THE OLD, OLD STORY.

Shannon News, 5 June 1925, Page 1

THE OLD, OLD STORY.

CONFIDENCE TRICK AGAIN. AUSTRALIAN AND HIS MONEY. Mr Daniel Ballantyne, a young Australian engineer, who has been visiting London,.is not likely to forget his first few days v there. Mr Ballantyne, who had gone over for a holiday in England after four years in America, told an interviewer the full story of his adventure and his loss. “The two men who got my £9OO simply raced me around,” he said, “They gave me no time to think, but how they picked *on me gets me guessing. Just after I had deposited my money in the Commonwealth Bank I was walking along Kingsway, when a young- man asked me if I could direct him to some church which he wanted to see. I told him I had no idea w'here it was as I had only landed from the Aquitania the day before. “ ‘Oh!’ he said. ‘l’m an Australian —I come from Sydney—l‘m just over here for a holiday. He gave me his name as Thompson, and we talked about Sydney and Australia generally. I was rather glad to, have a man from my own home town to talk to. Well, on Saturday, we went round visiting museums, and on Sunday I met ‘Thompson’ again by appointment and we went to see some of the churches. I am a constructional engineer and ‘Thompson’ professed to be interested ;n architecture.

“On Monday .1 met Thompson’ early in the morning, and among other places we visited the Zoological Gardens. As we were walking along there a man in front of us dropped a letter and I picked it up and returned it to him. It was in a registered envelope, very bulky, and addressed to a woman in Ireland. The man who had dropped it was profuse in his thanks and said the envelope contained £SO which he was sending to his old mother in Ireland. A £40,000 “Inheritance.” “The three of us remained together for the greater part of the day, and both ‘Thompson’ and I confided in the stranger, who said his name was Doyle, that we were ;Australians visiting England for the first time. Doyle’ told us he was an Irishman, and had inherited over £40,000 from his father, who had gone over to America as an emigrant and had had most romantic luck in the oil fields. “The next day the three of us met again, and in a restaurant ‘Doyle’ showed us a newspaper article about his father and the romantic way in which he had made a fortune. The article stated that of the £40,000 which was to come to ‘Doyle £IO,OOO was to be distributed in the British colonies within a year. ‘Doyle’ said his difficulty was that he knew no deserving charities in the colonies. ‘Thompson’ and I mentioned some in Australia, and ‘Doyle’ asked us if we would undertake the distribution in the Commonwealth. We were to receive £2OO for our services. ‘Thompson’ agreed immediately. Then came the question whether we could be trusted with so large a sum to distribute.

“ ‘Doyle,’ in the most engaging manner, said there must be absolute confidence between us. ‘Thompson’ showed a cheque-book and a bank pass-book, but ‘Doyle’ said they conveyed nothing - to him, as he could scarcely understand figures and left his business affairs in the hands of his priest in Ireland. “But, he said. T like you two Australians, and I want to do this thing myself. If you can show me cash, I will fix .the deal at once. So ‘Thompson’ left us for a little, saying he would go to his bank. He returned in 15 minutes or so with a bundle of bank notes which he handed to ‘Doyle.’ I have had my suspicions about those banknotes since.

Mr Ballantync's “Turn.” “Then, of course, it came to my turn. There was not much time to get to the bank, and 1 rushed into a taxi-cab. The two kept on talking to me and -waited outside the bank while I went in and drew the £9O0 — in £lO, £2O, and £SO notes. It was then suggested by ‘Thompson’ that we should go to the Waldorf Hotel and complete the final business. “At the hotel tea was ordered, and ‘Thompson’ took off his overcoat and discussed the whofc scheme with ‘Doyle.’ Then it came to the question of my money, and ‘Doyle’ suggested that he and Thompson’ should go round the corner to count my money while I finished my cup of tea. They lvould be back in two minutes, he said. As soon as they had left me it suddenly dawned on me that the whole thing was a trick. 1 jumped up and ran out, but the two were nowhere to be seen.

“I took up “Thompson’s’ overcoat, which was lying on a chair, and examined it, but there was nothing at

all in the pockets. Then I went to Bow Street Police Station and gave them the particulars. I was shown photographs from the Criminal Record Office at Scotland Yard, and I was able to pick out one as that of ‘Thompson,’ who is, I am told, well known as a confidence trickster.”