The Mysteries of the Court of London by Pauline Clarendon — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

THE FLIGHT AND THE PURSUIT 19 traveller, for all in an instant it flashed to his memory that he had about him his pocketbook, containing bills of ex- change and other documents of importance, which he had réceived during the last week of his tour, and which belonged to his employers, Messrs. Hodson and Morley, of Wood Street. “Come, now,” exclaimed the ruffian, as Mr. Page ex- hibited an inclination to offer resistance to the attempt at personal search, “none of your gammon with me, or I[’ll dash your brains out! ” And seizing the collar of the writhing victim with one hand, he brandished the club in a menacing manner with the other, so that Mr. Page was forced to surrender at discretion. The pocketbook was accordingly discovered by the thief in the course of a few moments, and when he had hastily glanced on its contents by the moonlight, he said in an abrupt tone of interrogation, ‘‘ Bills of exchange — eh? ”’ ‘“Y-e-s,”’ replied the miserable Page, who was shivering from head to foot, alike through cold and terror. “Well, they’re of more use to you than they are to me,”’ continued the robber, ‘‘ and so you may have the book back again for fifty guineas.” ‘Fifty guineas!’’ repeated the unhappy commercial traveller. “‘ I haven’t got a farthing left about me. You have taken my purse, which contains ten or a dozen guineas — ”’ ‘A miserable trifle!’’ exclaimed the robber. “Is it worth your while to give fifty guineas to have the pocket- book back, with all its contents, just as they are? ”’ “ Worth my while! ” cried Page, a gleam of hope breaking in upon him even through the black cloud of his present misfortune, ‘ to be sure it is. I should be ruined — utterly ruined — if I didn’t recover it.”’ “ Well, then,” said the man, “ I’ll tell you how we can manage the affair. To-morrow night, at nine o’clock pre- cisely, you must be walking about at the beginning of Tooley Street, — Just over London Bridge, you know, — and there you'll meet a young woman dressed in black. She won’t speak to you first, but you must go up to her and ask whether she’s waiting for anybody. She’ll reply that she has found something and is looking for the owner. Then you may tell her that you’re the person she’s expecting; COMIC OOO SS (GO)