The Helena independent., 1894-11-16
BOTH WERE WRONG.
Tho Men Looking for Swlnder and the
Man Who Thought He Was
Held Up.
AND MULLsNs NOWHERE IN SIGHT
Two Stories Made to FL by All Parties
Telling Their Troubles to a
Policeman.

A few days ago three well dressed
young men arrived In town and put up
at the Denver house, near the Northern
Pacific depot They had not been In
the city long before they became ac-
quainted with man named Mullen,
who claimed 60 he n railroader. Mullen
was a guest az the hotel and as the
house was crowded. he slept with one
OF the strangers. He was well dressed,
talked smoothly and was very enter
tanning. The two bedfellows soon be-
came warm friends. Mullen pretended
TO know his room-mate's father and
other relatives In Washington. He de-
scribed them and talked OF them so
famlliarly that the young man believed
what he said. Mullen pretended 20 have
quite little money. one day he gave
the proprietor OF the hotel a check for
$3.50 which he desired kept In the Office
for safety.
Matters went along very smoothly
until one afternoon the three young
men met Mullen up town. Mullen
needed slS at once and he borrowed II,
promising TO give his check for the sum
when they met in the hotel later on.
AS the young men did not have the ex-
act amount they gave Mullen SIS. Later
on Mullen tapped his friends for SIS
more. This last loan exhausted the
means Of the young men. but as they
had seen Mullens $3.50 check they felt
perfectly safe in giving him their
money.
When the young men returned to
their hotel, they found no trace OF Null
len, but they learned he had gotten his
check from the proprietor and left.
They became suspicious and notified
the police. Sergeant Murphy told them
they had probably been swindled. He
got Mullen's description and notified
the force. He also told the three men
To keep a sharp lookout for Mullen and
II they found him, to grab him and take
him TO an officer. The victims did their
best TO follow the sergeant's advice.
one OF them watched the saloons and
gambling houses up town and the two
others the depot They staid at the de-
pot until o'clock in the morning. when
they abandoned the field and started up
town.
About $50 a. m. Nels Nelson, the pro-
prietor OF the White Front. on upper
Main street. locked the front door of
his place and started homeward. He
walked down Main and turned into
Sixth avenue. He was whistling mer-
rily, when suddenly two men jumped
out of a shadow and yelled stop"
Nelson thought he was being held up.
He pulled gun about a foot long and
dashed past the two men on the walk.
The men made a grab for him, but
didn't get him. Then commenced race
down Helena avenL- Nelson was
| frightened and couldn't work his gun,
which was heavy self-acting weapon.
He ran as he never ran before. but his
lpursuers kept gaining. Finally Nelson
rushed up to a house and yelled for
some one TO open the door, all the time
keeping the long gun pointed at the two
men who came tearing up to the gate.
The door opened and Nelson got inside.
About twenty minutes afterwards
the two young men who had been
swlndled reported at the police station
that they had chased a man who an
swered Mullen's description into a
house That afternoon Nelson reported
To the police that two men had at
tempted To hold him up. Later Ser
geant Murphy took the two young fell
lows before him. Nelson looked at
them a moment and then exclaimed:
That's them. sergeant" Then the
mistake was explained.
Mullen has not been caught.