Mezzoni the Brigand — page 26: what you’re looking at

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

18 MEZZONI THE BRIGAND. his mouth at once, so that he could make no noise by way of giving an alarm. He was then tied se- curely to the bed in a recumbent position, and a sheet was thrown over his face. Here he had been obliged to lie, unable to move or speak, and hear the operations of the rogues. Of course he could not see, and indeed he could hardly breathe, until the gag was removed in the . morning. He could not say certainly, but believed that there were only two robbers engaged in the affair. They seemed to know everything about the establishment, and to have keys that opened all places which were secured by locks. There ap- peared to have been no hurry about the robbery; all was accomplished quietly, and with very few words spoken, as the watchman testified. This bold and successful burglary created the greatest consternation in Naples. People began to ask each other what use there was in supporting an elaborate and expensive system of police if they were not able to prevent outrages so gross and damaging to the public interest as this robbery, within sight of their very headquarters. It was true that the Jewish house which had suffered received little sympathy from the trade generally in their line, as they were looked upon by the Italian jewel- ers as innovators and rivals to a considerable de- gree. But still the principle was the same, and who might be the next victim? was the natural query which merchants asked each other with consterna- tion depicted in their faces. Of course this robbery was attributed to Mezzoni, and seemed to be a sort of defiant stroke in answer to the doubling of the reward offered by the govern- ment, *comicbooks.com