THE STRING OP PEARLS. 639
From what he heard, he felt convinced that many persons had made their
way into the shop and parlour, and he anticipated a thorough search of the
house.
, " Let them," he said, "let them. There is nothing there now that it can
interest me to keep secret— absolutely nothing. Let them search well iu every
room. It will give me the more time."
He struggled on in the dark a little lurther, and then he suddenly paused. A
thought had struck him.
" Oh, what a glorious thing," he said, ** if I could only now fire the old house,
and so scorch some of those idiots, who are no doubt running from room to
room full of mad delight at the opportunity to do so, and at the prospect that
they may light upon me, and so share the money among them that is offered for
my blood. It is a tempting thought."
Todd felt in his pocket for the matches that had been supplied to him
by his departed friend, Mr. Lupin, and he found that he had some of them left,
although all the little bits of wax ends of candles were gone.
"A match will do as well as a torch to set fire to a house. I will chance it,
for afterwards I shall most bitterly repent not having done so. Oh, yes, I will go
back and chance it. I know how to do it ; and if that Sir Richard Blunt, whom
I yet hope to see in death, has not removed the materials I placed for the firing
of the house, I can do it easily. Oh, that will be most capital ! I think ft will
make me laugh again ! Ha !— ha ! yes, it will make me laugh again !"
He stood for the space of time of about two minutes in deep thought, with his
hands compressed upon his brow; and then he muttered —
" Yes, there is no difficulty. If 1 can but reach the flooring of that cupboaid
beneath the parlour, it will do."
He rapidly made up his mind to attempt this most perilous act of setting fire
to his old house, after all ; notwithstanding it was now to his knowledge filled
with his enemies, and that his returning was a matter of the greatest danger to
himself.
He crept back by the way he had gone, and soon reached the cellar again
under his shop. That cellar run partially under the parlour likewise ; and it
was upon that circumstance, well known to him, that Todd based his hopes of
being able, with safety to himself, to fire the old house.
He shook a little as he reached the cellar underneath the shop. It was a
natural thing that he should do so ; for he knew that he was doing the very
reverse of what impulse would have prompted him to do, namely, fly from his
enemies. The mode of getting into that cellar might, for all he knew to the
contrary, be found out at the most inopportune moment for him that could be
conceived, and he might find himself surrounded almost at any moment by his
foes. ^^i-i # J'r*/ ^ - i^^^^^^fflfei ^ Iti&^kk'k^ br*.u h ■ ^w^W^uifil&ci
No w T onder Todd shook a little.
He quite forgot that the bodies of the two men were there — his two latest
victims ; and as he went crawling along with excessive care, the first thing he
did, was to fall over them both, and measure his great length upon the floor of
the cellar. It was quite astonishing how Todd controlled his temper, when he
had any object in view which an ebullition of rage would have had the effect of
jeopardising in any way. At another time, his oaths upon the occasion of such
a fall would have been rather of the terrific order ; but now he uttered not a word,
tut gathered himself up again with all the calmness and serenity of an ancient
martyr, who feels that he is suffering for some great and good cause, dear to the
interests of humanity.
Sweeney Todd, however, was very anxious to discover if in his fall he had
made noise enough to alarm those who were above; but he was soon satisfied
that such was not the case, and that the lower part of the house was quite
deserted, while they had made tl&eir way to the upper, intent upon searching in
all the rooms for him (Todd). Ah ! they little knew the piece of obdurate cun«
ning that theyjhad pitted against them there !
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