Jack on the Box Read Free

full of brandy and water for the coachman, which Jack shared freely with his guard. If it were Davies and there happened to be no passenger on the roof that day, the guard would sometimes join him, abandoning his lonely seat on the rear of the coach for a bit of conversation. When his tongue was sufficiently loosened he would relate some of his experiences as guard on the mail, and Jack listened much amused. Jack was impressed as well with the guard’s honesty. He never accepted mail to carry that was not duly registered with the coach’s proprietors, though he might have made a considerable fee by contracting for it on his own.
    Jack was never alone, for generally there was an adventurous young man or even a female passenger to sit the box beside him and pass the time. And he was fully occupied in keeping his horses to their demanding pace of nine miles an hour or better. It was not in Jack’s character to sit the box like the lofty individuals who so often ruled that spot. He took a certain pleasure in seeing that his passengers were comfortably seated and their baggage settled for the journey. These gentlemanly attentions were so seldom seen on the road that, at first, the passengers reacted suspiciously to them. But eventually, Jack’s friendly manner calmed their natural tendency towards wariness and engendered in them a feeling of confidence. Before long, Jack had earned the reputation of being a courteous, trustworthy driver, and the women passengers, in particular, were grateful for his solicitous care.
    And all the while, Jack, whether he knew it or not, was undergoing a curious change. At first, he had cheerfully drained every mug of brandy and water that was brought to him, which helped to warm him against the weather. But he found himself so weary by the end of the day that when he arrived at his Birmingham lodgings, he tumbled right into his bed. And worse, the next morning it was all the more difficult to drag himself out of bed in the dark to have the new horses in harness by the time the coach arrived from London. Soon he accepted the offered spirits with more caution and found that his work became easier for his temperance.
    Before long, too, he was faced with the problem of young gentlemen out of Oxford asking to be allowed to handle the reins. More often than not they were three sheets to the wind and would have landed Jack’s coach in the ditch had they been given the chance. Jack’s initial response had been to let them drive for a distance, as he had been allowed by many a coachman, but he was made uncomfortable by Davies’s disapproval. And the resulting screams from the passengers, when the horses were sprung, had a sobering effect.
    Finally, on one particular occasion, when Jack was asked for the reins, his thoughts flew to that day’s complement of passengers. There was an older woman who had given him a sweetly confiding smile upon mounting the steps, and a younger, nervous one with a newborn baby in her arms. So, on that occasion, Jack had smiled his winning smile and simply said no.
    Three months were passed in this way without a major incident and Jack could be proud of his record. He was surprised to find that he did not miss the amusements of a gentleman’s life, although there were days when a warm bath and the attentions of a valet would have been quite welcome. In fact, he settled rather quickly into the rhythm of his work and began to feel that there were advantages to being employed that he might never have realized if his father had not disowned him, however temporarily. From time to time he did wonder just when Sir Geoffrey would decide that he was worthy to be called his son again. But mail coachmen led a lordly life, after a fashion, for they were the kings of the road. All other traffic gave way for the mail, and it was the Royal Mail that carried the news of military victory to the provinces. All eyes would turn to see whether the coach carried the green laurels to signal