It happened late on a Monday evening in the Aalten rural district of Lintelo. Wrapped up well against the weather, a water-board employee had taken up position on the Bleekbrug to keep an eye on ice drifting along the Slingerbeek. A farmer crossed the bridge and noticed the man, buried deep in the collar of his coat.
In true Aalten fashion, the two men muttered good evening and, for the time being at least, the encounter seemed over. A little later, however, the farmer retraced his steps and tried to cross the bridge again. The unsuspecting ice watchman, who was expecting one of his superiors, approached the farmer and asked whether he might be his boss. The question was misunderstood, as was the approach itself. The farmer suddenly took the ice watchman for a dangerous attacker. He immediately summoned a number of neighbours who were quite prepared to deal with the matter. Things were therefore beginning to look rather grim for the man on the bridge.
Only the rapid arrival of the police, who had meanwhile been alerted, saved him from serious harm. By the time they arrived, only the buttons from the water-board man’s coat were still rolling across the bridge deck. The misunderstanding was quickly cleared up. Over steaming cups of coffee, everyone continued to laugh heartily for some time about an adventure that, fortunately, had ended well.