Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-03-18
the four character. would have been

the four characters would have been
free men.
"As 1t was, they waited until the
train had just started to slowly crawl
out of the station, then they rose In a
body, and before the three much
smaller guards had realized the danger
of their position. they had been beaten
over the heads. knocked to the floor Of
the passenger coach, partly stunned,
and rendered wholly incompetent to
combat such a desperate crowd Of men
who were prepared to take the last
chance.
Police Had fingered.
"The fortunate part Of the affair. and
which probably saved the life Of some
Of the guards, was the fact that Con-
stable Hunt and Detectives Socket
and Miller had not quite disappeared
from the scene. 1t was just here that
the prisoners had made their miscal
culation. Treating the characters Of
the men and their open threats Of
violence in only half-joking manner.
the local police. nevertheless. had
taken every precaution. The three Tor
onto officials had gone ahead, boarded
the train. cleared out the smoking
compartment OF the other passengers,
and thus, while securing a certain
amount Of privacy for the guards and
their prisoners, had at the same time
made the attempt at escape all the
easier.
'The local men remained on the train
until the last minute, Constable Hunt
just stepping from the platform as the
train started to move out slowly. He
had walked only the length Of the
coach, with the two detectives ahead
Of him, when one Of the regular pas
sengers rushed out of the rear Of the
passenger car. shrieking in historical
manner that there was murder being
done. that one Of the guards had been
killed. and that the prisoners were es-
Gaping. This confusion was much
more than enough for the officers.
Rush Of the Officers.
"All three officers made rush back
for the moving train. Hunt was the
first to swing upon the car platform.
closely followed by Miller and Socket,
but by this time the excitement had
spread SO rapidly. SO many people were
calling out in a frightened manner.
that the conductor ordered the train to
be stopped.
The scene in the smoking compart-
ment was a desperate one, and suf-
ficient to startle even q police officer
accustomed as he is to taking chances
What the three officials saw was
three manacled, shackled men. in pris-
on stripes Of red and black-large
powerful, brutal-looking men-batter-
ing three much smaller and PROSTATE
men over the heads and bodies with
their shackled wrists.
The guards, one Of whom was an
aged man, were almost at the mercy of
the convicts when Hunt stepped inside
the door Of the smoker. One Of the
most fearless Of the stripe wearers
known as "Cigaret" Brown, had man
aged to loosen one Of his legs from the
brackets, and with this he was kicking
the PROSTATE guards and at the same
time trying to free his wrists from the
handouts. He was bending over his
victims just as Hunt struck out.
The constable is a large man, Just
as mighty as the men he had to help
overcome. One blow upon the face
felled "Cigaret" Brown, but there still
remained three to fight. The battle
from then on was more even. Sock
EFT and Miller leach took man, and
Hunt took the third.
Got An Awful Beating.
1T was no time for scruples, or
thoughtfulness or careful handling,
and the treatment those convicts re-
ceived at the hands Of the three Of
ficers Is described by some Of the pas
sengers and station officials who wit
messed 1t as something fearful Power