Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1896-04-16
A BICYCLE THIEF.


thief, and, for time at least, l had
succeeded in battling the most praise
worthy attempts Of the police of two
towns to capture me.
While this statement is naturally fat
tering to mo it is nevertheless libel,
and, in fact, if l cared to use strong
language might go so far as to take
the last syllable away from the word
libel"
The whole trouble arose through
Switzerland not having proper Ian
guage of it's own, that billy country pre-
ferring to express what few thoughts it
has in n mixture of French, German and
Italian, depending on what particular
canton you happen to be i'll. They say
that the Swiss are natural linguists.
Unfortunately they are. Any combina-
tiOn of sounds you may make means
something to any Swiss to whom you
happen to be talking. for he knows SO
many languages that you are sure to hit
one of them, and SO you convey ideas to
him that you had no thought Of express
ing.
October weather is lovely i'll Switzer-
land. Most Of the visitors have then
gone, prices como down onc-half, and
the air is sweet and cool, with usually
n cloudloss sky.
Under these circumstances l thought
it would be n nice thing, as the roads
were good and the scenery picturesque,
TO take bicycle tour right around Lake
Thun, beginning ut the town which
gives the Jake its name, going around
the north side of the lake to Interlaken
and returning by the south shore.
The hotel keeper told me that if /
went up the street, turned to the right
went under al arcade until l camc TO a
tunnel, penetrated that and emerged on
another street, turned to the left and
kept Oh / would come to the shop of q
man who would let me have bicycle
on hire by the day or the hour. l fol-
lowed the directions as closely as posi-
BILE and thought l recognized the shop
because bicycle was leaning against
the wall. The owner was leaning
against the doorway, looking at the BIZ
cycle outside. The following conversa-
ton i'll many languages took place be-
tween us:
'Habon sic un bicyClette louer?" I
opened on him with the above i'm partial
mixture of German and French. 1t
seems he understood me TO ask if that
was his bicycle, whereupon he replied
in -four languages:
'Naw, yaw, Oui, yes. Sc.
Then, throwing i'll bit of Italian, I
led off with:
"Quanta costa In machine a la hoor,
oder per tag?'
Now, | submit that to any educated
person, or even to university man,
this sentcnc" said rs plainly as print,
How much do yOu want for this ma
chine by the hour or the day." l tried
afterward to get tho magistrate to see
this, hut he, not knowing Italian, SHE'D
at the very beginning of the phrase.
The owner Of tho bicycle on oath de-
clares that i've thought 7 asked how
much the bicycle had cost him. He says
that he answered he paid 500 francs for
that brute Of a machine, made in
France, while understood him to agree
to let me have it for francs a day,
which was cheap. was in hurry to
be off and was afraid he might repent
his offer so said it was all right, and
i would take il. whereupon, without
further parley, | wheeled the bicycle
into the middle of the road, sprang on
its back and was Off, leaving the aston
ished man standing by his door, too
thunderstruck, it seems, to make any
cutlery until | had passed beyond his
sight at the first turning of the road
pedaled Sercnely on, little realizing
what n cOmmOriOn | had left behind
oh - -.
most regrettable episode is that / spent
On exceedingly quiet, peaceful and en-
Joyable day, not knowing was pursued,
making no attempt TO elude anybody
and yet eluding them in what appeared
afterward to be by subtle and crafty
lodges. The magistrate could not be
persuaded that my sitting on the We
randa of restaurant in the main street
Of Interlakcn, with the bicycle in plain
view Of everybody, was not the brazen
act of hardened criminal, who knew
the police would be searching for him
in the back streets.
When the man standing against the
doorway had recovered partly from his
amazement nj my sudden flight OH his
machine, he rushed to the police station
BILE foreigner had engaged him in polite
Ollendortian conversation, and, while
his mind was distracted in trying to fol
low his remarks, had seized the oppor-
tunlty and also the machine and was at
that moment making his way to the
north road toward lnterlaken.
Now, capture under these circum-
stances seemed 10 be deiiciously easy.
There were no branching off roads. The
mountains We're on one side and the lake
on the other, on neither side Of which
was bicycling practicable. Therefore All
the two policemen had TO do, when thew
mounted their machines. was to ride
faster than | did, and so overtake me-
As had no idea dat "a race was on,
plunged along in lelsurely manner
and would undoubtedly have been taken
near lnterlakcn if it had not been for
the fact that some years ago a company
built funicular railway from the mar
gin of the lake mile or so up to st.
Beatenburg. ] had lived in ST. Beaten
burg once, and | remembered that the
road from there to Interlaken was q
good one, so / thought that perhaps it
would not be bad plan to go up on the
railway and coast down to Interlaken
1 knew u man who had done it once. I
can we'll believe now that no one ever
tries ii the second time The car goes
up to st. Beatenburg three or four times
day only, but when couple of miles
away from the landing saw steamer
coming in, and knew if I reached the
landing about the time she did / would
get a car.
am not racer, but thereupon put
I'm my best licks to mako connection