A Chariot of Fire

A missed connection at Beverly turns Jacob Dryver's return home into a desperate search for help. His train has arrived late, and a telegram has told him that his little boy, Batty, has been badly hurt in an accident. With only a few dollars in his pocket, Jacob tries the local stables before appealing to a stranger at a comfortable house. Elizabeth Stuart Phelps builds this short story around the distance between a working father's urgent need and the resources of his wealthier neighbors.

The stranger, Hurlburt Chester, offers an automobile, and the coastal road toward Gloucester and Annisquam becomes the scene of a tense night drive through fog. Jacob sees the car's blazing lamps through the biblical imagery familiar to him. Alongside the danger and haste, the story examines practical kindness, parental fear and the barriers created by class. Its precise coastal landmarks and contrasting voices give readers a closely observed account of help offered in a family crisis.