Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-11-22
ORIENTAL DETECTIVES.


Syria-PatieRce Rewarded.
We do not often hear Of the perform
ance of any smart detective work by the
natives of the far East, probably be-
cause they have no newspapers to make
sensations Of their exploits. But they
still do something in that way quite
worth recording.
One day in the early spring rich man
Of Sidon started for Beyrout. The jour
ney was made on muleback, and was a
trying one. The traveller, being an old
man. hired two muleteers to escort and
take care of him upon his way. He
carried considerable sum of gold in two
canvas sacks on his saddle
The road led across the Damur river,
and the journey progressed thus far
smoothly enough. At the river halt
was called, and one of the muleteers be-
gan, ostensibly, to sound with his staff
for the ford. This naturally attracted
the travellers attention. While he was
watching the man in the water the other
one crept up behind him and with blow
of his ponderous staff, beat out his brains.
The murderers loaded the gold on their
own animals, turned their victims mule
loose, and left the body where it lay.
Some days later it was discovered, re-
duced to skeleton by birds of prey, by
some travellers going toward Sidon. The
clothing Of the murdered man was sutfi-
cient to identify the remains.
The governor Of the province took the
matter in hand, but his search could not
reveal the identity of the murderers.
The victim had made his bargain with
his treacherous escort himself in the
street. Whe they were no one knew.
All that was known was that they were a
couple of the hundreds Of muleteers who
came to and went from Sidon every day
The governor, however, did not despair
He secretly and unknown to even his
own counsellors deputed two trustworthy
police agents to build a small hut amid
the bulrushes and bushes on the identical
spot where the body was discovered, and
there keep watch alternately night and
day, listening attentively to the theme of
conversation adopted by the wayfarers
who passed two and fro. These men
faithfully discharged their trust, and re
mained on the alert for eight long
months; but not word was ever over
heard that could in any way inculpate
any one. At last, one day in the depth
of winter, when it was blowing perfect
hurricane from seaward, and the breeze
carried all sounds spoken along the beach
side clearly and distinctly inland, the
two watchers had their keenest attention
awakened by fragments of conversation
which was borne to them upon the gale.
"What lucky thing, was it notgn
quoth one gruif voice, '.that no suspic-
ion has ever lighted upon our shoulders?'
eyes; but what is better still, " replied
the other, bushes and bulrushes have so
overgrown the place that few travellers
save ourselves could specify the identical
spot
The watchman waited to hear no more,
but, rushing out, seized the two speakers,
and the next day they were executed,
having confessed their crime.
Here is another equally interesting
case:
A huckster at Beyrout, man of violent
passions, one day had some angry words
with a shopkeeper in the bazaar, and, in
the fury of the moment, stabbed him to
death. Knowing well the fierce retribu-
ton that awaited such a crime, he in
stantly fed home, and having hurriedly
gathered together all his valuables he
rushed down to the beach, and, jumping
into an Arab boat, induced the owner Of
it to put to sea Immediately, and was
that night safely landed at Larnacea, in
Cyprus. This island was then under
Turkish sway, and the governor of ST.
don's authority was utterly powerless in
it; but, as he had brought the two mule
teers to justice, he determined not to
leave stone upturned in his efforts to
punish the culprit in this case also. He
hit upon his plan, but suffered months to
roll on till the scheme was well-matured
and ripe for operation.
Meanwhile the unsuspicious criminal
had established himself at larnacea, and
was there doing a thriving trade; so
much SO that, to the eyes Of the world,
he seemed to be succeeding all the bet
ter for the iniquity with which he was
loaded. After year had elapsed, the
emir sent trustworthy emissary to
Larnacea, who, under the pretense that
he was flying from the prosecutions of the
governor, took up his abode in Cyprus,
and. as a natural consequence, had not
been there many days before he encoun-
tered his old fellow-townsman, the cul-
prit, with whom his disguise 50 well
that he not only threw the
man off his guard, but actually induced |
him to enter into partnership with him.
For time things progressed, but by
some agency, mysterious to the guilty
man, all Of sudden the affairs of the |
firm became terribly embarrassed. They
were compelled, in short, to borrow large
sums of money, hoping soon to make
things square again. Matters, however,
went on from bad to worse, till bank
ruptcy and prison, or dishonorable fight,
to be the only alternative left /
to the tottering firm They chose the
latter; and it was agreed, though not
tnr u I-r -ea :. IL