A PLUCKY CONDUCTOR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81916, 17 January 1907, Page 4

A PLUCKY CONDUCTOR.

CAPTURES A UAXDIT WHO HOLDS LP A TRAIN. New York, November 2li. A masked bandit, who held up a train at midnight last ni-ht on the Chicago and Alton Railway, was captured by a courageous' conductor after he had relieved the passengers of their valuables. The bandit was an undersized and weakly-looking man nann-d Trueheart, and physically he was inferior to any of the passenger, who siibin.t ted to him meekly. He boarded an east-bound train at Slater, Missouri, and waited until the train had started on a lon- non-stop • run. Then he walked into'the smoking car, pointed a revolver at. She passengers, and gave the order. ■■Hands 'up." (Every pair -,.f huS.la m !b.' ear went up, and the bandit waik-d along from seat to seat and made his collection. He rilled the pockets of the passengers, taking iimncv, watches and jewellery, anil although he was unable to keep the passengers covered with his pistol, none, of them dared lo offer any resistance. When he had finished with the smoking car he went through two parlor cars in the same manner, and then started on the sleeping car. As he passed from one car to the other, the stationmaster at Glasgow, through which the train ran without stopping, saw him, and thinking something was wrong, telegraphed to Armstrong, the next station on the line. About the same time the conductor of the train, whose name is Heyward, learned of what was going on. and rushed into the sleeping ear. The bandit swung round ami covered him with his revolver, but the conductor darted to one side and then leaped on him, and bore him to the floor of the ear. The male passengers then came to the conductor's assistance, Trueheart was overpowered and bound with ropes. When the train stopped at Armstrong the police wera waiting lo receive Me prisoner, who was rlceog-' nised as the man who held up another' train successfully on November Dili la*t. As Trueheart was being Jed away b ythe poice he said: "The passengers are a lot of cowards hut the conductor is a Mini Dandv.'''

The police restored all the money and valuabcs found in Truehcart's possession to the conductor who distributed them to the owners after the train had resumed its journey. Trueheart's taking*, amounted to about £4OO.