What was there in the chair that Johanna should for some few moments, now that she had begun to look at it, not be able to take her eyes off it? She tried to shake it, but it was as fast as a rock, and for all she knew it was quite usual to have a shaving chair fixed to the floor. In all likelihood it was in the best position for light which the dingy shop afforded. She left the chair at last, and then a large cupboard in one corner of the room attracted her attention. It was locked. In vain did she try to force it open. It would not yield. She tried, too, the parlour door without effect. That was quite fast; but as she turned the handle of the lock, she fancied she heard, or she really did hear something move in the room. A faint feeling came over her for a moment, and she was glad to hold by the wall, close at hand, to support herself.
"It must have been fancy," she said faintly. "I am learning nothing, and the time is flying fast."
A kind of counter ran parallel to the window, and beneath it was a space covered in by doors. Todd surely had forgotten that, for one of the doors was open. Johanna looked in and beheld quite a collection of sticks and umbrellas. Some clothing too lay upon the lowest shelf. With trembling hands, Johanna pulled at the sleeve of some article and found it to be a jacket, such as a sailor of the better sort might wear, for it was exquisitively fine, and had no end of silver buttons upon it. Her sight was dimmed by tears, as she said to herself--
"Oh, God! was this his?"
She held the jacket up to the light, and she found the breast portion of it stained, and all the buttons there tarnished. What was it but blood? The blood of the hapless wearer of that article of dress, that produced such an effect; but yet how was she to prove to herself that it had been Mark Ingestrie? Then it was that the thought struck her of how ill conceived had been that undertaking, which might, in the midst of all its frightful dangers, only end in furnishing her with more food for the most horrible surmises, without banishing one sad image of her imagination, or confirming one dreadful dream of the fate of her lover.
"'Tis all in vain!" she gasped. "All in vain! I shall know nothing, and only feel more desolate. It would be a mercy if that were to kill me! Ah! no. Not yet--not yet!"
Some one was trying the handle of the shop door. With frightful energy Johanna hid the jacket, but not in its proper place, for she only thrust it beneath the cushion of a chair close at hand, and then shutting the door of the receptacle beneath the counter, she rose to her feet, and with a face pale as monumental marble, and her hands clasped rigidly, she said--
"Who--who is there?"
"Hilloa! Open the door!" said a voice.
Some one again tried the handle, and then kicked vigorously at the lower panel.
"Patience," said Johanna, "patience."
She opened the door.
"Is Mr. Todd at hand?" said a lad.
"No--no."
"You are his boy, are you not?"
"I am."
"Then take this."
The lad handed a sealed letter to Johanna, and in a moment left the door. She held the letter in her hand scarcely looking at it. Of course she thought it was for Todd, but after a few moments her eyes fell upon the superscription, and there, to her surprise, she read as follows--
"To Miss Oakley, who is requested to read the enclosed quickly, and secretly, and then to destroy it."
To tear open the letter was the work of a moment. The sheet of paper tumbled in Johanna's hands as she read as follows--
"From Sir Richard Blunt to Miss Oakley.
"Miss Oakley, the expedition upon which you are at present says much more for your courage and chivalrous spirit than it can ever say for your discretion or the discretion of her who permitted you so far to commit your life to such chances. You should, considering your youth and sex, have left it to others to carry out such schemes; and it is well that those others are aware of your position, and so, in a great measure, enabled to shield you from, perhaps, the worst consequences of your great indiscretion, for it cannot be called anything else.
"Your young friend, Miss Wilmot, herself awakened, when, thank God, it was not too late, to the utter romantic character of the office, and communicated all to me. I blame both you and her very much indeed, and cannot speak in too strong language of the reprehensible character of your expedition; and now, my dear girl, do not be under any kind of apprehension, for you are well looked after, and Sweeney Todd shall not hurt a hair of your head.
"If you should find yourself in any danger, seize the first small heavy article at hand and throw it, with all the strength you can, through the shop window. Assistance will immediately come to you.
"And now, as you are where you are, I pray you to have confidence in me, and to remain until some one shall come to you and say 'St. Dunstan,' upon which you will know that he is a friend, and you will follow his directions.
"God bless you.--
"RICHARD BLUNT."
Every word of this letter fell like sunshine upon the heart of Johanna, and she could not help mentally ejaculating--
"I am saved--I am saved! Yes--yes? I am not deserted. Strong, bold, good men will look to me. Oh! what kindness breathes in every sentence of this letter! Yes--yes; I am not forsaken--not forsaken!"
Tears came into the eyes of the young girl, and she wept abundantly. Her overcharged heart was relieving itself. After a few moments she began to be more composed, and had just crumpled up the letter and cast it into the fire for fear of accidents, when a shadow darkened the door-way, she saw Todd looking in above the curtain that was over the upper half of the door, and partially concealed some panes of glass that were let into it. As soon as Todd saw Johanna's eyes upon him, he entered the shop.
"What's that?" he said, pointing to the burning letter.
"Paper, sir."
"What paper?"
"A bill that a boy left. Something about Churchwardens, sir, and the parish of St. Brides, Fleet Street, and how things mean to--"
"Bah! any one else been?"
"No, sir."
Todd stood in the middle of the shop, and cast his eyes slowly round him, to see that all was as he had left. Then in a low growling tone, he added--
"No peeping and prying, eh? No rummaging in odd corners, and looking at things that don't concern you, eh?"
"Certainly not, sir."
Johanna crept close to the counter upon which lay a tolerably large piece of stone used for grinding razors upon. She thought that would do very well to throw through the window, and she kept an eye upon it with that intent, if such an act should by a trick of Todd's appear to be necessary. Todd took the key of the parlour-door from his pocket, and placed it in the lock. Before he opened the door, though, he turned the handle, and as he did so Johanna thought that he inclined his head and listened attentively. She threw down a chair, which made a lumbering noise.
"Confound you," roared Todd.
He passed into the parlour; but in a moment, with a glance of fury, he looked out, saying--
"You tried this door?"
"I, sir?" said Johanna, creeping closer still to the sharpening stone.
"Yes, villain, you. At least, I think so--I am pretty sure; but mark me, if I were quite sure, you should suffer for it."
He closed the door again; and then when he was alone, he placed his two hands upon his head for a few moments, and said--
"What does it mean? A boy brought him a letter; I saw him come and go. At least it looked like a letter. Could it be the bill he spoke of, and then the sudden upset of that chair, which prevented me from hearing if the piece of cat-gut I had fastened to the handle of the door had been moved, before I touched it or not. I will kill him. That is safe. It is the only plan; I will kill all who is now in my way. All--all. Yes, I will, if needs be, wade up to my neck in blood to the accomplishment of my wishes."
Todd went to a cupboard and got out a large knife, such as is used by slaughtermen in the shambles, and hid it under the table cover, but in such a place that he could lay hold of it and draw it out in a moment.
"Charley," he cried, "Charley."
"Yes, sir."
"Step in here a moment; I want you, my boy."
"Shall I or shall I not," thought Johanna. "Is this danger, or only the appearance of it? Heaven direct me now! Oh, what shall I do? What shall I do?"
"Charley? Are you coming, my boy?"
"Yes, sir, I--I am coming. God protect me!"
"The barber at home?" cried a voice at the door; and in another moment a man with a ruddy, jolly-looking countenance, made his appearance in the shop. "Barber at home, eh? my little lad?"
"Yes--yes."
Johanna heard a bitter execration come from the lips of Todd; and then with quite a serene smile upon his face, as though he were in the most unruffled mood possible, he made his appearance.
"Could you make me a wig?" said the man, taking off his hat, and showing that his hair was closely cropped.
"Certainly, sir. If you will sit down and allow me to measure your head, I shall have great pleasure--Charley!"
"Yes, Sir."
"You can go to Lovett's, in Bell-yard, and get your dinner now. There's two-pence for you, my lad, and if you have not yet tasted Mrs. Lovett's pies, you will say when you do, that they are the most delicious things in the whole world of cookery."
"Shaved, if you please," said another man, walking into the shop, and pouncing down upon a chair as though it were his own property. "Ah dear me, I'm tired rather. Don't hurry yourself, Mr. Todd, I can wait while you are doing what you have to do for that gentleman."
"Charley," said Todd, with quite a sweet expression of face. "You need not go just yet; I want the hot water. See to it."
"Yes, sir."
Todd then, in the most careful and business-like manner, proceeded to take the measure of the gentleman's head for a "real head of hair," and when he had finished, he said--
"Now, sir, if you will leave it all to me, I will match your hair to a shade."
"Match it?"
"Yes, sir."
"But that's just what I don't want. I have had my hair all cut off, and am going to wear a wig, for the sole reason that I have got tired of the old colour."
"Well then, sir, what colour do you propose now?"
"A few shades lighter than my own. But pray shave this gentleman, and I will tell you how I wish it to look at my leisure."
The man took a seat and crossed one leg over the other with the most home sort of look in the world; and the one who had come in to be shaved plumped into the shaving chair, and gave his chin a rub as though he would say "I don't care how soon you begin."
Todd smiled.
"Charley, the lather."
"Yes, sir. Here it is."
"Here, my little man," said the gentleman in want of a wig. "If you can tie a bow, just make one in front of my cravat.--A small one."
The gentleman slipped a small piece of paper into Johanna's jacket pocket.
