The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-01-24
A BICYCLE THIEF.

abroad the report that I am in Switzer-
land, not for the benefit of my health,
but for the purpose of stealing bicycles,
and they added that was an expert
thief, and, for time at least, 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 me it is nevertheless libel,
and, in fact, if I cared to use strong
language I 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 its own, that hilly country pre-
ferring to express what few thoughts it
has in mixture of French, German and
italian, depending ON what particular
canton you happen to be in. 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 in Switzer-
land. Most of the visitors have then
gone, prices come down one-half, and
the air is sweet and cool, with usually
cloudless sky.
Under these circumstances thought
it would be q nice thing, as the roads
were good and the scenery picturesque,
to take bicycle tour right around Lake
Thun, beginning at the town which
gives the lake it's 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 an arcade until came to a
tunnel, penetrated that and emerged on
another street, turned to the left and
kept ON l would come to the shop of
man who would let me have a bicycle
ON hire by the day or the hour. fol-
lowed the directions as closely as possi-
BILE and thought I 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-
tion in many languages took place be-
tween us:
"Haben sic un bicyclette louer?" I
opened on him with the above impartial
mixture Of German and French. 1t
seems he understood me to ask if that
was his bicycle, whereupon he replied
in four languages:
"Yaw, yaw, oui, yes, Sc.
Then, throwing in bit of Italian, I
led off with:
"Quanta costa la machine a la hoor,
oder per tag?"
Now, I submit that to any educated
person, or even to a university man,
this sentence said as plainly as print,
"How much do you want for this ma
chine by the hour or the day?" I tried
afterward to get the magistrate to see
this, but he, not knowing Italian, SHE'D
at the very beginning of the phrase.
The owner of the bicycle on oath de-
clares that he thought I 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. I was in hurry to
be off and was afraid he might repent
his offer, so said it was all right, and
/ would take it, whereupon, without
further parley, I 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
outcry until 1 had passed beyond his
sight at the first turning of the road.
pedaled serenely on, little realizing
what commotion I had left behind
me, and the one funny thing about this
most regrettable episode is that spent
an 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 ve-
randa of restaurant in the main street
Of Interlaken, 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
at my sudden flight on his
he rushed to the police station
and told the authorities there a plausi-
BILE foreigner had engaged him in polite
Ollendorian conversation, and, while
lis mind was distracted in trying to fol-
low his remarks, had seized the oppor-
unity and also the machine and was at
hat moment making his way to the
lorth road toward lnterlaken.
Now, capture under these circum-
stances seemed to be deliciously easy.
There were no branching off roads. The
were on one side and the lake
on the other, on neither side of which
vas bicycling practicable. Therefore all
he two policemen had to do, when they
mounted their machines, was to ride
'aster than did, and SO overtake me.
As l had no idea that race was on.