The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-07-09
Appear to Automobile Party
But Accomplish
Nothing
SEVERAL DRIVERS
HAVE BEEN FOOLED
Favorite Trick Appears to Be to Lay
Automobile Tire in Road and Yank
it Down Bank by String When One
Attempts to Secure It.

Signs multiply to show that the hold
up men on the Slate Rock road from
here to Massachusetts are not profess
sional thugs but bold amateurs who are
attempting to frighten automobilists for
their own amusement Having become
somewhat emboldened by previous pranks
without being identified, they apparently
decided that it would be safe to show
themselves in the night, hence their APP
pearanee early yesterday morning with
their faces partly covered with handker-
chiefs. What their boldness will lead
them to do eventually is matter of
| speculation.
| The two bandits" with handkerchief
masks made another attempted hold-up
| late last night. A Massachusetts, car was
on its way to that state when the oecu-
pants saw an automobile tire in the high
way. The ear was stopped just as it ran
on to the tire and when the driver alight-
led the two masked men appeared The
driver hustled back into his machine and
dashed away without attempting to Sc
Ieure his prize.
/ For some time drivers of cars on that
lroad late at night have been fooled by
the discovery of automobile tires in the
Iroad and the strange disappearance of
them when any effort was made to take
possession of them. On such occasions
it appeared that the tire would be yanked
ldown an embankment by means of
Icord. Naturally the drivers have said
little about being fooled
The first that the public knew that
Ianything out of the ordinary was going
on was yesterday, when it was told that
la Greenfield car containing two men had
been confronted by two masked men,
The driver was George Waterman, and
he stopped at the home of Guy B. Fair
bank and had Chief of Police George Will
son of Brattleboro notified
Mr.. Waterman said that when the men
appeared they held up their hands for
/ the ear to stop, and he noticed that each
! carried revolver He put on more pow
4 er, although he already was going at a
? good clip, and ran past safely at the
, same time telling his companion to duck
5 Mr. Waterman said nothing about
Eseeing any automobile tire on this occa
: sion. Chief Wilson asked John F. Gale
: Iof Guilford to make an investigation
a which was done, but no one was seen
Mr.. Gale went to Greenfield that after
S noon on business and told the facts oi
the case as he understood them to Chief
| lofPolice Manning.
i Lawrence Butterfield of Guilford say.
1 that while riding his bicycle home lat,
: Sunday night he overlook two mer
9 walking south of Mr. Gales house. 1t i.
{ mot known whether they had any con
e Enection with the hold-up that was at
tempted later.
o Carl Snow, who drives automobile fol
f f. Crosby & Co., says that on his wa,
: home from Greenfield Saturday night h,
noticed an automobile tire beside th
5 road, but a string attached to it ran dow
q La bank so he paid no attention to it.
r. 1t is evident that the two men do no
f operate while the heavy traffic is on, bn
, wait until late when only an occasiona
car is running Just what they expec
= to accomplish is not clear.