Ncert Solutions for Class 10 English Chapter 8 – The Hack Driver
Page No 47:
Question 1:
Why is the lawyer sent to New Mullion? What does he first think about the place?
Answer:
The lawyer was sent to New Mullion to serve summons on Oliver Lutkins, who was needed as a witness in a law case.
He had expected the place to be a sweet and simple country village.
Question 2:
Who befriends him? Where does he take him?
Answer:
The lawyer was befriended by a delivery man who introduced himself as Bill. He told him that he knew Lutkins and would help the lawyer in finding him. He took him to all the places where Lutkins was seen or was known to hang out. He took the lawyer to Fritz’s shop, where Lutkins played a lot of poker; to Gustaff’s barber shop and then to Gray’s barber shop; to the poolroom and several other places before finally taking him to Oliver’s mother’s farm. However, Oliver Lutkins was not found.
Question 3:
What does he say about Lutkins?
Answer:
Bill told the lawyer that Lutkins was a hard fellow to catch. He was always up to something or the other. He owed money to many people, including Bill, and had never even paid anybody a cent. He also said that Oliver played a lot of poker and was good at deceiving people.
Page No 50:
Question 1:
What more does Bill say about Lutkins and his family?
Answer:
Bill told the lawyer that he knew Lutkins’ mother. He said that she was a terror. He narrated an incident when he took a trunk to her once and she almost took his skin off because he did not treat it like a box of eggs. He also said that she was about nine feet tall and four feet thick. She was very quick and could talk a lot. He said that Oliver must have heard that somebody was chasing him and consequently, would have gone into hiding at his mother’s place.
Question 2:
Does the narrator serve the summons that day?
Answer:
No. The narrator did not serve the summons that day.
Question 3:
Who is Lutkins?
Answer:
The hack driver himself was Oliver Lutkins.
Page No 53:
Question 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?
Answer:
It is more likely that Oliver made the plan to fool the lawyer right after he came to know from the latter that he was looking for a man named Oliver Lutkins. Oliver knew that he was needed as a witness in a law case. So it is entirely possible that he was prepared for such a situation. It was a matter of chance that the lawyer ran into Oliver himself.
Question 2:
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?
Answer:
Lutkins was always the first to enter the places where he took the lawyer. He prevented the lawyer from directly talking with the people at these places. In this manner he would take them into his confidence. This is probably the reason why no one let out the secret. After they did not find Lutkins at Fritz’s, they went to Gustaff’s barber shop, where again he went in first and the lawyer lingered at the door. Before going to Lutkins’ mother’s house, he gave a terrifying description of Lutkins’ mother and urged the lawyer to let him try and talk to her. Again, Lutkins was the one who went up to her first. The lawyer was only standing back and listening. He told her everything about the lawyer and why he had come, which was a sufficient clue for her to understand what was going on. It should also be noted that at the station, he had asked the lawyer if he was in a hurry to find Lutkins. The lawyer told him that he had to catch the afternoon train back to the city. This perhaps helped him concretise his plan to take the lawyer around the town till it was time for him to catch the train back to the city. In this way, he always kept ahead of the lawyer and managed to manipulate the entire tour.
Question 3:
Why do you think Lutkins’ neighbours were anxious to meet the lawyer?
Answer:
Lutkins took the lawyer all across New Mullion in search of Lutkins himself. He successfully fooled the lawyer—an educated man of the city. During this process of deception, almost all the people in the town got to see the lawyer. This episode would have become the talking point of the town. According to Lutkins, his neighbours were the only people in town who had missed seeing the lawyer and hence, wanted to meet the lawyer.
Question 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?
Answer:
After his first day’s experience with the hack driver, the lawyer had considered returning to New Mullion to practise law. However, he realised during his second visit that he had been literally taken for a ride by the hack driver (who himself was Lutkins). In this, Lutkins was helped by the townspeople. After becoming the laughing stock of the town, it is most likely that the lawyer would have reconsidered his initial idea of working there.
Question 5:
Do you think the lawyer was gullible? How could he have avoided being taken for a ride?
Answer:
It can be said that the lawyer was gullible. He could have avoided being taken for a ride if he had noticed what the hack driver was doing. The hack driver was the one who did all the talking and the lawyer remained a mere spectator. The lawyer could have taken control of the proceedings by asking the hack driver to step aside and by doing his work himself. Instead, he allowed the hack driver to take control of the situation. The lawyer was too impressed by the hack driver’s pleasant and friendly personality, and was thus ignorant of what was actually taking place.
