Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1905-12-22
ANDERS.
A Story Of Time when 5ayonet and
saber Came to Trial Under Strange
Surroundings.

surroundings,
Upon completing my college course l
had gone into business in B., and as l
was comparative stranger there, with
out social duties to occupy my evenings.
had grown into the habit Of spending
most Of my spare time in clubs. For
years l had been an enthusiastic fencer.
and, greatly to my delight, l found In
b splendid fencers' club. with a
maitre darmes second to none I'm the
country. l threw myself into the snort
with an enthusiasm which, under such a
teacher, was bound to result in success.
With no intention of boastlng, l think
may say that soon. among all the
fencers of b, so far as / knew. none
could defeat me with foil, saber or bayo-
net The latter was my favorite weapon.
ana as l grew more proficient in its use
l had many arguments with the maitre
Bearnac' concerning the relative values
OF the bayonet and the saber as weapons
OF onense and defence. NJ. Bearnac stout
" maintained that the saber was the more
dangerous weapon, and that he would
match himself with a good saber against
any man In the country with musket and
bayonet.
OF course our arguments led to bouts
between u.s. he armed with the saber and
with the bayonet, In which, with the
usual method of scoring points he was
uniformly the victor. Still was not con-
WINGED, for, / argued. the points as scored
look no account Of the seriousness Of the
wounds that would be inflicted. and
furthermore, he was n master Of the
saber. anyway. And l contended that II
/ could be free OF the heavy mask and
jacket, so l could move freely, / might
reverse the result. This, OF course. we
could not try. because OF the danger Of
serious or fatal injury. So l stin remain
ed unconvinced
One night. with a blizzard raging and
the temperature 20 degrees below zero,
had gone to the Fencers' club as usual
Each member was provided with n key,
and as let myself in from the main hall
found was the only one who had braved
the rigors of the night Bearnac usually
stayed until nine o'clock but the snow
mad delayed me, and as l looked at my
watch l found 1t was quarter-past the
hour. and Bearnac had gone. Loath to
leave at once and face the bitter cold out
side, / wandered into the reading room
and turned on the lights Becoming alb
sorbed In magazine. / was startled to
hear footstep at the door Of the room.
ana, Fprtnging up, my blood ran cold in
my veins as l looked into the muzzle
OF a revolver in the hand OF tall, WELL
dressed man, with n small black mask
over the upper part OF his face
There had been many bold hold ups in
b recently. attended in many cases
by wanton murder, and this recollection
flashing into my mind was not calculated
TO set me at ease. How could he have
gotten ing" l wondered. / could only
suppose that had left the hall door un-
locked and that he had been attracted
by the light within.
My hands had involuntarily gone up
VI hon r..
a rev moments, which seemed to me an
eternity. we stood confronting each other
out In the corridor l could hear the eieva-
tor doors click, as the cars slid noiselessly
from floor 10 floor; just above our heads
a lodge was in session. and could hear
the shufhing Of chairs and of many feet:
across the hall from US a whist club was
holding an open meeting. and occasional
merry peals OF women's laughter foated
In 10 our ears; across the area, in the
next building, dance was in progress
and the sound OF the music came mingled
with the whine OF wind and the cracking
OF the frost laden wires outside: within
hearing Of all these people and vet as
helpless as on desert island, for / was
unarmed and at the mercy OF this robber.
And all this time We stood silent, face TO
face
Keep your hands up and turn around.
racing that WALL he said, finally in tones
aeep and cultural And don't make
raise move II you value your life"
l did as he commanded, and he moved
up behind me, running his hand quickly
into my hip pockets and with a deft
touch assuring himself that / carried no
weapon inside my coat. Then l heard
MIN sink into chair at the end OF the
table
Drop your hands and face me-" he
said again, and / turned still to en-
counter that menacing barrel. Il never
search a gentleman's pocket" he said:
unless he emphasized, significantly.
have reason to suspect he has not
shelled out properly. So dump all your
coin and valuables here on the table, and
be careful he concluded, sternly. that
no false move gives me a muscular twinge
In the trigger finger"
silently emptied my pockets. thanking
my stars that had little money with me.
Now the watch. and the ring, and the
pm he commanded, and l added them
SLOWLY and reluctantly to the little heap
on the table.
"Humph! Sit down." he said, indicat-
ing chair little way from the table,
ana still carelessly covering me with the
gun. "Carelessly," did l say? Only APP
parently, for l could see by the very way
he handled the weapon, and by the air of
lhe man. that he was alert to my every
move.
We both settled back in our chairs. I
watching the robber, he leisurely inspect
ing his surroundings The room had been
furnished as lounging place, with view |
10 comfort rather than 10 luxury. Por- |
TRAITS OF noted fencers adorned the walls, |
mingled with odd bits OF old suits OF |
armor' curious weapons. and trophies won |
oy the club and its members in many !
tournaments. Around two sides OF the |
room ran great broad bench, softly |
cushioned, and the table in the middle Of |
the room was furnished with the latest |
The chairs were in keeping
with the rest Of the room-great broad, |
leather-seated rockers, eminently COM |
Portable and practical. And the robber
settled himself back comfortably in his
seat with a sigh OF content
ANY cigars?" he questioned
Yes l answered, and my hand started
for an inner pocket.
stop! he commanded sharply, and
my hand stopped with a start as l looked
up and saw the change in the man. He
was tense and alert, and the gun was
covering me again. Throw that coat
back, and let me see your hand go into
The pocket" he said and l FASTENED TO
comply, drawing forth my cigar case and
passing II over to him.
The tense and stern air relaxed, but r
loticed / was still easily covered. "Ah,"
ne said, pardon me, but one cannot be
TOO careful in these little affairs" And
ne smiled sardonically as he extracted a
agar, tossed the case on the table, lighted
he weed, and leaned back to enjoy 1t.
Light nm he said syanfalIy sIt'c Iot. |