Well—take it as you like, the deaf man has his share of excitement with all sorts of men. There seems to be no good reason that we should lead uneventful lives! I have often wondered what various pompous friends of mine would have done with the above situation. Or I should like to see them master another incident which involved the same man. Once he approached me as I stood talking with visitors. “I want you to do me a favor!” he said in the thick, eager voice of the intoxicated. “I want you to kick me, and kick me hard!” As I did not reply he thought I had not heard, so taking off his coat he backed up to me in a way any deaf person could understand! CHAPTER XV ALL IN A LIFETIME The Training School for Robbers—Eavesdroppers Who Heard Not a Word—The Fox and the Wolf—The Murderer—The Plans for Eloping—Regarding the Deaf as Uncanny—The Narrowness and Prejudice of the Deaf Themselves—Dancing and Singing Eliminated—The Blind and the Deaf, and the Man with Both Afflictions. On a lonely corner in New York City I once saw three boys practicing the gentle art of highway robbery. One played the part of victim; he walked along giving a good imitation of the ordinary citizen busy with his own thoughts, giving little attention to his surroundings. The other two boys approached him carelessly, apparently laughing at some joke. As they passed, one of the “robbers” suddenly turned and threw his left arm around the “citizen’s” head just below the chin. Then he quickly slid his right arm down to pinion the arms of the victim just above the elbow. He put his left knee at the middle of the victim’s back and pulled with the left arm. It was a murderous grip; the more the victim struggled the closer drew the “head lock” under his chin, and the neck was forced back to the breaking point. The other boys deftly emptied the unprotected pockets of watch and money. Then they threw the victim to the ground and ran away. They rehearsed this over and over—taking turns at the different positions, perfecting themselves in this barbarous business. I watched this fascinating play for some time, studying to think of some way in which the victim might defend himself. He might possibly use his feet, but taken unaware probably his breath would be shut off before he could organize any defense. One can easily realize how powerless an unsuspecting stranger would be at the hands of three trained villains such as these boys seemed likely to become.