Mezzoni the Brigand — page 143: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

7 MEZZONI THE BRIGAND. 135 to be a little slimmer than Alberto, and yet the de- tective felt as though it must be he. He hastened at once to the headquarters of the night police, saw the presiding official, who knew him very well by this time, and after making his er- rand known, asked for a warrant to enter the Ama- deo palace, and also for the assistance of ‘three good men, who could be relied upon in any emergency. He would not commit himself by saying that the man he had seen enter was Alberto Corrello, but he was willing to take upon himself the risk of an ar- rest. He had a warrant duly executed for the culty man, but he had no authority to enter the palace of the late Count Amadeo. “*Though this is somewhat unusual,”’ said the night prefect, “‘I shall give you the warrant and the men, as you have heretofore shown yourself to be judi- cious and correct.”’ ‘“At once?”’ said the detective. ‘‘Immediately.”’ ‘‘Hlse our bird may be flown.’’ ‘There shall be no delay.” ‘Let us be off, then.”’ Three good and tried men were at once detailed to accompany the detective, who, armed with the necessary warrant, soon hastened back to the spot he had just left. On the way he explained his plans to the men, and told them that they had no common rogue to deal with. Their purpose was to arrest, not to kill; if they struck, it must be to disable, not to take life—that was to be spared to the last. There was a handsome reward offered for the arrest of the. thief of Woolf & Co.’s store. If this was Alberto Corrello, as he thought, they would divide the re- ward equally among them. EComicbooks a . (e(0) ha ay