CAR DRIVER ASSAULTED.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1701, 18 March 1913, Page 6

CAR DRIVER ASSAULTED.

, MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR, ■ (By Telegraph!— Press Association.) ' ; Auckland, March. 17. 4 There was considerable improvement yesterday in the'. condition ut the man ±irneste, who >vas the victim of assault in llayr Bond early on Saturday morning. A "Herald" representative wiio visited nim in hospital,, lound him with lus head swatheu ill. bandages, and u most conspicuous blacK eye. He was, however, able to give a more detailed, account oftne mysteno,us. proceedings., .. ■ Shortly alter - 11;-pan; on' Friday, he said, wnile at tiio car stand'; in yueen Street, he answered a telephone;;cali. A man's voice asked for another cur on the staud, but that car, was away at the time, ana De Erneste .v;as told that his car ivould. do. He was to go to the maii-o'-war steps, and take two men to Three Kings, calling in at Newmarket station. De Erneste went to the appointed place, . where two rather rough-iooking iii.eii boarded the car and were driven to Newmarket station, where they got out to look ior a man named "uob." The latter, however, was not to be found, and the party proceeded to Three Kings, where the' men instructed De Erneste to turn up a certain street. Ho did eo, and, shortly afterwards, tlip. men clodded that they-.weru- in the wrong street, and requested the .driver to proceed to tho next, 'x'mnkjug that they were behaving in a peculiar manner, lie asked them, if they really knew where they /wanted to go. They said that they were sure that the next-street (Hayr lioad) was the one, and ho accordingly took them there. He looked at his. watch, and found that it was close upon midnight. About halfway up Hayr Road, he continued, the nlen, said' that /they. were ■ near ,the gate of a certain house, and wanted to get out. De Erneste stopped the-.car and asked them if ho had better not drive tlieiii right'to the gate, and; after some demur, they .consented. : De Erneste then ran the car ipto the first gate, and that was the last .he ■ remembered. He considers that lie must have been, hit by two full beer, bottles, .as his clothes were soaked With beer/-and the.-bottom. .of. the. car'was strewn, with broken glass—amongst it two bottle necks,. with the 'capsults. stiu oil. 'AViien he returned, to consciousness lie was lying on the road feeling very sick. He was found, as before stated, ; by Air. I'reston,' and after a lest was taken to the Hospital. .

De,Erneste could.not; account for the affair in any way. .He had not .seen the two , men before, but - would l- ecognise them again if lie saw. them.