Three or four times, during the early evening, different persons had tried to engage the use of this cab.
Yet, to each prospective customer, the driver had shaken his head, uttering the one word:
"Engaged."
So the cab still waited, the driver occasionally moving to a somewhat new position, though always keeping well in sight of the hotel entrance.
As Captain Jack Benson stepped out through the broad doorway, however, on his errand of friendship, the driver, throwing away a half-smoked cigar, suddenly whipped up his horse, driving close to the entrance.
"Cab, sir" hailed the driver. "To any part of the city."
"You know where the hospital is?" inquired Jack Benson.
"Oh, yes."
"How long will it take to drive me there?"
"Ten or twelve minutes."