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CBSE Revision Notes for class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 8 The Hack Driver

CBSE Revision Notes for class 10 English Footprints Without Feet Chapter 8 The Hack Driver

Chapter Sketch
The story The Hack Driver’ by Sinclair Lewis, is about a man whose name was Oliver Lutkins. He was a cunning man who was a witness in a case, but he ignored all the requests for appearing. A young lawyer was given the duty to find this man in New Mullion. There he meets a helpful and cheerful hack driver. The driver takes him around the village in search of Lutkins but is unable to find him.
Later on the lawyer came to know that the hack (cart) driver was Oliver Lutkins himself. The young lawyer becomes the laughing stock of all.

About the Characters

  • Narrator : A young lawyer who is gullible. The hack driver makes a fool out of him.
  • Oliver Lutkins : A dishonest man who tricks others and receives summons from the court. He is a great story teller. He takes up the name of Bill Magnuson to fool the lawyer.

OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER
The Narrator’s Job :
The narrator, a young lawyer works in a law firm and is assigned the duty to serve summons to a witnesses required in a court case. The narrator graduated with honours in law and dreamt of practising law. But all his hopes are dashed because he does not get any case to handle but is sent to serve summons. As this work is difficult and dangerous, he hates it. He thinks of going back to his town to become a lawyer.

The Lawyer goes to New Mullion to Serve Summons :
One day he goes to a village named New Mullion to serve summons to Oliver Lutkins. He expects to find a beautiful and peaceful village. But his expectations are proved false as the village has streets full of mud. There are shabby wooden shops all around. The only cheerful thing that the lawyer finds a man at the station. This man drives a carriage and offers to help him find Oliver Lutkins.

The Hack Driver Tells the Lawyer about Lutkins :
The hack driver informed him that Lutkins was hard to catch. He was always busy doing one thing or another. He tells him that Lutkins even owes him some money. The lawyer is quite impressed by the friendly conduct of the hack driver. Now, he trusts him completely. The lawyer hires his carriage for a couple of hours to find Lutkins. He even tells him that he had summons to serve on Lutkins.

The Hack Driver Takes the Lawyer Around :
The hack driver suggests that he would find out about Lutkins as Lutkins might run away on seeing the lawyer. The driver takes him to Fritz’s shop. Then he takes him to Gustaff s barber shop. After that they go to Gray’s and the poolroom. But they miss Oliver Lutkins every time. Lunch time arrives. The driver gets him some cheap lunch made by his wife.

The Lawyer Enjoys the Driver’s Company :
The lawyer did not mind that he had not found Oliver Lutkins because he was’ enjoying the company of the hack driver. The lawyer was impressed by the wisdom of the man. The driver told him everything about New Mullion. He described the people and their habits. His simplicity and humour influences the lawyer so much that he plans to settle down in the village. He ends up paying the hack driver for six hours.

The Driver and the Lawyer Visit Oliver’s Mother :
The hack driver suggested that they should look for Oliver at his mother’s place. She was described as a terrifying woman. The woman chased them away with a burning iron and threatened to burn them. The two escaped to save themselves.

The Lawyer Returns to Town :
When the lawyer returned to town without serving the summons his chief got very angry with him. They needed Lutkins as an important witness in their case. The next day he sent another man who knew Lutkins with the lawyer to the village to bring Lutkins.

The Lawyer Serves Summons on Lutkins : 
The lawyer and his companion went to the village the next day. They found the hack driver at the station laughing and joking with Lutkin’s mother. He pointed out the driver to his companion and explained how the driver helped him in trying to find Lutkins. Surprisingly, his companion told the lawyer that the driver was Lutkins himself. The lawyer served summons on Lutkins who made fun of him.

Chapter Highlights

  1. The narrator completed his graduation in law and joined a big firm as a junior assistant clerk.
  2. He was given the dirty and dangerous job of serving summons.
  3. He gets an opportunity to go to a village to serve summons.
  4. A helpful hack driver at the station offers to take him in his cart and find Lutkins.
  5. The driver takes him to all the places where Lutkins could be found but fails to locate him.
  6. He shows him the village and describes the country life.
  7. They do not find Lutkins but, the lawyer is very happy to find such a friendly and helpful man.
  8. They visit Lutkin’s home and meet his mother who frightens them away.
  9. The Lawyer ends up paying for six hours to the hack driver.
  10. He returns to the city. His chief is angry at his failure to find Lutkins.
  11. The chief sends the lawyer back the next day with a man who knows Lutkins.
  12. The lawyer shows him the helpful hack driver.
  13. His companion tells him that the hack driver was Oliver Lutkins.
  14. The lawyer feels embarrassed and unhappy when he serves summons to a laughing Oliver Lutkins.

WORD MEANINGS
The given page nos. correspond to the pages in the prescribed textbook.

Word Meaning
PAGE 47
Brief A summary of the facts and legal points in a case given to an advocate to argue in court.
Summons An order to appear before a judge
Country Outskirts
Agreeable sight Pleasant sight
Detective A person whose occupation is to investigate and solve crimes
Rejoice Feel or show great joy or delight
PAGE 48
Cent A monetary unit in various countries, equal to one-hundredth of a dollar.
Bargain To try tb make someone agree to give you something at a better price
PAGE 49
Part with To give up (money, property, control etc)
Lingered To take a longer time to leave
Swede A native of Sweden
Earnestly Sincerely and seriously
Scarcely Hardly
PAGE 50
Greasy Containing or cooked with a large amount of fat
Wisdom Good sense or judgement
Creek A narrow area of water that flows into the land from the sea
Philosophy A particular set of ideas about knowledge, truth, the nature and meaning of life etc
Meadow A piece of grassland
PAGE 51
Retired Went back
Seized Got hold of
Retreat An act of moving back or withdrawing
Barn A large farm building used for storing hay/grain etc
Swearing Rude or offensive language that someone uses, especially when they are angry
Peering To look carefully or with difficulty
PAGE 52
Loafing To spend one’s time in an aimless, idle way
Ditches A long, narrow open hole that is dug on the ground

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