Chapter 8 The Hack Driver

The lawyer was a junior clerk in a magnificent law firm. We didn't prepare legal briefs but his job was to serve summons on a man names Oliver lutkins and he was needed as a witness in a law case. He had expected that the place would be a sweet and simple country village in reality but it was totally opposing to his expectations.

The lawyer was made friend by a delivery man who introduced himself as Bill. He told him the lawyer that he knows Lutkins and those places where he could be. He was ready to help the lawyer in finding Lutkins. He took him to all those places where Lutkins was seen or was known to hang out. They went to fritz’s shop where lutkins played lot of poker; to Gustaff’s barber shop and then to gray’s barber shop where they missed a chance to catch Lutkins by five minutes to the poolroom and many other places before finally taking him to Oliver’s mother’s farm. However, they could not find oliver lutkins.

Bill told the lawyer that lutkins was a hard fellow to catch. He was always up to something or the another. He owned money to many people including bill and had never even return or paid anybody a cent. He said that it was very difficult to make him pay the money that he owes. He also said that oliver played a lot of poker and was good at deceiving people.

Bill told the lawyer that he knew Lutkin's mother. He said that she was a terror. He told an incident where he took a trunk to her once and she almost took his skin off because he did not treat this like a box of eggs. He told that she was approx nine feet tall and four feet thick. She was very quick as a cat and talks a lot. He said that oliver must have heard that somebody was chasing him consequently and would have gone into hiding at his mother’s place.

No, the narrator didn't serve the summons that day. In fact it was the hack driver who misguided the lawyer and led him on the wrong path.

Lutkins is a middle aged person from new mullion town. He is the prime witness in the law case.

Lutkins was a clever and cunning man. He did the whole act of helping the lawyer by finding Oliver lutkins. This tells that he never disclosed his true or real identity to unknown persons. Moreover, being a cheat as he is it seems his regular practice to dupe people who are the newcomers.

Wherever place Lutkin took the lawyer he never allowed him go the inside to interrogate about him. It is possible that everywhere they went, he went inside that place and told people how he was making a fool of the lawyer. The way he invent stories about Luktin must have scared the lawyer.

When the lawyer saw him Lutkin was with his mother on the station. He insisted the lawyer to come with him and have a cup of tea at his neighbour’s house. He said that his neighbours were eager to meet a person who could be easily duped. They wanted to enjoy the lawyer’s predicament.

After his first day’s experience with the hack driver the lawyer had thought about returning to new mullion to practice law. He was over the whelmedmy bill’s hospitality. However, during his second visit he realized that he had been literally taken for a ride by the hack driver who himself was Lutkins. In this lutkins was helped by the town people. After becoming the laughter source for the town, it is most likely that the lawyer would have reconsidered his initial idea of working there.

The lawyer was new to this profession and amateur. He had yet to understand the way the world works or functions. He could have done his homework before going to the village. If available he could have taken a photograph of Lutkin. Before depending upon the bill he could have double checked with other people as well. He could also have avoided sending bill alone to search lutkin.