The detail that best supports this thesis is: "it did come under my notice that some cartmen worked for whatever he suffers felt able to pay, and one I knew worked with alacrity for nothing".
"The Great Fire", written by Jin Murphy, is a story that refers to the fire disaster in the City of Chicago in 1871. The author uses the narrative to describe the fearful moments when fire spread throughout the city, which most of his houses and buildings were made of wood.