Penny Blood Serial Fiction — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

THE CATALOGUE OF CRIMES 5 just now stated, was famous for his charities and was a sleep- ing-partner in the principal bank in the place —this gentle- man of whom everybody entertained such a high opinion — ” ‘“ Well — well; what has he done?” cried several im- patient voices. ) ‘““ Rather ask me what he has not done,” said Page; “ for surely all possible crimes are summed up in fraud — forgery — murder — and arson! ”’ “Good heaven! ”’ ejaculated the bagmen, literally bound- ing upon their chairs, while the sentiments of horror, amaze- ment, doubt, and curiosity congealed into lines on all their countenances, “‘ you cannot be in earnest! ”’ ‘“] never was more in earnest in my life, friends,” re- sponded Page, emphatically. ~“ But explain — tell us how it happened,” exclaimed one. ‘“So many crimes! ’’ observed another. “ And all to be perpetrated by one man!”’ cried a third. ‘It is scarcely probable! ’’ remarked a fourth. “You will cease to be skeptical when you see to-morrow morning’s newspapers,’ said Page, shaking his head solemnly. “JT tell you that Sir Richard Stamford, baronet,” he con- tinued in a measured and decisive tone, “ has taken in every tradesman at Aylesbury — committed endless forgeries on the bank in which he is a partner — assassinated his beautiful wife — and set fire to his own splendid country-seat.”’ ‘“God help us! ”’ cried many voices. ‘| did not succeed in obtaining many particulars relative to this fearful catalogue of crimes,’’ continued Mr. Page; ‘for the persons with whom I conversed in the coffee-room at Aylesbury were all talking at once, each giving his own version of the complicated affair, and every one of these tales differing from the rest. But the outline of the dreadful tragedy appeared to be something in this shape, — that Mr. Martin, one of the banking firm, being absent, Mr. Ramsey, the other partner, discovered last evening the forgeries which Sir Richard Stamford had committed; that he went straight off to Stamford Manor to demand explanations, but that the baronet being out at the time, he communicated the object of his visit to Lady Stamford; that. a little after midnight Sir Richard returned home, and was assailed by violent re- proaches on the part of Mr. Ramsey and bitter upbraidings from her ladyship, who was half-distracted at the terrible GOMmiiGcsdoo eS) (CO)