Learn Think About It 8 with Free Lessons & Tips

It is more likely that Oliver made the plan to fool the lawyer right after he came to know from the latter that he was looking for a man named Oliver Lutkins. Oliver knew that he was needed as a witness in a law case. So it is entirely possible that he was prepared for such a situation. It was a matter of chance that the lawyer ran into Oliver himself.

Lutkins was always the first to enter the places where he took the lawyer. He prevented the lawyer from directly talking with the people at these places. In this manner he would take them into his confidence. This is probably the reason why no one let out the secret. After they did not find Lutkins at Fritz’s, they went to Gustaff’s barber shop, where again he went in first and the lawyer lingered at the door. Before going to Lutkins’ mother’s house, he gave a terrifying description of Lutkins’ mother and urged the lawyer to let him try and talk to her. Again, Lutkins was the one who went up to her first. The lawyer was only standing back and listening. He told her everything about the lawyer and why he had come, which was a sufficient clue for her to understand what was going on. It should also be noted that at the station, he had asked the lawyer if he was in a hurry to find Lutkins. The lawyer told him that he had to catch the afternoon train back to the city. This perhaps helped him concretise his plan to take the lawyer around the town till it was time for him to catch the train back to the city. In this way, he always kept ahead of the lawyer and managed to manipulate the entire tour.

Lutkins took the lawyer all across New Mullion in search of Lutkins himself. He successfully fooled the lawyer—an educated man of the city. During this process of deception, almost all the people in the town got to see the lawyer. This episode would have become the talking point of the town. According to Lutkins, his neighbours were the only people in town who had missed seeing the lawyer and hence, wanted to meet the lawyer.

After his first day’s experience with the hack driver, the lawyer had considered returning to New Mullion to practise law. However, he realised during his second visit that he had been literally taken for a ride by the hack driver (who himself was Lutkins). In this, Lutkins was helped by the townspeople. After becoming the laughing stock of the town, it is most likely that the lawyer would have reconsidered his initial idea of working there.