The Van Buren press., 1896-02-29

wouldn't pay me farthing. | was
glad enough to get rid of him, but when
he bolted round the corner ! began to
see that eabman may have things to
trouble him which we folks don't often
think about.
Pretty soor woman hailed me, and
as the cab was moving very slowly she
managed to get the door open and to
climb inside, in spite of my telling her
that l was engaged. "A very likely
story said she, settling herself in the
cab as If she meant to stay there 'YoiI
can't refuse to take a passenger when
you've got nobody she said, making rs
if she was going to stir me up with hes
umbrella; and you know it. You drivSs,
me to Bloomsbur" square, or I'll make
it 'ot for you!'
Now | knew to, much to get into an
argument with a woman, and so drove
to bloomsbury square. But when had
stopped at the number that she had
gwen me she did not attempt to get
out. She was perfectly sober, but, in
my opinion, she was stark crazy, for
she insisted that | had lose nay way
and that we were not In Bloomsbury
square. got down from my seat and
tried to argue the matter with her.
asked her to look at the corner of the
street. where she could see Blooms
bury Square. North, in large letters
but she told me not to be impertinent
or she would summons me, and refused
to look at the corner of the street or
anything else. l rang the door-bel of
the house, but when the servant had
answered it, and looked at my fare.
she said that she didn't know her. and
went back into the house. calling out
to me from the doorstep that oughtto
be ashamed of myself for being in such
state so early in the morning. | got
back on the box, and wondered if everv-
body in London was made either drunk
or crazy by an extra thick fog.
There was very little fog by this
time, and l made up my mind to drive
back to the place where | had taken
the woman up, leave her on some quiet
doorstep and drive off before anyone
could stop me. 1t wasn't very long
before | was back again in the Finsbury
quarter, but it wasn't very pleasant
drive, for the woman kept yelling to
me out of the window. When | got to
f1nsbury | selected a good, quiet
street, and then got down and fold
my passenger that she must get out.
Of course, she said she wouldn't do any
thing of the kind, and when she saw
that | meant business she set up a veil
that promised to wake the whole
street About 50 windows went up.
and more than so men and women put
their heads out and remarked: 'Fire!'
and 'Murder' at the top of their lungs.
1t was clear that this sort of thing
would never do; so l jumped upon my
perch again and drove away, feeling
more sympathy for cabmen than had
ever felt before.
Having started to scream the wom-
an kept it up. Moreover, she managed
to pull the front window open and set
to work to jab me in the ribs with her
umbrella. The street filled up with
people, though where they came from
l couldn't imagine, and some of them
cried 'Shame' and Stop him!' Boys
seemed to spring up out of the ground
and followed me, running alongside
the cab, and all the time that dreadful
woman kept screaming murder and
thieves and making other unpleasant
personal remarks of the same general
character.
ut would have been useless for me
to abandon the cab and run away, for
l would have been caught before |
could have fairly got off my box.
knew that policeman would turn up
presently, and for the first time that
morning was anxious to see one. Any
thing would be better than driving that
yelling demon of woman and having
mob gather round me. The thing
went on for perhaps ten minutes longer,
when policeman arrived, and the WON
an gave me in charge for attempted
murder and a general assortment of
miscellaneous offenses.
THAT policeman was an intelligent
man. He saw at once that the woman
was crazy, and he was evidently ready
to accept my version of the affair; but
when he asked me for my number and
saw that | hadn't any he changed his
mind. 1t certainly was a suspicious
circumstance from his point of view
that | didn't have any number; and
after he had asked me a few questions.
which 1 answered in way not to give
him much information, for / didn't
want to explain things before the
crowd, he got into the cab. so as 10
keep the woman quiet, and told me to
drive to the station house.
"0f course, when | saw the officer in
charge | told him the whole story. It
did sound rather improbable, as I
couldn't help feeling while | told it;
and | could see that he didn't believe q
word l said, but was of the opinion
that | was some desperate sort of viii
lain who had been caught in the act OF
trying to kidnap an inoffensive woman.
So they locked me up. What they did
with the woman | don't know.
81 sent Off messengers for my land.
lord and my banker and half dozen
other people, and the upshot of it all
was that the next morning was taken
before a magistrate, who. after ex-
amining into my case, gave me to I'M
derstand that l wasn't guilty of the
great majority of the crimes that had
been charged against me, but that as a
sort of warning to me never TO commit