Exchanging fish for a WATCH.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1075, 18 May 1882, Page 4

Exchanging fish for a WATCH.

When a certain gentleman living on Common worth avenue, Boston, left his house to go down to business one morning recently, he forgo! his watch and left it under his pillow. It so happened that when our merchant got oS the horse-car he met a friend who inquired of him the time. Feeling for his time-piece, and finding it was not in his pocket, gent. No. I said : ‘ Why I’ve left it under my pillow.’ An hour or two later that watch was in the hands of a nobby young man, who presented the wife of the merchant, at her residence, with a pair of very fine fish, as coming from her husband, and told the lady that Mr had sent for his watch, which she would find under his pillow. The wife had no suspicion of the dapper young man, especially when she saw the beautiful present her lord had sent her. “ Those fish yon sent me dear, were just elegant, and 1 know we’ll enjoy them so much at dinner,” said the affectionate wife when her husband returned to the bosom of his family that evening. " What fish do you mean, love ? I am sure I haven’t sent anything here to-day.” ” 0, yes, you did ; have you forgotten the gentleman who came for your watch ? He brought the fish.” “ And he got the watch ?” “ Why. of course, I gave it to him ; he even told me where I could find it —under your pillow.” “ Then that beautiful pair of fish have just cost us 150dols. I never sent any man for my watch, and you have been the victim of a swindler.” The wife was much distressed, of course, and her husband felt very badly over the loss of a present given him by a cherished friend It was some hours before he could conjecture how in the world the thief eould have ascertained the exact position of his “ ticker,” but at last fie thought out a theory, which he gives as follows : He supposes that when he made the remark to his friend about having left his wateh at home the thief was close to him on the sidewalk and overheard it. Then it was an easy matter to follow the merchant to his place of business, find out who he was, and then bv use of a directory ascertain his residence and go for the watch. Nothing has been heard of the thief and most probably nothing ever will be. •