A number of foreigners have been victimised in the last few weeks by a clever variation of the old begging game. The modus operandi seems to be the same in each case but evidence indicates that there is a regular gang at work and the bait consists of a violin. One local businessman discovered all about it when he used his wits against his visitor, a Russian, who after explaining his straitened circumstances and his starving wife and children declared that, being a musician, he had obtained a job but he could not take it up because his violin was in pawn and he did not have the be money to redeem it. In some cases, the victims fell, but in one case the the game was exposed. The visitor related his story and the businessmen agreed to redeem it, but instead of handing over the money to the Russian he obtained the pawn ticket from him and sent his own office assistant to the shop to get the violin. True enough, there was an expensive violin in pawn and it was redeemed, but when the businessman asked his visitor to play it the man hastily picked up his hat and took to his heels without saying a word!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.