Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1874-01-12
Enn, rndin, netectives.

AS detectives, the East lndlan pOllce-
men, says a writer in Once A Week, ex-
hibit an acumen that would not disgrace
the most intelligent Of our own force. |
will give an instance of this that hap
pened lately. One day a well dressed
woman, apparently of the better class,
entered the house of sowcar or money
lender in Hyderabad. She seemed to
be in the most dire distress, and crying
bitterly. She informed the sowcar that
her husband was merchant, and that
he had embarked his all in stocking
shop that the shop keepers had agreed
together to ruin him that they had sue
ceeded in doing so and that now he
was lying in prison, sunk under a load
of debt, and the mercy of his pitiless
creditors. The only way of helping
him that she could think of was
to pawn her jewels, and that she
had accordingly brought them with her,
hoping that the sowear would advance
her such sum on them as would be
sufficient to liberate her husband. She
then produced her treasures-diamond
rings, earrings, pearl necklaces-ap-
parenty worth several thousand rupees,
and entreated him to lend her two
thousand rupees on them without delay.
He accordingly, having first tested the
gold setting, and found them Of pure
gold, judged the jewels to be also gem
uine, and thought that he might make
good thing out Of the transaction. SO,
after beating her down a hundred rupees,
he gave her the money. The woman
left the shop and disappeared. The SOW
car soon after showed the jewels to a
friend who was visiting him, who advised
him 10 examine the stones carefully,
which as yet he had not done. He had
concluded at the time he made the bar
gain that as the gold settings were un-
doubtedly of pure metal the stones also
would be genuine. He acted according
to his friends advice, and then discov.
cred to his horror, that they were all
clever limitations, worth nothing. There
was only the gold, worth about 94O, for
comfort He had been swindled clev-
erly out Of fifteen hundred rupees.
The only thing that remained for him
to do was to put the matter into the
hands of the police, in the hope of cap
turing the woman. They advised him
to say nothing of his having been
cheated but to give out that his house
had been broken into by a band OF
thieves, that everything had been carried
of, among which was large quantity OF
iewelry--that belonging to the woman
was to be minutely described-and that
he should offer large reward for the
discovery of the stolen goods, as, from
their having been deposited on pledge,
he would be involved in a great loss.
This he did, having it cried with beat of
tom.to through all the bazars.
Two or three days after a man came
to the sowcar, and said that he had been
in prison for debt; that his wife had
pawned her jewels to get hip out; that
since then his father had died and left
| him property; and that now he wished
to redeem the jewels that had been de-
posited with him. OF course, the SOW
car said he could not produce them, as
they had been stoleni but would the
man give him timer This was refused,
and the full value demanded, less the
sum lent and interest. A great deal OF
hagglng was donei in order to allow
time for the police to be summoned. On
their arrival be was taken into custody,
and woman and man we're punished.