Year: 1874




AS detectives, the East Indian police
men, says writer in once Reek, ex-
Ihibit an acumen that would not disgrace
the most intelligent of our own force.
will give an instance of this that hap
Ipened lately. One day a addressed
woman, apparently OF the better class,
entered the house of a sowcar or money
llender in Hyderabad She seemed TO be
in the most dire distress, and was crying
bitterly. She informed the sowcar that
her husband was merchant, and that
he had embarked his all in stocking
shop; that the shop-keepers had agreed
together to ruin him, that they had sue
ceeded in doing so; and that he was now
| lying in prison, sunk under load oil
debt, at the mercy of his pitiless credit
ors. The only way of helping him that
she could think of was TO pawn her jew
els, and that she had accordingly brought
them with her, hoping that the sowcar


would advance her such sum on them
as would be sufficient 20 liberate her
husband. She then produced her treas
lures-diamond rings, earrings, pearl


necklaces, apparently worth several thou


sand rupees, and entreated him to lend


her two thousand rupees on them with


out delay. He accordingly, having first


tested the gold setting, and found them


of pure gold, judged the jewels 10 be also


genuine, and thought that he might make


4 good thing out Of the transaction. So,


after beating her down a hundred rupees,
he gave her the money. The woman left


the shop and disappeared. The sOwcar


shortly afterward happened TO show
these Jewels to a friend who was visiting
him, and was advised by him to examine
the stones carefully, which as yet he had


not done. He had concluded at the time
he made the bargain that, as the settings


were undoubtedly of pure metal, the


stones also would be genuine. lie acted


according 10 his friends advice, and
then discovered, 10 his horror, that they


were only clever limitations, worth moth
ing. There was only the gold, worth


about $40, for comfort He had been


cleverly swindled out Of fifteen hundred


rupees.


The only thing that remained for him


to do was to put the matter into the


hands Of the police, in the hope of cap


turing the woman. They advised him To


say nothing of his having been cheated,
but to give out that his house had been


broken into by a band of thieves, that


everything had been carried OIL among


which was large quantity Of iewelry-
that belonging to the woman was 10 be


minutely described-and that he should
offer large reward for the discovery of


the stolen goods, as from their having
been deposited on pledge, he would be
involved in q great loss. This he did,
having it cried with beat of tom-tom
! through all the baZaars.


Two or three days after man came
, to the sowcar, and said that he had been
in prison for debt that his wife had
;; Ipawned her jewels to get him out; that,
since then, his father had died and left
MIN property, and that he now wished TO
redeem the jewels that had been depos-
tied with him. Of course, the Sowcar
said he could not produce them, as they
had been stolen; but would the man give
him time This was refused, and the
full value demanded, less the sum lent
and interest. A great deal OF haggling
was done in order to allow time for the
police TO be summoned. ON their arrival
he was taken into custody.