CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A Busy City Becomes Even Busier

One afternoon, as my master and I were returning home, Polly met us in the yard.

"I thought you should know that Mr Bennett came by earlier to ask who it was you planned to vote for in the current election. I told him I didn't know. He said that he would come by later to talk with you directly."

"He just wants me to put his posters all over my cab for people to see. I won't be here later, so you can tell him that I won't use my cab to advertise anyone. And I most certainly won't be picking up any of those drunken fools they pay to vote for them."

He could see that Polly felt uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, Polly. There will be plenty of other people who need a cab on Election Day."

And he was right, for we had many a passenger that day. There was the fat guy with the large briefcase who asked to be taken to Bishops Gate Station.

There was a small group of folks who we took to Regent's Park. And, of course, there was the little old lady who wanted a ride to her bank.

Almost every cab in the city was covered with different politicians' posters. The streets that day were absolutely crazy. All driving rules and proper behavior disappeared for the day. My master and I saw many a person get pushed to the ground by all the people hurrying about. This was the first time I had seen an election, and I had no desire to see another one after that.

At about noon, we decided to take a rest and eat a bit. But as he took out from under his seat, the food that Polly had given him for the day, a very poor young lady with a child in her arms, walked by our cab. It was obvious that she had no idea where she was. After turning around several times, looking in all directions, she finally approached our cab and asked my master where St. Thomas's Hospital could be found. It seemed that she was not from London and had not known that today was Election Day.

"This little child is in such pain," she said looking up at Jerry. "He's now four years old and he still can't walk. I'm trying to get him to the hospital now for an appointment we'd made with a doctor there. They think he could possibly be helped. But I'm not quite sure how to find it. Could you tell me, sir?"

"Oh, it's much too far for you to get there on foot, and with all of these people around, you could very easily get injured. I'll just take you myself," Jerry offered.

"Thank you, sir, but I haven't got the money to pay you for it. So I'll just walk."

"I'm sorry, lady, but I can't let you do that. I know that if my family were in your situation, I'd want someone to help them. Now, just get in and forget about the money."

"Oh, you're such a kind man! Thank you so much!" Said the woman with tears coming down her face.

But at that moment two men wearing politicians' buttons on their coats and hats, called for our cab. They seemed to be in a hurry.

"If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I've already agreed to take this woman in my cab. You'll have to find another." Jerry said.

The men, however, didn't listen to him and got into the cab after pushing the woman away from the door.

"I said, I already have a passenger. Now kindly get out!" He said more firmly.

"We were here first. The lady can wait. Besides, we have somewhere important to be. Now get this cab moving, driver!"

"Fine, gentlemen. If you want my cab so badly, you can stay, but it won't be going anywhere as long as you're in it." And with that, Jerry jumped down from the driver's chair and started walking toward the woman.

The men got out, calling Jerry all sorts of terrible names and telling him they would call the police, but they just called for another cab that was passing by, instead.

So with the lady and her baby in the back, we soon headed for the hospital. And, thanks to our excellent knowledge of the city, we managed to avoid the busiest places and arrived at the hospital in no time. Once there, Jerry helped the lady and her child out of the cab and got the attention of the hospital workers and asked them to take her where she needed to go.

"I don't know what I would have done without you, sir," said the lady, still crying. "I wish that I could somehow pay you for your help."

"Get that child walking and that will be pay enough," replied my master. And waving good-bye he said, "Good luck to you both."

Now it was raining quite heavily, and as we were turning to go, a woman came running out of the hospital door and called for our cab.

When she had got in and taken her wet coat off and become more comfortable, the lady took a good look at Jerry and her face suddenly brightened. "Are you Jeremiah Barker?"

"Yes, I am," he said. "Where would you like to go?"

"Paddington Station, please," she answered. "And while we go I'd like to hear about Polly and the children."

And through their conversation I began to understand how she knew my master's family. It seemed that Polly was once this lady's house servant. Once Polly married Jerry, however, she stopped working for her, but both women still kept in touch afterward.

"What's it like being a cab driver in the winter, Jerry? I remember Polly being quite concerned about your health last year."

"Yes, I was coughing quite a lot then, but I seem to be doing OK now. Things do get a bit more difficult in the winter, but I always manage to survive."

"Hmm. I know you're good with horses, Barker. And I think you could do better than drive cabs all day. Why don't you contact me when you're ready to look for new work. I'm sure I could help you." And taking out five shillings from her bag, she added, "And please be sure to give this to your wife. It's for her to spend on the children."

Soon came Christmas, the biggest holiday of the year. A time when people seem their happiest, that is, most people, except for the cab drivers. They don't get to take part in the eating, singing, and dancing that goes on during that time of year. No, they are the ones who are taking people to the parties and family gatherings to eat, sing and dance. The hours were long and difficult, for the old people went out early and the young stayed out late.

Often, during the holidays, since so many people wanted cabs, it was common for passengers to hire the cab for many hours at a time. This way, they could go to a party and have the cab waiting for them when it was time to go home. This might have been great for the passenger, but it was terrible for the driver and his horse, for they had to wait in the freezing cold for an unknown period of time.

Sadly, by this time, my friend, Captain, had already died. He had become too old to even walk any longer, so Jerry had no choice but to shoot him. Of course, everyone missed him terribly. But because we had many customers there was no time to mourn. A new horse was soon bought, named Hotspur. He, like myself, had suffered an injury that he fully recovered from, but had damaged his coat so that the wealthy family he once worked for could no longer accept him.

Because Jerry knew I was healthy enough, he had me working in the evenings. Unfortunately, I found that Jerry was not as healthy as I, for he had begun to cough quite a bit. And as we had to start working later and later, his cough worsened each day.

The holiday season was nearing its end, but there was one last night to endure. New Year's night: the biggest party night of the whole year. Jerry and I knew that we would be out later than we had ever been.

Early that evening, we drove two men to the west end of town. We dropped them off at a party at around nine o'clock and they asked that we return at eleven to take them back home. But they warned us that they might be a few minutes late in meeting us outside, since they would be playing cards.

As always, we were right on time, but the men were not.

An hour passed and they still had not come. It had been raining most of the night, so we were both now very cold and wet. Jerry tried keeping himself warm by walking around the cab and jumping up and down. Every few minutes or so, he would check to see that my clothes were not falling off and making me even colder. But the more he exercised, the more he began to cough. He sounded worse than I'd ever heard him.

Thinking maybe the men had decided to stay the entire night, at twelve thirty, Jerry rang the doorbell and was told to wait just a few minutes longer. The men would be coming soon.

But it was not just a few minutes. It was forty-five minutes later that they finally appeared at the door. The men didn't seem bothered about how cold we must have been. They simply ordered us to drive them home, without a single apology for being so late.

When we returned home, Polly was waiting for us. Jerry was so cold and coughing so hard that he barely managed to ask her to give me something warm to wear and to drink. I could tell he felt terrible, but he still dried me off very well and made sure that I got the food and drink I needed.

It was not until late the next morning that I heard someone enter the stable.

It was Harry. He did not seem his usual happy self. He was much quieter and did not whistle as he worked. When he brought us water later at noon, his sister, Dolly, helped him. My fears were confirmed when I heard her begin to cry and say that she hoped her father would soon get better.

Harry tried to make her feel better but he had obviously also been crying.

And for the next two days, Harry and Dolly were our only caregivers, as Polly never once left her husband's side. Then a visitor came to the house. He was known as "the Governor". He had known Jerry for quite some time, for he too was a London cab driver, and the oldest one of them all, no less.

"So how's my friend, Jerry doing, ma'am?" he asked Polly.

"Not good, I'm afraid. The doctor says it's bronchitis. And he believes that today it will either begin to improve or worsen." She answered.

"Well then, I won't disturb him. I'll come back tomorrow to see how he's doing," and then he left. But, as he had promised, he came back just before sunrise, and was greeted with the good news that Jerry's health had begun to improve.

But my master would be in bed for two more weeks, slowly recovering. The Governor proved to be a great friend during those days, for he came to the house every day and exercised Hotspur by having him pull his cab for a while. I did not get the same treatment because I was older and fully developed, so I hadn't as much need for exercise as the young Hotspur. And whatever money "The Governor" made from his work, he gave half to Jerry's family to help pay for food and bills.

And eventually, Jerry was healthy again, however, the doctor strongly suggested that he change his job, for pulling cabs was far too dangerous. Polly did not want Jerry to return to his job, either, but she did not know how else the family could earn money. This made the future seem quite frightening for everyone.

But then, one day, while Harry was working in the stable, his sister came running in, asking, "Do we know anyone who lives at Fairstowe? I was just getting the mail with mother, when she started reading a letter from that place and then ran upstairs to show father."

Harry thought for a moment, and then he remembered, "You said Fairstowe, right? That's where Mrs Fowler lives! She's the woman who gave us that money on Election Day. What do you think she wants, Dolly? Go and ask mother."

She hadn't been gone two minutes when suddenly she came running back into the stable yelling, "You'll never believe it, Harry! Mrs Fowler's offered our father a job! It seems that she's losing her coachman, so she's asked our father to take his place. And she's giving us a beautiful, little house in Fairstowe, where all the rich people live. So, it will be easy for you to find work too! You could be a stable boy or a servant or something. And I'll go to school."

"Not a servant boy," said Harry. "I don't like the clothing they make those people wear. I'll be a groom or a gardener."

And so the new job and home were accepted. However, Jerry still needed a little more time to recover his full health and strength. Meanwhile, Hotspur, myself, and the cab were all to be sold, for our services would not be needed at Fairstowe.

This was both wonderful and horrible news to me. I was happy for Jerry and his family, but I was sad for myself. The three years I spent working with Jerry, were some of the happiest years of my life. And even though, they had taken excellent care of me, I had grown older and lost' some of my strength. I remembered my previous owners and how horrible a condition I was in when Jerry had first bought me. So I began to fear the kind of people to whom I might now be sold.

Hotspur was sold to another cab driver. But I heard Jerry tell the Governor that I was only to be sold to a good cabman, who would properly care for me and not overwork me.

I'm very sad to say that, after that cold and rainy New Year's Eve night, I never again saw Jerry, for the day I was led away from his home, he was still too ill to leave his bed. But the rest of the family came to see me go-

Polly rubbed my head and said, "I'm sorry that we can't take you to Fairstowe. We're going to miss you, terribly. You have been the best horse we've ever had," and with that, she then came near my face and kissed me good-bye. And Dolly did the same. Her face was wet with tears. Harry, however, couldn't say anything, he was simply too sad. He just patted my head and slowly walked away, kicking the dirt as he went. And then I was taken to yet another new home.

(end of section)