skittles while their omnibuses stood empty in the road.
On one occasion a pirate scored off its opponents in a novel way. Having made several ineffectual attempts to obtain passengers, it started off into the country, followed by its "nurse." When they had travelled some miles the driver of the respectable omnibus was surprised by seeing a gate suddenly closed in front of his horses, preventing him from following the pirate. At the same moment a gate clanged behind him, and, looking round, he discovered that he had been trapped. He had, in fact, followed the pirate on to its proprietor's little farm. "'Ere you are, and 'ere you'll stay," the pirate owner declared, with many oaths; while the pirate driver, with taunting shouts of laughter, whipped up his horses and started back to town. The farmer omnibus-proprietor made no attempt to detain the Association's men, but its omnibus and horses he held prisoners until the following morning, releasing them one hour after his own omnibus had started out.
In 1855 the London General Omnibus Company came into existence, and had been established
