The Roanoke times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1897-1977, 1898-01-14
HE WAS HOAIEsICK.
so HE WAS EASILY LURED ACROSS
THE MEXICAN LINE.

How an Amateur Detective Outvvitted an
Misunderstanding as n Torgcr In Exilo
Who Know of Rich Deposit of Orc
That Had Never Been reported.
never was i'll Mexico but once, and
then went as IN amateur detective"
said the mining expert. cit happened
this way: A friend of mine in Pittsburg
had his confidential clerk-to whom he
had given an opportunity by trusting
him fully-slip with $40, OOO He knew
where he was, just over the border
from San Diego. But he was safe, for
he kept religiously on the wrong side
OF the line. Several detectives had been
sent down there to lure him over, but
i'll somo way he had detected the detect,
i've in them, for they often acquire q
professional air in spite Of their best
efforts to the contrary
Il knew that my only chance would
be to go and live there as q fugitive
from Justice myself and so secure his
entire confidence I decided to DO o
forger. took up my abode in the
wretched little town and in about "a
hours was SO sick of it that was on tho
point OF throwing up the whole scheme
and going back. But my friend had
done mo many favor in business, and
Ill decency owed him some rcturn Of
course 1 did not make the slick mans
acquaintance. 1 was determined ho
should mako mine. He held off for sew
eral days, evidently thinking l was a
detective and expecting mo 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. He used to go out on tho
desert and look at the stars and stripes
across the border and wish he dared 20
back. Ho evidently began to think he
was worse imprisoned than if he had
been i'll some penitentiary.
FINALLY one day he venturcd to ad-
dress me. l replied very coldly to his
salutation, which only made him the
more anxious to know me. Flo began to
inquire into my business and find out
what 1 had come for. gave him no spe-
cial satisfaction until ono day said that
L had come for Il change Of air. With tho
same kind of air in the United States
few miles away this was, of course, alb
surd, and he concluded, as 1 intended
he should that was there for the same
reason he was, but l piled him with no
questions. Finally, in his impatience,
he burst out with:
WHAT'S the use of keeping up this
pretense longer? know and you know
that we are both on tho same errand
down here. 1t is truo, 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.
80 we confessed to each other, he tell
ing me all about his crime, which I
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 homo
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
so. But he wasn't, and knew that no
ordinary inducement would get him
where ho 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 ii all he was to get out of his ras-
callty was to sit and spend it slowly in
that little hole of Mexican town
Il had already interested him with
my stories of fortunes that had been
m ri in, l,,,1
told him l 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 1 could
get some moro to put with it, l told
INN 1T was i'll an out of the way local
ity i'll 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 if l would and go and look at the
property. The rest was easy 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,
declared that we We're safe from all in
reference and that we might as we'll
take it easy. This proved contagious,
and saw that would have no difficult
ty i'll getting him to the point I had
designated to the officers.
I'VE were riding slowly along i'll the
hot sun of the desert when suddenly
from behind q butte two men on horses
shot out and rode swiftly toward us and
were upon us almost before we had time
TO realiZn it Althnnuh L Ind ox.nntod