The Penny Dreadfuls MEGAPACK™ (317 page)

‘”Throw something over her, and keep her warm, and have something ready to thrust into her mouth, in case she takes to screaming, and then you are all right.”

‘”Good,” he replied: “now wait here. I am going to yon house. When I’ve entered, and disappeared several minutes, you may quietly drive up, and take your station on the other side of the lamp-post.”

‘As he spoke he got out, and walked to a large house which he entered softly, and left the door ajar; and after he had gone in, I walked the horse quietly up to the lamp-post, and as I placed it, the horse and front of the cart were completely in the dark.

‘I had scarcely got up to the spot, when the door opened, and he looked out to see if anybody was passing. I gave him the word, and out he came, leaving the door, and came with what looked like a bundle of clothes, but which was the young girl and some clothes he had brought with him.

‘”Give her to me,” said I, “and jump up and take the reins; go on as quickly as you can.

‘I took the girl in my arms, and handed her into the back part of the chaise, while he jumped up, and drove away. I placed the young girl in an easy position upon some hay, and stuffed the clothes under her, so as to prevent the jolting from hurting her.

“Well,” said I, “you may as well come back here, and sit beside her: she is all right. You seem rather in a stew.~~

‘”Why, I have run with her in my arms, and altogether it has flurried me.”

‘”You had better have some brandy,” said I.

‘”No, no! don’t stop.”

‘”Pooh, pooh!” I replied, pulling up, “here is the last house we shall come to, to have a good stiff tumbler of hot brandy and water. Come, have you any change, about a sovereign will do, because I shall want change on the road? Come, be quick.”

‘He handed me a sovereign, saying, “Don’t you think it’s dangerous to stop—we may be watched, or she may wake.”

‘”Not a bit of it. She snores too loudly to wake just yet, and you’ll faint without the cordial; so keep a good look-out upon the wench, and you will recover your nerves again.”

‘As I spoke, I jumped out, and got two glasses of brandy and water, hot, strong, and sweet. I had in about two minutes made out of the house.

‘”Here,” said I, “drink—drink it all up—it will bring the eyes out of your head.”

‘I spoke the truth, for what with my recommendation and his nervousness and haste, he drank about half of it at a gulp.

‘I shall never forget his countenance. Ha! ha! ha! I can’t keep my mirth to myself. Just imagine the girl inside a covered cart, all dark, so dark that you could hardly see the outlines of the shadow of a man—and then imagine, if you can, a pair of keen eyes, that shone in the dark like cat’s eyes, suddenly give out a flash of light, and then turn round in their sockets, showing the whites awfully, and then listen to the fall of the glass, and see him grasp his throat with one hand, and thrust the other hand into his stomach.

‘There was a queer kind of voice came from his throat, and then something like a curse and a groan escaped him.

‘”Damn it,” said I; “what is the matter now—you’ve supped all the liquor—you are very nervous—you had better have another dose.”

‘”No more—no more,” he said, faintly and huskily, “no more, for God’s sake no more. I am almost choked, my throat is scalded, and my entrails on fire.”

“I told you it was hot,” said I.

‘”Yes, hot, boiling—go on. I’m mad with pain—push on.

‘”Will you have any water or anything to cool your throat?” said I.

‘”No, no—go on.

‘”Yes,” said I, “but the brandy and water is hot; however, it’s going down very fast now—very fast indeed, here is the last mouthful”; and as I said so, I gulped it down, returned with the one glass, and then paid for the damage.

‘This did not occupy five minutes, and away we came along the road at a devil of a pace, and we were all right enough; my friend behind me got over his scald, though he had a very sore gullet, and his intestines were in a very uncomfortable state; but he was better.

‘Away we rattled, the ground rattling to the horse’s hoofs and the wheels of the vehicle, the young girl still remaining in the same state of insensibility in which she had first been brought out.

‘No doubt she had taken a stronger dose of the opium than she was willing to admit. That was nothing to me, but made it all the better, because she gave the less trouble, and made it safer.

‘We got here easy enough, drove slap up to the door, which was opened in an instant, jumped out, took the girl, and carried her in.

‘When once these doors are shut upon anyone, they may rest assured that it is quite a settled thing, and they don’t get out very easy, save in a wooden surtout; indeed, I never lost a boarder by any other means; we always keep one connection, and they are usually so well satisfied, that they never take anyone away from us.

‘Well, well! I carried her indoors, and left her in a room by herself on a bed. She was a nice girl—a handsome girl, I suppose people would call her, and had a low, sweet and plaintive voice. But enough of this!

‘”She’s all right,” said I, when I returned to this room. “It’s all right—I have left her.”

‘”She isn’t dead?” he enquired, with much terror.

‘”Oh! no, no! she is only asleep, and has not woke up yet from the effects of the laudanum. Will you now give me one year’s pay in advance?”

“Yes,” he replied, as he handed the money, and the remainder of the bonds. “Now, how am I to do about getting back to London tonight?”

‘”You had better remain here.”

‘”Oh, no! I should go mad too, if I were to remain here; I must leave here soon.

‘”Well, will you go to the village inn?”

‘”How far is that off?”

‘”About a mile—you’ll reach it easy enough; I’ll drive you over for the matter of that, and leave you there. I shall take the cart there.”

“Very well, let it be so; I will go. Well, well, I am glad it is all over, and the sooner it is over for ever, the better. I am truly sorry for her, but it cannot be helped. It will kill her, I have no doubt; but that is all the better; she will escape the misery consequent upon her departure, and release us from a weight of care.”

‘”So it will,” said I, “but come, we must go at once, if going you are.

“Yes, yes,” he said hurriedly.

‘”Well, then, come along; the horse is not yet unharnessed, and if we do not make haste, we shall be too late to obtain a lodging for the night.”

‘”That is very good,” he said, somewhat wildly; “I am quite ready—quite.”

‘We left the house, and trotted off to the inn at a good rate, where we arrived in about ten minutes or less, and then I put up the horse, and saw him in the inn, and came back as quick as I could on foot. “Well, well,” I thought, “this will do, I have had a good day of it—paid well for business, and haven’t wanted for sport on the road.”

‘Well, I came to the conclusion that if the whole affair was to speedily end, it would be more in my pocket than if she were living, and she would be far happier in heaven than here, Mr Todd.’

‘Undoubtedly,’ said Mr Sweeney Todd, ‘undoubtedly that is a very just observation of yours.’

‘Well, then I set to work to find out how the matter could be managed, and I watched her until she awoke. She looked around her, and seemed much surprised, and confused, and did not seem to understand her position, while I remained near at hand.

‘She sighed deeply, and put her hand to her head, and appeared for a time quite unable to comprehend what had happened to her, or where she was.

‘I sent some tea to her, as I was not prepared to execute my purpose, and she seemed to recover, and asked some questions, but my man was dumb for the occasion, and would not speak, and the result was, she was very much frightened. I left her so for a week or two, and then, one day, I went into her cell. She had greatly altered in appearance, and looked very pale.

‘”Well,” said I, “how do you find yourself now?”

‘She looked up into my face, and shuddered; but she said in a calm voice, looking round her, “Where am I?”

‘”You are here!” said I, “and you’ll be very comfortable if you only take on kindly, but you will have a straight waistcoat put on you if you do not.”

‘”Good God!” she exclaimed, clasping her hands, “have they put me here—in—in—”

‘She could not finish the sentence, and I supplied the word which she did not utter, until I had done so, and then she screamed loudly, “A mad house!”

“Come,” said I, “this will never do; you must learn to be quiet, or you’ll have fearful consequences.”

‘”Oh, mercy, mercy! I will do no wrong! What have I done that I should be brought here—what have I done? They may have all I have if they will let me live in freedom. I care not where or how poor I may be. Oh! Henry, Henry!—if you knew where I was, would you not fly to my rescue? Yes, you would, you would!”

‘”Ah,” said I, “there is no Henry here, and you must be content to do without one.”

‘”I could not have believed that my brother would have acted such a base part. I did not think him wicked; although I knew him to be selfish, mean and stern, yet I did not think he intended such wickedness; but he thinks to rob me of all my property—yes, that is the object he has in sending me here.”

‘”No doubt,” said I.

‘”Shall I ever get out?” she enquired in a pitiful tone; “do not say my life is to be spent here.”

‘”Indeed it is,” said I; “while he lives, you’ll never leave these walls.”

‘”He shall not attain his end, for I have deeds about me that he will never be able to obtain; indeed he may kill me, but he cannot benefit by my death.”

‘”Well,” said I, “it serves him right. And how did you manage that matter—how did you contrive to get the deeds away?”

‘”Never mind that; it is a small deed, and I have secured it. I did not think he would have done this thing, but he may yet relent. Will you aid me? I shall be rich, and can pay you well.”

‘”But your brother?” said I.

‘”Oh, he is rich without mine, but he is over-avaricious; but say you will help me—only help me to get out, and you shall be no loser by the affair.”

‘”Very well,” said I. “Will you give me this deed as a security that you will keep your word?”

‘”Yes,” she replied, drawing forth the deed—a small parchment—from her bosom. “Take it, and now let me out; you shall be handsomely rewarded.”

‘”Ah!” said I, “but you must allow me first to settle this matter with my employers. You must really be mad. We do not hear of young ladies carrying deeds and parchments about them when they are in their senses.”

‘”You do not mean to betray me?” she said, springing up wildly, and running towards the deed, which I carefully placed in my breastcoat-pocket.

‘”Oh dear no! but I shall retain the deed, and speak to your brother about this matter.”

‘”My God! my God!” she exclaimed, and then she sank back on her bed, and in another moment she was covered with blood. She had burst a blood vessel.

‘I sent for a surgeon and physician, and they both gave it as their opinion that she could not be saved, and that a few hours would see the last of her.

‘That was the fact. She was dead before another half hour, and then I sent to the authorities for the purpose of burial; and, producing the certificate of the medical men, I had no difficulty, and she was buried all comfortably without any trouble.

* * * *

‘”Well,” thought I, “this is a very comfortable affair, but it will be more profitable than I had any idea of, and I must get my first reward first; and if there should be any difficulty, I have the deed to fall back upon.”

‘He came down next day, and appeared with rather a long face.

‘”Well,” said he, “how do matters go here?”

“Very well,” said I; “how is your throat?”

‘I thought he cast a malicious look at me, as much as to imply he laid it all to my charge.

‘”Pretty well,” he replied; “but I was ill for three days. How is the patient?”

‘”As well as you could possibly wish,” said I.

‘”She takes it kindly, eh? Well, I hardly expected it—but no matter. She’ll be a long while on hand, I perceive. You haven’t tried the frightening system yet, then?”

‘”Hadn’t any need,” I replied, putting the certificate of her burial in his hand.

‘He jumped as if he had been stung by an adder, and turned pale; but he soon recovered, and smiled complaisantly as he said, “Ah! well, I see you have been diligent; but I should have liked to have seen her, to have asked her about a missing deed, but no matter.”

‘”Now, about the two hundred pounds,” said I.

‘”Why,” said he, “I think one will do when you come to consider what you have received, and the short space of time and all: you have had a year’s board in advance.”

‘”I know I had; but because I have done more than you expected, and in a shorter time, instead of giving me more, you have the conscience to offer me less.”

‘”No, no, not the—the—what did you call it?—we’ll have nothing said about that—but here is a hundred pounds, and you are well paid.”

“Well,” said I, taking the money, “I must have five hundred pounds at any rate, and unless you give it me, I will tell other parties where a certain deed is to be found.”

‘”What deed?”

‘”The one you were alluding to. Give me four hundred more, and you shall have the deed.”

‘After much conversation and trouble he gave it to me, and I gave him the deed, with which he was well pleased, but looked hard at the money, and seemed to grieve at it very much.

‘Since that time I have heard that he was challenged by his sister’s lover, and they went out to fight a duel, and he fell—and died. The lover went to the continent, where he has since lived.’

‘Ah,’ said Sweeney Todd, ‘you had decidedly the best of this affair: nobody gained anything but you.’

‘Nobody at all that I know of, save distant relations, and I did very well; but then you know I can’t live upon nothing: it costs me something to keep my house and cellar, but I stick to business, and so I shall as long as business sticks to me.’

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

COLONEL JEFFREY MAKES ANOTHER EFFORT TO COME AT SWEENEY TODD’S SECRET