Los Angeles herald., 1909-09-03
DIAMOND MERCHANT
TELLS QUEER TALES
ROBBERS MAKE THEMSELVES
AT HOME
Partisan Jeweler Robbed by "Gentle-
men" Burglars-other News
Stories from French
Capital

PARIS, Sept. IN. Josephs Moos, a
retired diamond merchant living alone
in a large fiat on the Boulevard Saint
Denis, tells an amazing tale of an eX-
perience which he had with burglars
few nights since. He says:
"I had just entered my flat and was
going to my dressing room in the dark
when two strong men struck me in the
head and threw me on my bed, trying
to strangle me. 1 thought my last
hour had come. had not had time to
turn on the electric light. Suddenly
the room was lit up. 1 saw two men,
one of whom, young and we'll dressed,
held my throat with one hand ana
pointed a revolver at me with the
other, while his confederate, who was
older and in tatters, grasped me round
the wrist.
Gentlemen 1 cried, take what you
like, but spare my life. Here are the
keys of my strong box and my pocket
book with 600 francs in it. Come
along with us and don't open your lips
or you are a dead man. one of them
replied, and they dragged me to the
safe. When / opened it they found
four 100-franc notes, which they took.
There was also, under some papers,
little box containing about 10000 francs
worth of rings and pearls and a parcel
of diamonds l managed to hide all
the gems in the papers and the men
did not find them.
Bringing me back to my bedroom,
the two burglars said: Six hundred
and 400, that's 1000, poor haul There
must be more stuff here Whereupon
they went back to the strong box.
Having still found nothing more, they
took a scarf pin of considerable value
from table, then said. Now you have
given us all you've got, we won't hurt
you. You see, we brought ropes and
leather thongs to tie you up with. If
we had so wished you would have been
a dead man long ago.
Were Kind Gentlemen
Gentlemen, thank you," 1 replied,
"you seem kind gentlemen, both of
you They then sat down by my side
eating sweetmeats, which they offered
me, but l preferred to smoke a ciga-
rette. We shall stop here till in the
morning, one of them remarked pres
emily.
No, leave at once; do, please, I
rejoined. L swear upon the grave of
my mother that l will let you out by
calling to the porter that you have
p6eu u see Hle. 1uey TeluSeu, anu Sdlu
they would stay. Suddenly the young
er of them cried, Take his rings, too
pointing to one [ wear set with a sap
phire and diamonds 1T is a family
memento,' 1 said; please let me keep
it, and eventually the elder man de-
cided to do so.
"At length both agreed to leave, but
had to go down in front of them with
a revolver pointed at my back. 1 called
to the porter to open the door to friends
of M. Moos, and they went. 1 was
seized with a trembling fit when they
had disappeared, and could not call for
help until some minutes had elapsed"
The porter, being aroused, went for
the police, and M. Moos was found in
the vestibule of the house with his
face badly bruised. A complete exam
ination of his fiat was made, and vari
Gus objects with finger prints were
taken, but no other trace has yet been
found of the two kind gentlemen"
The police have a suspicion that M.
Moos' one maidservant, who sleeps in
the fifth floor of the house, knows more
about the business than she will ac-
knowledge, and she has been arrested.
She was aware that for several days
her master had in his safe a sum of