The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1896-06-02

plunged along IL Il lyisurely manner
and would undoubtedly have been taken
near InterlaEen if it had not been for
the fact that some years ago "a company
built Il fuuiCular railway from the mar
gin of the lake Il mile or SO up to St.
BcatcnburS. ] had lived i'll It. Beaten
burg once, and | remembered that the
road from there to Interlaken was IL
good Ii g SO | thought that perhaps it
would not be a bad plan TO go up on the
railway and coast down to Interlaken.
l knew "a man who had done it II I
can well believe now that no che ever
tries it the second time. The car goes
up to st. BeatenburS three or four times
a day only, but when a couple of miles
away from the landing l saw a steamer
coming in, and | knew if I reached the
landing about the time she did l would
get a car.
l am not a racer, but l thereupon put
in my best Hicks to make connection
with the mountain railway. The road
at this point is as level as the lake itself
and only a few feet above it. My
thoughts turned to the railway because
l knew thai beyond the lower end of it
the carriage road rose high above the
lake, passed through several tunnels and
then went down to the Interlaken plain.
By taking,th up car l would avoid all
this and have it down hill all the way.
The policemen, it seems, caught sight
of me as | was making my squirt, and
they at once put on extra steam, but
there is a deep bay just before one
reaches the funicular, and they lost
sight Of me as I turned the point. I had
reached the top of the railway funicu-
lar, and l bicycled the mile or more
along the street, high up above the lake,
ON one side of which is scattered the
village of st. B~eatenburg, with its Won
derful view of the snow mountains-the
Jungfrau, the Eiger, the Monch and q
host of others.
I found the ride down the zigzag road
not such fun as l had expected. saw
the brake was not going to last if l
kept on, so l had to walk most of the
way down. Coming to a more level
ground, l cycled gently into Interlaken,
making for the place where they sell
Munich beer, and there, over "a mug
and a sandwich on the main street, l
made my frugal lunch, with the bicycle
standing against a pillar of the veranda.
After a smoke I proceeded out Of In
terlaken and took the south road that
borders the lake. This road is not SO
good for cycling as the other, being
much more hilly, while the roadbed is
more stony. I therefore walked a good
deal, taking it very leisurely, and in
course of time I was overtaken by a po-
liceman, who also was walking his ma
chine. He asked me if L had met q man
on a bicycle coming from Thun, and I
told him quite truly that I had not.
He seemed discouraged and told me
all about the bicycle theft and the arrest
of the wrong man. He feared the thief
had hidden in the forest until he and
his comrade went past and then perhaps
took the steamer across the lake, or the
villain might merely have pretended to
take the north road, while in reality he
went by the south. Thus the policeman
hoped to meet him yet. I promised to
keep a lookout, and the officer went on.
When I reached Thun and came to
the place where I got the bicycle, I
found the man was in Interlaken, and
his wife, who knew all about the rob-
berry, was amazed to see the thief re-
turn the machine and place 8 francs and
his thanks on the counter.
I regret to say that the apparent hon
esty of this action did not commend it.
self to the authorities. They looked on
it as the ruse of a crafty scoundrel, who
realized that, so vigilant were the po-
lice, it was impossible for him to es-
cape, and SO endeavored to throw dust
in the eyes Of the wise men Of the place.
I therefore had to pay the expenses Of
the chase and apologize to everybody
concerned.
Thus the bicycle, at 8 francs a day,
was not SO cheap as I had at first sup
posed.-Lnke Sharp in Detroit Free
Press.