After she was gone away, Diamond lay thinking and somehow he seemed to hear the murmur of North Wind's river blowing through his thoughts and telling him about something he could do. The next morning he got up as soon as he heard the men moving in the yard. When he went down, the stable was just opened. "I'm the early bird, I think," he said to himself, "and I hope I'll catch the worm." [Illustration: HE FASTENED THE CHEEK-STRAP VERY CAREFULLY] He would not ask any one to help him because he was afraid he would be kept from doing what he wanted. With the aid of an old chair, he got the harness on old Diamond. The dear old horse opened his mouth for the bit just as if Diamond was giving him an apple. He fastened the cheek-strap very carefully, and got all the pieces of harness on and buckled. By this time some of the men were watching him to see if he would get it all done by himself. And when he put old Diamond between the shafts, got his whip, and jumped up on the box, the men broke into a cheer. The cheer brought his mother to the window and when she saw her little boy setting out all alone in the cab, she called "Diamond! Diamond!" But Diamond did not hear her for the rattle of the cab and so he drove away. He was very much afraid no one would hire him because he was such a little driver. But before he got to his regular stand, he was hailed by a man who wanted to catch a train and was in too great a hurry to think about the driver. He got a good fare for that and reached the cab-stand the first one after all. As the other cabmen came, he told them about his father and said that he was going to drive the cab in his place. "Well, you are a plucky one!" they all said. "And you shall have a fair chance with the rest." And he did, for another gentleman came up very soon for him. 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. "I see you, too. You'd better take yourselves away from here or you won't find me very agreeable!" And they went in a hurry!