Summary

Charlotte spent years learning from Ebeneezer on practice runs. Eventually, she began driving real runs, which meant learning how to coddle difficult passengers. She built up a good reputation and was often requested as a driver.

Charlotte continued to disguise herself as a male, wearing tight undershirts, loose flannel shirts, baggy pants, and buckskin gloves. She spoke in a low voice to the horses. People did not seem to pay much attention to her appearance. Still, she protected her identity carefully and did not bunk with the men and boys who worked at the stable.

She wrote letters to Hayward. Other drivers mailed them. She instructed Hayward to write to her “in care of Ebeneezer’s stables” (59). Hayward sometimes wrote to let her know that he had told Vern where she was and passed Vern’s words of encouragement back to her...