In the end, his temporary connection with the Collège de Beauvais was ended by a fight, in which he defeated officers of the king's guard, forcing him once again to change his place of residence. The story is told in Latin by Gian Vittorio Rossi, a contemporary. He begins with a characterisation of Dempster that has been much repeated: "But, I don't know by what pact, those most mild-mannered sisters (the Muses) ... have embraced Thomas Dempster, a Scot, a man made for war and contention ... he allowed almost no day to go by empty of strife ... but that he should fight another by sword, or, if he had no sword, with fists ..." In the story, Dempster whips a student on the bare back for dueling, but the student, unable to bear the insult, brings in three relatives who happen to belong to the "custodes corporis Regis", the king's own bodyguard. In response Dempster arms the other students, surrounds the guardsmen and puts them in chains in the bell tower. In the resulting inquiry, "such a storm arose" that Thomas departed for England. The story says distinctly that England was a "safe refuge", meaning between the lines that Catholic prosecutors could not extradite him or threaten him with agents.