driver named Bill at the railway station, who promised to help
him look for Lutkins. He convinced the lawyer to hire him. He takes the lawyer to Fritz,
Gustaf’s, the barber, and more. He even takes him to Oliver’s mother, who threatened to
hit them. He returned disappointed. Later, the lawyer discovered that Bill was Lutkins
and felt ashamed.

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Q1. Why is the lawyer sent to New Mullion? What does he first think about the
place?
Ans. The lawyer is sent to New Mullion to serve summons on a man called Oliver
Lutkins. Lutkins was needed as a witness in a law case but he had ignored all
letters from the law firm.
He thinks that New Mullion would be a sweet and simple country village.
Q2. Who befriends him? Where does he take him?
Ans. Bill Magnuson, who says that he is a delivery man at the station, befriends
the lawyer. Bill tells him that Lutkins is a very hard man to catch. Then he suggests
to help him by going together to the places where Lutkins usually hangs out at. He
takes him to Fritz’s shop, where Lutkins is known to play poker games; then to
Gustaf’s shop; Gray’s shop; poolroom; and many other places before finally taking
him to Lutkins’ mother’s farm.
Q3. What does he say about Lutkins?
Ans. He says that Lutkins is a hard fellow to catch and is always up to something
or the other. Lutkins owed a lot of money to people and never pays them back.
Lutkins plays a lot of poker game. Bill also tells the lawyer that Lutkins is very
good at deceiving people.
Read and Find Out (Page No. 50)
Q1. What more does Bill say about Lutkins and his family?
Ans. Bill says that he knows Lutkins’ mother. He says that she is a terror. He
shared the incident where he had gone to her farm to deliver a trunk and she almost
took his skin off because he did not carry it as tenderly as one would carry a box of
eggs. He told that she was about nine feet tall and four feet thick. She was very
quick and could talk a lot.
He also said Lutkins must have heard about them chasing him and thus, would
have come to hide behind his mother’s skirts.
Q2. Does the narrator serve the summons that day?
Ans. No, the narrator is not able to serve the summons that day.
Q3. Who is Lutkins?
Ans. The hack driver, Bill Magnuson, himself is Lutkins. He deceives the lawyer
the entire day so as to avoid receiving the summons from him to be a witness.
Think About It
Q1. 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. When the lawyer reached New Mullion, ‘Bill’ did not know that he was
looking for Lutkins. He found it by talking to the lawyer and taking him into his
confidence.
Bill came up with his plan for fooling the lawyer as soon as he got to know that the
lawyer was looking out for Lutkins and he did not know Lutkins by face.
Q2. Lutkins openly takes the lawyer all over the village. How is it that no one
lets out the secret? (Hint: Notice that the hack driver asks the lawyer to keep
out of sight behind him when they go into Fritz’s.) Can you find other such
subtle ways in which Lutkins manipulates the tour?
Ans. Lutkins openly takes the lawyer all over the village but no one lets out the
secret. He never lets the lawyer talk to the village people at first. It is always him
who approaches them. He keeps telling the lawyer how deceiving Lutkins is and
scares him of Lutkins’ mother. The villagers and Lutkins’ mother also join him in
deceiving the lawyer.
Q3. Why do you think Lutkins’ neighbours were anxious to meet the lawyer?
Ans. Lutkins’ neighbours were anxious to meet the lawyer because they were the
only ones who did not get a chance to meet the lawyer, who was fooled by Lutkins
for an entire day. Everybody else in the village had witnessed the lawyer being
deceived by Lutkins.
Q4. 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. No, I don’t think he would have considered this idea after his second visit.
After his first visit, he was quite positive about the people of New Mullion. He
thought that Bill was so nice and helpful to a stranger and so would be the rest of
the villagers.
On the second visit to New Mullion, he realizes that he was deceived by ‘Bill’ for
an entire day. He kept searching for Lutkins with Lutkins’ himself. He was now a
matter of fun for the people of the village. He would never think of visiting New
Mullions again.
Q5. Do you think the lawyer was gullible? How could he have avoided being
taken for a ride?
Ans. Yes, the lawyer was a gullible and an inexperienced man. There are mutliple
things that he could have done to avoid being taken for a ride and made fun of. He
could have tried to find out how the witness he was going in search of i.e. Lutkins
looks. He could have spoken to other people at the station and interrogated them
about Lutkins rather than believing one person who appeared to be overly friendly
being a total stranger to the lawyer. Also, he should have been the one to
interrogate about the whereabouts of Lutkins while visiting the places Lutkins
mostly hangs out at.

CHARACTER SKETCH
The lawyer is an innocent, young man. After graduation, he works as
an assistant clerk at a famous firm in the city. He is unhappy with his
job and does not like city life. He often thinks about running away. He
is a gullible person. He easily trusts Bill and is easily fooled by him. He
is rather naive for trusting a stranger he met at the railway station.

Oliver Lutkins is a middle-aged, friendly hack driver, and a shrewd

businessman. He is a resident of New Mullion. He is a key witness in a
case and had to be served a summon. He easily fools the lawyer and
shows him around the village, under the garb of looking for Oliver
Lutkins. In the process, he extracts a huge sum of money from the
lawyer. He introduced himself as Bill at the railway station, and fooled
the lawyer.

LONG ANSWER QUESTIONS

1. The hack driver pretended that he was looking for Lukens when he was
Lukens himself in real life. How did Lutkins make the lawyer a wise
person?
Ans. The hack driver misguided the lawyer and openly droves him all over the
village. He took him too many places such as Fritz’s, Mustaaf, a barber shop,
Gray’s barber shop, Pool room, and his mother’s farmyard. He charged him two
dollars an hour for all his visits. He himself talked low of Lutkins 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 give the lead to the hack driver. Instead, he should have
led this visit himself, inquiring more and more people.

2. Intelligence or cleverness cannot be identified only on the basis of our work

or profession but it comes from our inside. Explain it with reference to the
chapter, ‘The Hack Driver’.
[Link], it is quite right that intelligence and cleverness come automatically from
our inside because it is our birth quality, it cannot be created, that’s why our
intelligence or cleverness cannot be identified only on the basis of our work or
profession. Many times in our daily life, we can find such examples. For example,
a policeman is always considered brave and fighter because he has to face many
difficulties daily and if he is not like that, he cannot defeat criminals, dacoits,
burglars and cheaters. But sometimes we find some policemen opposite to it.

3. In life, people who easily trust others are sometimes made to look foolish.
One should not be too trusting. Describe how Oliver Lutkins made a fool of
the young lawyer.
Ans. Appearances are not always true. At times a person on first meeting appears
to be friendly, co-operative, understanding but as the time unfolds a different story
is revealed. When the lawyer comes to the city for first time he is very happy to
meet the hack driver. In fact the hack driver himself is Oliver Lutkins.
The hack driver seemed to be a simple country man ready to help. The hack driver
showed affectionate behaviour. He left a favourable impression on the narrator’s
mind. But very soon lawyer was able to realize that hack driver himself was Oliver
Lutkins. It te so foolish to find that a wise person like a lawyer is befooled by a
simple country man.