The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1900-06-28
our way and asks You to call heaven

to witness with your hands pointing
to the zenith, just you do it, that's all.
and do it in hurry; do it a,running;
be nice and good about it, aud don
get gay. Don't endeavor to be frivolous
with q man that's got the edge on you
with 45 caliber lead-spitter.
"Just let one of 'em try it with
ME, that's al!' exclaimed the little
man hercely, and then we changed the
subject.
"Well, at about o'clock that night
we pulled up at little station called
Tyrone to give the engine drink. We
only halted there about four minutes,
but it WAS long enough. The train
hadn't got more than five miles out of
Tyrone before We heard lot OF shots
up forward-the smoker was the
second car from the eagine--and the
train came to q halt. The wheels had
scarcely ceased to revolve when the
front door of the smoker was thrown
open with bang, and the command
rang through the car like the crack of
q whip:
"'Everybody PUT 'em up! Quick!
"a tall, raw boned man, with a
struggling red mustache, stood in the
door calmly waving his gun from side
to side with the characteristic move
ment of an exl ert gun-fauner. He
looked business all over. l decided
instantly-Td put my hands up before
I'd done any deciding, however-tbat
he wasn't any amateur, and that he
was going to get all that was coming
to him. I'couldn't help but notice
that the dyspeptic-looking little man
in front of me threw up his hands
with the rest. although he did little
bit of fumbliug with his right hand
before it went up in the air.
'Seein' that my podner's busy
keepin' tab on til loco-driyer, said
the raw-boned baudit-he didn't wear
any mask, and there was certain
twinkle to his eyes as he spoke-:Tll
les ask you gentlemen to spring what
you've got on you with one hand at a
time, as pass along, and I'll do the
rest
"He wore q hickory bag, suspended
by string around his neck, in front
of him-a bag similar to those worn
by carpenters or fathers for holding
nails-and he just reached out his left
hand and dropped wallets, watches
and chains aud loose rolls into the bag
as he passed. along. None of the vic
TINS had chance to hold ont any
thing on him, for he was one of the
eagle, eyed species, and he seemed to
see all hands in the car at once. He
walked sideways down the aisle 80 as
to make sure that he wouldn't be
plunked from behind after passing
along. He was scientist in his busi-
ness, all righ', was that raw-boned
man, and he didn't miss trick.
Every man up forward unquestionably
passed over his belongings to lie
dropped into that roomy bag. The
little man with the Bostonese accent
amused me, with his hands sticking
up there as rigid as poles. that I al
most forgot to worry about what
was going to lose when it came my
turn. He had gone as white as sheet
and he looked more ghastly as the
raw-boned robber approached him.
Finally it came to his turn. The rob-
ber looked him over with half grin.
"'Sorry, my sawed-off friend, the
robber started to say, when, puff! the
right hand of the dyspeptic-looking
little man opened with cat-like
rapidity aud the robber got 6st-full
of red PEPPER square in the eyes! He
let out an howl, and the little man
dropped to the floor like fash. SO
did I, for that matter.
"'The robber, yelled like mad
man, lowered his gun hand and groped
around with it. and half second later
he was butted in the stomach with all
the force the little man from New
England had in his head. That
doubled the robber up, and a minute
later we were all on top of him at
once.
"'You will try to appropriate what
QOeSn DSlouS you, uoy, doS Sono
your the dyspeptic-looking little man
muttered, standing over the blinded
bandit, who was almost insane from
pain. We bound him securely, did
what we could to alleviate his pain, and
put a guard over him. The robber
who was holding up the engine, bear
ing the agonized shouts ofhis partner,
concluded that there was nothing
doing, and, firing q few bluff shots,
scampered of the tender into the
darkness. We took the raw-bonea
bandit to Trinidad, where he was
tried, as afterward learned, and got
20 years. And that's one time I got
fooled up q whole lot in stick-up."