The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-09-30
HE WAS HOMESICK.
ne WAS EASILY LURED ACROSS
THE MEXICAN LINE.


,.or went as an amateur detective, "
Ia the mining expert 1T happened
.his way: A friend of mine in Pittsburg
Ia his confidential clerk-to whom he
hod oiyen an opportunity by trusting
him fully-skip with so, 900 He knew
rbere he was, just over the border
som San Diego. But he was safe, for
so kent religiously on the wrong side
g tbe line. Several detectives had been
Inf down there to lure him over, but
- somo way he had detected the detect
;re in them, for they often acquire a
Confessional air in spite of their best
efforts to tho contrary.
81 knew that my only chance would
10 70 90 and live there as a fugitive
from Justice myself and so secure his
entire confidence. l decided to be a
foroer | took up my abode in the
v,rotchcd little town and in about "a
boprs was SO sick of it that was on the
point Of throwing up the whole scheme
and going back But my friend had
done me many favor i'll business, and
in deconcy ] owed him some return OF
courso did not make the slick man $
acouaintance. | was determined he
sbould make mine. He held off for sew
eral days, evidently thinking | was n
detective and expecting me to make, as
they had always done, approaches to
him. But kept away, as if were sus-
picious Of him The fellow was dread
fully homesick. and don t wonder, in
that place lie used to so out on the
desert and look at the stars and stripes
across the border and wish he dared go
back. He evidently began TO think he
was worse imprisoned than if he had
been in some penitentiary.
Finally one day he ventured to adj
dress me. l replied very coldly to his
salutation, which only made him the
more anxious to know me. He began to
inquire into my business and find out
what | had come for. / gave him no spe-
cial satisfaction until one day said that
| had come for change of air. With the
same kind of air in the United States
few miles away this was, of course, alb
surd, and he concluded as l intended
he should, that was there for the same
reason he was, but | piled him with no
questions Finally, i'll his Impotence,
he burst out with;
What's the use of keeping up this
pretense longer? l know and you know
that we are both on the same errand
down here 1t is true, as you say, we
can't live over there'-pointing to-
ward the country over the border Let's
own up and have done with the farce
So we confessed to each other, he tell
ing ne all about his crime, which
knew already, and l telling him al
about my imaginary iniquity
THAT was as far as we got fer
awhile, but it did him good For it left
him free 10 talk. He was very home
sick, and we both acknowledged that it
would be almost pleasanter to give our
selves Up and serve out our terms than
to stay there the rest of our lives i once
or twice limited that | was ready TO do
so, But he wasn't, and knew that no
ordinary inducement would get him
where he could be taken But he had
no opportunity Of investing his money,
and his cupidity naturally forced him
10 see that he had made very poor bar
gam If all he was to get out of his ras-
callty was to sit and spend it slowly in
that little hole Of a Mexican town.
i had already interested him with
my stories of fortunes that had been
made III lucky mine investments, and
Vold HIM l knew Of one rich deposit
winch l had never reported to any one,
intending to invest the amount of my
forgery in its development if / could
gee some more to put with it, / told
MN 1t was i'll an out of the way local
Hy IN southern Arizona, and that we
could get there without detection if we
would go on foot or burro back and
avoid the railroads. Finally he con-
Guided that he was willing to take the
risk II | would and go and look at the
property The rest was easy. / wrote
a'once for an officer to be ready to head
s Us vi while crossing the Colorado river.
we mad travelled some distance without
peinS challenged or exciting suspicion.
'Irew Off my pretended apprehension,
ueciared that we were safe from all in
.erlerence and that we might as we'll
Jake IL easy. This proved contagious,
anu saw that would have no Difficult
y IN getting him to the point had
ueslgnated to the officers.
We were riding slowly along in the
so' sun OF the desert when suddenly
lonl behind butte two men on horses
snoV out and rode swiftly toward us and
were upon us almost before we had time
y. " realize 1T. Although | had expected
'"en' confess was taken by surprise
EN- r. was done so quickly and success
, ,ui,y VI course they handcuffed me as
Meii as nm. But before we had reached
Sno railroad station they had released
o. no, ana he understood how he had been
- expected he would burst out
~, curses and reproaches, especially
o %nen they confiscated what he had left
:. us stealings. But he didn't In fact,
Az A. was SO great relief that he made no
,o .onse at the trial and took his SEN
'NuCb with