The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1897-09-29
HE WAS HOMESICK..
so HE WAS EASILY LURED ACROSS
THE MEXICAN LINE.

How an Amateur Detective outwitted al
Embezzler-Posing rs a Forger In ExiI,
Who Knew Of Rich Deposit of Or,
That Had Never Been Reported.
81 never was in Mexico but once, ant
then went as an amateur detective, >
said the mining expert. at happened
this way: A friend of mine in Pittsburp
had his confidential clerk-to whom ht
had given an opportunity by trusting
him fully-skip with $40, 900. He knew
where he was, just over the border
from San Diego. But he was safe, fol-
he kept religiously on the wrong side
Of the line Several detectives had been
sent down there to lure him over, but
in some way he had detected the detect
i've in them, for they often acquire a
professional air in spite Of their best
efforts to the contrary.
81 knew that my only chance would
be to go and live there as fugitive
from justice myself and so secure his
entire confidence l decided to be a
forger. / took up my abode i'll the
wretched little town and in about "a
hours 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 n favor in business, and
in deeency / owed him some return. OF
course did not make the slick man S
acquaintance. was determined he
should make mine. He held off for sew
eral days, evidently thinking l was n
detective and expecting Inc to make, as
they had always done, approaches to
him. But kept away, as il were sus-
picious OF him. The fellow was dread
fully homesiek, and l don't wonder, III
that place. He used to go 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 i'll some penitentiary.
Finally one day he ventured to adj
dress me, 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 l had come for. gave him no spe-
cial satisfaction until one day I said that
i had come for change Of air. With the
same kind Of air in the United States u
few miles away this was, Of course, alb
surd, and no concluded, as 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? 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 me all about his crime, which
knew already, and 1 telling him all
about my imaginary iniquity
THAT WAS as far as we got for
awhile, but it did him good. For it left
him FREQ to talk. He was very home
sick, and we both acknowledged that it
would DO almost pleasanter to give our
selves up and serve out our terms than
to stay there the rest of our lives. l once
or twice limited that was ready to do
30. But he wasn't, and knew that no
ordinary inducement would get him
where no could be taken. But he had
no opportunity of investing his money,
and his cupidity naturally forced him
to see that he had made very poor bar
gain if all he was to get out of his ras-
cality was to sit and spend it slowly in
that little hole of Mexican town.
II had already interested him with
my stories of fortunes that had been
made in lucky mine Investments, and
told him | knew of one rich deposit
which / had never reported to any one,
intending to invest the amount of my
forgery i'll its development if could
get some moro to put with it. i told
him it was in an out of tho way local
tty in southern Arizona, and that we
could get there without detection if We
would go ON foot or burro back and
avoid tho railroads. Finally he CON
cluded that he was willing to take the
risk if / would and go and look at the
property. The rest was easy. l wrote
at once for an officer to be ready to head
us Off while crossing the Colorado river.
We had travelled some distance without
being challenged or exciting suspicion.
threw off my pretended apprehension,
dnr1ara1 that SOD 60 frn,,, a11 IN,
reference and that we might as well
take it easy. This proved contagious,
and l saw that would have no difficult
ty In getting him to tho point had
designated to the officers.
1--WE were riding slowly along in the
hot sun of the desert when suddenly
from behind butte two men on horses
shot out and rode swiftly toward us and
were upon us almost before we had time
to realize it. Although l had expected
them, confess l was taken by surprise
it was done so quickly and success
fully. OF course they handcuffed me as
we'll MS him But before we had reached
the railroad station they had released
me, and he understood how he had been
fooled. expected he would burst out
in cures and reproaches especially
when they ccnfiseated what he had left
Of his stealinss. But he didn't In fact,
it was SO great relief that he made no
defense at the trial and took his SEN
tence with great indifference. would
hardly have been surprised if he had
thanked me for the favor-he was Sc
thoroughly sick of exile. Chicago
Times Herald.
Mans Superior Ability.
II guess | amt SO coarse, said the
patient animal
"Oh, l don't know" retorted Ba.