MIGRANT ROBBED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 526, 1 December 1928, Page 29

MIGRANT ROBBED

SYDNEY CONFIDENCE MAN QUICKLY-CASHED CHEQUE In Sydney recently a young Eng- J lishman was accosted, by a stranger with a pleasant manner, who asked to be directed to a certain address. “I’m a complete stranger here,” the man explained.- “I’m from the country. The pater has an option over some land allotments out Cronulla way. The option expires at 12 o’clock to-day, and I’m here to pay a deposit on the investment.” They chatted together for a time, and the Englishman confessed that he, too, was a complete stranger to Sydney, expressing regret that he could not be of service to his new acquaintance. At this juncture, however, the acquaintance discovered that strangely enough the office he sought was in the building just across the road. But he was loth to say good-bye to the Englishman. “We Won’t Be Long” “Come in with me,” he said. “I won’t be long, and then we can have some lunch together.” They went upstairs, found the land agent, and the stranger explained that he had come to pay a deposit on the twenty allotments over which his father held the option. The land agent recollected the name without difficulty. “But your father’s option is over 24 blocks,” he said. Then the stranger found he had only j enough money to pay the deposit on i the 20 blocks. The position was | tragic. Here was a perfectly good | option over four blocks of land which

in a few days would turn over an enormous profit, and at 12 o’clock the option was going to expire because the stranger did not have the money to pay the deposit. It was too bad. The stranger had a happy thought. “Why don’t you take those four blocks?” he said to the Englishman. “It’s a great little investment.” At length the Englishman agreed, and wrote out a cheque for £26, which he paid to the land agent. When he got outside, however, he reflected that he might have been indiscreet, especially as his acquaintance excused him self and disappeared. He had heard of confidence tricks somewhere. So he hurried along to his bank to stop payment on the cheque. When he got there he found that the cheque had already been cashed. A short time afterwards he discovered that the land agent had flown, so he communicated with the police. They are still looking for the affable stranger and his friend, the land agent.