The Wasp, 1913 · page 326 of 364
The Wasp — 1913 — page 326: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page appears to be from a serialized fiction story rather than a political cartoon—it's prose narrative text describing a character named James engaged in what seems to be a criminal scheme. The passage describes James conducting a jewelry theft or fraud (selling stones for gold), then disguising himself in various personas (dandy, scholar, mariner) to move through town undetected. He's carrying substantial money and diamonds to Stanton's lodgings under cover of darkness, having previously beaten someone named Robert Willis with a "supple-jack." **Without additional context**, it's unclear whether this satirizes a real historical figure or event, or is simply serialized fiction. The narrative emphasizes deception, criminal activity, and clandestine nighttime movement—suggesting either adventure fiction or social satire about urban crime. The specific reference to "Stanton" and the elaborate disguises suggest these may be recognizable characters to *The Wasp*'s contemporary readers, but modern readers would need additional historical context to identify them.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WASP 319 could still return upon occasion, he drove a far bet- ter bargain than any young lord would have driven, and left the premises with a canvas bag containing minted gold to at least one-third of the value of the stones. He returned straight to his lodgings. James continued to haunt the town of nights, sometimes as a dandy, sometimes as a decent, mid- dle-aged scholar with a slightly humped back, and sometimes as a bearded mariner. He saw nothing of Robert Willis; and it was not until the fifth night after he had administered the beating with - the supple-jack that he saw Stanton back in his fa- vorite tavern. He had been waiting for this very thing; and, as soon as darkness filled the streets again, he slipped out of his humble lodgings arrayed in his bravest attire. Hidden upon his gorgeous person he car- ried fifty guineas and, in the form of six fine dia- monds, the value of a thousand guineas. He hired a chair at the corner of the street and in it made the journey to Stanton’s lodgings. He paid and dismissed the men at the black doorway, and they did not wait to be told twice to return. Comichooks.com