The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 6, Issue 8 (April 1, 1932.)
An Adventure With Bandits
An Adventure With Bandits.
It was the privilege of the writer, in 1922, to meet with a curious adventure when travelling on a business trip on a certain Chinese railway.
He just left his compartment to have dinner in the dining-car when the train suddenly slowed down, stopped, retracted and rushed forward with great speed. A crash, a severe shock, and a fusillade from some 500 guns ensued simultaneously, forcing the passengers to drop on the floor of the carriages. When the train reached the first station we learned that a pile of sleepers was put on the rails to stop our train, that the bandits were in an ambush awaiting the stopping of the train, and that only the presence of mind of the experienced engine-driver had saved us from being properly robbed. One passenger and the guard of the van were, nevertheless, killed by stray bullets, and the writer brought home his bag with a lead bullet inside, flattened by two partitions in the car that it had penetrated.
Under such conditions it will be seen that there is plenty of room for improvements and developments, especially in the railway business of the great Celestial Empire.
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