The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-01-30
THE HOLDU UP
By AUGUSTUS G. SHERWIN
lCopyright. l92o. wesiern Newspaper unienl

man mad suddenly appeared. revolver
extended. AT the other end two rough
ly dressed men stood ON .,ljard SINH
lariy grim and menacing.
Blair had been doing. The pleasant
race OF young lady seated opposite
10 nm fingered in his mind as he feH
INTO dreamy revere. 4 little child
accompanying her had climbed over 70
the window beside him. The former
PAD arisen to her feet, terror i'm Ecr
race. She reached for the child in
stantly and clasped her protecting!y,
not, however, until Blair had acted on
the impulse of quick thinker and an
experienced travelling man.
a hold up" had reached his hear
Ing, recalling to him that little case
IN his pocket contained four diamond
rings, each one worth several thousand
dollars As the little one was swept
from his side, he snatched the case
from his pocket and deposited it in
that of the jacket the little child wore.
March into the next car, you men ~
gruffly ordered the single intruder,
coming down the aisle. and the eight
male passengers meekIy and wisely
obeyed. They were driven across the
| platform into a coach. quickly discon-
nected, and the first coach and the ex-
press car ahead of it was run down a
| siding half a mile by the engine. The
| safe in the forward coach was ram
| sacked, and within the hour the train
! hands had righted things, gradually
| recovering from the shock of the adj
venture. Neva Drury and her little
niece, Caroline, reached their home at
| Wyburn. Miss Drury had noticed that
| the bright faced young man who had
! shown her little courteous attentions
| as a fellow traveller was missing. 1t
was not until afterward that she
/ learned that he and others had resist
ed confinement in the rear coach, and
he had been dealt heavy blow by one
| of the train robbers. When the train
resumed its course Rodney Blair lay
insensible and did not recover until
after they had reached the city.
1t was quite an excitable afternoon
at the Drury home. The hOldup ex-
perience had to be detailed and Gre
ated quite a thrill with the rest of the
household Then a diversion came.
| Neva had made her train journey to
| provide some little articles of dress
she required for party to which she
| had been invited. The Drurys were in
modest circumstances,
Neva was sewing on a dress the day
| a. III tI.,,,
startled her with the exclamation:
For mercy's sake! what has that
child got?'
Little Caroline sat on the floor play
ing with case, out of which four
rings had rolled. 4 dazzle of the most
bewildering radiance, the child was
tossing them about carelessly.
why, where did you get them, Caro-
llne?" inquired her sister.
Il found them in my pocket" was
the artless reply. 81 think the man on
the train put them there when the
teacher made him hold up his hands"
1t took Neva some time to figure out
the guesswork that instantly presented
itself to her mind. Within an hour
she had sent to the railroad Office at
the city, a succinct account of the cir
cumstance Is she comprehended it.
The evening of the party an irresiS-
tible impulse seized Neya to wear the
most beautiful of the four costly rings.
What harm could it do? Girl-like, the
prospect of exciting the wonderment
of her associates tempted her. Her
brother saw her safely to the house OF
her hostess, to call for her at eleven
/ O'Clock. The borrowed ring attracted
great attention and Neva enjoyed the
| mystification and interest of her girl
friends. She was all aglow with ex-
element and pleasure when she babe
her hostess good night. and the CLEAN
of the ring on her finger in the moon
light caused a sigh as she reflected
how she must soon get back to the
common things of life. Two roughly
dressed men strolling near the place
followed her and her brother. A third
person took up their trail in turn. AS
one of the men in advance knocked
the lad to the ground. and the other
seized Neya by the hand to divest her
of the glittering gem she wore. the
stranger interfered in time to tear the
miscreant baffled. free from the strug-
Cling girl. The twain dispersed. Star
ing at her rescuer Neva recognized the
man of the train.
81 called at your home and they
told me where you were" spoke Rod
/ ney Blair. 81 was anxious to get back
to the city, so 1 ventured to Intercept
you"
'Oh.! What must you think of me
| for risking one of your precious rings:'
| fiuttered Neva. Il am punished for
my vanity"
! ''No harm is DONE" replied Blair.
soothingIy. land you are surely en-
titled to it. as a reward for the safe
keeping and restoration of the others.
1t means good deal to me just start
ing In the diamond business. to re-
cover what l feared was irrevocahly
LOST
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