The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1911-05-06
A Neat Trick
BY JEROME WILLIAMSON
Copyright by American Press Assoc
citation, 1911.

When railroads were first built the
car was a string of stagecoaches join
ed together. We in America at the
very beginning abandoned this form
and opened the car from end to end.
In Europe they still retain the stage
coach pattern. Their coaches are built
in compartments. though those on
through trains are connected by q pas
sage at one side. Their way trains
are the same as they were some
eighty years ago.
/ was travelling Que day in way
train and locked in a compartment
with one other passenger, young
woman. Soon after the train started
she asked if she might smoke ciga-
rette. When a compartment is used
for smoking over there they put up a
notice to that effect | felt pleased
that she was smoker herself, granted
her permission at once and drew forth
q cigar.
"You must first have n Whit with
me-" she said, then you may smoke
your cigar" She handed me an open
box of cigarettes. "These are some
thing very fine. Try one
/ accepted the offer. The woman
turned away from me TO put the box
back In the satchel from which she
hat taken 1t and took cigarette for
herself while her back was toward
me so that couldn't see her doing 1t.
lighted mine and as soon as began
10 smoke felt a delicious languor
should have suspected that something
was wrong and thrown the weed
away, but was enraptured and soon
fell into a delicious trance.
The woman kept her eyes on me and
presently asked me to hand her nov
ell she had left on the seat beside me.
I couldn't move even finger. She
had evidently expected as much and
had asked me to hand her the book to
as she was satisfied that ! was power
less she took off her dress and hat and
threw them out of the window. There
was a mans costume underneath the
dress, and 1t was evident that the pre-
tended woman was man. He took a
felt hat out of his bag and put it on.
then, taking a paper out of his coat
pocket, he put 1t in mine.
ALI this was done between two sta
tons about ten miles apart, although
the train went pretty slow. When we
reached the second station the man
got out of the train, leaving me still
powerless was just as conscious OF
the situation as If had not inhaled
the cigarette. / surrnised that the
man was criminal fleeing from JUS
tice and had put papers in my pocket
that would cause his pursuers to think
that was the man they were looking
for. Why he wished them to think so
/ fancied to be because they were hot
on the pursuit and he wished to gain
time by throwing them off the track.
The train seemed to be delayed in
starting again. 1t appeared to me that
1t must be waiting for something.
What was my horror to see several
men come to the door of the compart-
ment led by the man who had drugged
me.
"That's the man." he said.
The effect of the cigarette had passed
off sufficiently to enable me to protest.
But the man interrupted me.
'I tell you.' he said to the Others
'he's the notorious Cartouche, who q
day or two ago escaped the French
police. saw him In court once and
knew him the moment he entered the
train. If you don't believe me search
him. He may have something that
win identify him on his person"
My blood ran cold. | knew OF Car
touche, who was under sentence OF
death. was ordered out of the coach,
but as 1 had not recovered the use OF
my limbs they were obliged to pull
me out. Ther placed me on a baggage