Penny Dreadfuls, 1916 · page 335 of 400
Tom Anderson, Dare-Devil: A Young Virginian in the Revolution — page 335: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a page of running prose from the penny dreadful *A Princess and a Cannibal* (page 317). The text describes social events surrounding a jewel called "the Aztec Ring"—a character known as Tom, "the Heir of the Aztec Ring," works for a French merchant and becomes the talk of society. At a card-party, a sharp-tongued Englishman named Dick arrives and trades insults with Tom over his fashionable dress. Lady Amy Dalton then mentions Dick's past romantic involvement with Rose Joséphine, a woman from Martinique who now lives in France, causing Dick visible distress as Tom escorts Lady Amy away.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A PRINCESS AND A CANNIBAL ity, tooth — flamed up and drew all eyes. Lord Mulerave said slowly: “It’s useless to hazard opinions about this jewel. Its magnificence, enhanced by antiquity, 1s mere guess- work. We must have expert testimony as to its money value.” “And that we must seek in Paris,” said the Princess. Meantime the jewel should be deposited for safe-keep- ing in a Bridgetown banking-house. The next two or three weeks were giddy ones: dinners and dances, flatteries, plans, anticipations. Tom stuck to Piet Huyck & Co. for a week. “Got to dig good English out of bad French for old man Huyck. Got to get my bread and butter, fellows!” said “the Heir of the Aztec Ring.” ‘That phrase was in everybody’s mouth. One night, at a card-party, as a young gentleman in an evening suit of white satin and white velvet, laced with silver, was on his way to the negus table, old Major Wray wheezed out: “Heir of the Aztec Ring, eh? Damme, sir; he looks the ‘part!”? And there in the door stood a young Englishman, his black brows curved into the coronis at the end of some blistering satire. “Tf I were the color of an old saddle, I would n’t wear the clothes of a young gentleman!” he drawled. Tom had just given his arm to Lady Amy Dalton. She turned and cast a glance over her dimpled shoulder. “Ah, Cousin Dick? When did you come? And how’s Rose Joséphine? If you don’t stop going to Martinique, you and the Viscount will cross swords yet. You were always dreadfully jealous, you know!” “That was a thrust,” said Tom quietly. “Who is Rose Joséphine?”’ “Dick’s old sweetheart. Most beautiful woman in Martinique. She lives in France now, however. She mar- ried the Vicomte de Beauharnais. When she was a young thing, she was wild about Dick.” The girl moved serenely down the room on the arm of the American. Dick was black in the face. b CORNICMOOO SS (C©) im