Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 May 1895 — Lost One Pair. [ARTICLE]

Lost One Pair.

Thackeray once asked one of the men who lets out skates on the Serpentine whether he had ever lost a pair through the omission to exact a deposit, and he replied that he had never done so, except on one occasion, when the circumstances made it pardonable. A well-dressed young fellow was having his second skate fastened on when he suddenly broke away from the man’s hands and dashed on to the ice. The next instant a thick-set, powerful man was clamoring for another pair. “I shall nab him now,” he cried, “for I am a dab at skating.” He was a sheriff’s officer in pursuit of his prey, and a very animating sight it was to watch the chase. He was, as he had boasted, a first-rate skater, and it became presently obvious that he was running down his man. Then tne young fellow determined to run a desperate risk for liberty. The ice, as usual, under the bridge was marked “dangerous,” and he made for it at headlong speed. The ice bent beneath his weight, but he got safely through. The sheriff's officer followed with equal pluck, but, being a heavier man, broke through and was drowned. “His skates,” said the narrator of the incident, “I got back after the inquest, but those the young gentleman had on I never saw again.”