When he saw
the boy, he was much astonished. "Are you the driver of this cab?" he
asked. "Yes, sir," answered Diamond, showing his father's badge of which
he was proud.
"You are the youngest cabman I ever saw!" said the gentleman greatly
amused. "But I believe I'll risk you!"
He jumped in and soon found that Diamond got him over the ground very
well. The trip was one of several miles and the gentleman paid him three
shillings for the drive. When Diamond got back, he stopped at a stand
where he had never been before and got down to put on old Diamond's
nose-bag of oats. The men there did not treat him very nicely and a
group of rough boys came up and began to torment him. But who do you
think came to his rescue? Why, the drunken cabman whose room was next
to Diamond's and whose baby Diamond had once rocked and put to sleep.
"What is up here?" the cabman asked.
"Do you see this young snip?" the boys cried, "He pretends to drive a
cab!"
"Yes, I do see him," said the cabman.
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