Page:The Necromancer, or, The Tale of the Black Forest Vol. 2.djvu/173

 Here Volkert stopped, fatigued and exhausted by the long narrative: I conversed a good while longer with him on his conjurations, and could not help mentioning, that I was very much surprised that his deceptions could have been kept so concealed, though he had always been obliged to rely on the assistance of other people: To which he replied,

"Your observation is very just, but your surprise will vanish, if you consider, that my assistants in cheating people, bore their share in the frauds I committed, and, of course, would not have escaped punishment, if they had not kept secret all transactions of that nature."

"It is more surprising," added he, "that one is always certain to find people who will lend their assistance in cheating their fellow citizens, and it is almost incredible how willing every one is to assist any im-