when sir richard blunt left chelsea, he felt that he had given a sufficient warning to all who could feel in any way personally interested in the escape of sweeney todd from the punishment that his numerous crimes merited.
he rode direct to the office of the under secretary of state for the home department, and his name at once procured him an interview. this was not the supercilious personage who once before, upon an occasion of sir richard blunt calling upon him regarding sweeney todd, had exhibited so much indifference upon the subject, and sir richard was received as he ought to be.
"i have waited upon you, sir," said the magistrate, "to say that i have now made every arrangement that is possible for the purpose of counteracting any mischief that the man, todd, might strive to do; and i think it very likely that i may not have the pleasure of seeing or communicating with you for some time."
"then you still think, sir richard, of going personally after the notorious ruffian?"
"i do, sir. i feel that in some sort i am bound to rid society of that man. i had so large a share in his former apprehension, and in his conviction, that i feel his escape quite a personal matter; and i have no hesitation in saying that i shall not feel at ease until i have again placed him in the hands of the law."
"it is most desirable that he should be so placed, sir richard, and i have only two things to say to you upon the subject. one is, that i hope you will be careful of your own safety in the affair; and the other is, that anything we can do or any facilities we can throw in your way, you may most unhesitatingly command in the prosecution of your most praiseworthy enterprise."
"i thank you, sir. i shall take one man with me. his name is crotchet; and i should wish that in your name i might tell him that, in the event of our search for todd being successful, he may count upon an adequate reward."
"certainly! he shall have the whole reward, sir richard; and as for yourself, the ministry will not be unmindful of your service in a way that i am sure will be more gratifying to you than an offer of money."
"sir, i thank you. the government has already, upon more than two or three occasions, been sufficiently liberal to me as regards money to place me in a good position, and i have now no further desires of that sort. i will bid you good morning, sir, and at once start upon the expedition in search of sweeney todd. if he be alive and above ground in this country, i will have him."
"if anybody will, you will, sir richard."
the magistrate left the place, and repaired at once to his private office, which was close at hand, in craven street. there our old friend, crotchet, was waiting for him.
"well, crotchet," said sir richard, "i have just seen the secretary of state, and if we catch todd, you are to have all the money."
"all on it, sir? oh, my eye! no, i doesn't want all on it, sir richard. i isn't a pig."
"i never thought you were, crotchet; but you may make up your mind to the whole of the reward, as the government will provide for me in another way; so you know now, at starting, what you have to expect, and it will keep you in good heart during all the botheration we may have in looking after this man."
"why, so it will, sir, you see, so it will, and if i do catch him and get all this tin as is offered as a reward for him, i shall retire from the grabbing business, you see, sir."
"what will you do then, crotchet?"
"set up a public-house, sir, and call it 'the crotchet's arms,' to be sure. that's the sort of ticket for me."
"well, crotchet, you will be quite at liberty to do what you like; and now let us at once start on our errand. we will, from the door of newgate, see if we cannot trace the progress of this man, with his new friend, that rascal, lupin."
a tap sounded on the panel of the door of the room in which crotchet and sir richard were conversing.
"come in," said the magistrate, and his clerk entered with a written paper in his hand.
"here, sir," he said, "is a report from a city officer, which will give a clue to the route that todd and lupin have taken, sir."
"ah, that is welcome. let me see it. 'two men broke into the house of alderman stanhope; one a tall man with a large face—the other, shorter.' humph! not a doubt of it. i will go and see about it. no doubt it was todd and his new friend lupin. this is something of a clue, at all events however slight, and may, after all, put us upon the right track. come on, crotchet, we will do the best we can in this matter. have you your pistols in good order?"
"yes, yer honour, and a pair of darbies in my pocket, that if once they get on the wrists of old todd, he will find it no such easy matter to get them off again."
"that is right. i only want to get face to face with the ruffian, and then i will engage that he shall not be much further trouble to society or to individuals."
sir richard blunt and crotchet proceeded then at once to the house in the city, into which lupin and todd, it will be recollected, had made a violent entry, and from which they had been so gallantly repulsed by the young lady. then, from the description of the assailants, not a shadow of a doubt remained upon the magistrate's mind that they were the parties he sought; but there all clue seemed to be lost.
he and crotchet stood in the street looking about them rather despairingly; and then they thought of going to the round-house close to finsbury; and when they got there, they found an officer, who reported that two men answering the description of the fugitives had been seen making their way westward; and he had met a woman who had passed them, and who had heard the words "money," and "caen wood."
this was, in good truth, most important intelligence, if it could be relied upon; and that was the only kind of doubt that sir richard had. he spoke to crotchet about it.
"what do you think, crotchet? is it worth while to follow this seeming clue to highgate?"
"yes, yer honour, it is. we can go there and back again while we are considering about it here. it's clear enough as we shan't get any other news in this part of the town; and so i advises that we go off at once to highgate, and calls at every public-house on the road."
"every public-house?"
"yes, yer honour. todd won't do without his drops of something strong to keep him a-going. these kind of feelings go down—down, till they haven't the heart to say don't, when the hangman puts the noose round their necks, if they haven't their drops. it's brandy, yer worship, as keeps 'em a going."
"i do believe, crotchet, that there is a great deal of truth in what you say; and that it is only by use of stimulants that they keep up a kind of artificial strength, as well as drowning reflection; and so they go blundering on in the career of crime."
"you may depend upon it, sir. they'd cut their own throats in a week, if it wasn't for the tipple, yer honour."
acting then upon the practical advice of crotchet, which in a great measure accorded with his own convictions, sir richard blunt repaired to a livery-stable, and hired two good horses. he found no difficulty in getting them, upon declaring who he was; and so, well mounted, he and crotchet went upon the very road that had been so recently traversed by the two culprits, todd and lupin.
at the first public-house they came to they got no news; but at the second they were told, that two men, answering the description they gave of those they sought, had called and had some brandy.
the magistrate no longer doubted but that he was upon the right track now. with such a feeling, he pushed on, making what inquiries he could on the road; but until highgate was reached they got no further news, and then, by dint of diligent ferreting out, they found a woman who had seen two men go down swains lane, and from the description she gave of them, there could be no doubt but that they were todd and lupin. now as swains lane led direct to caen wood, it was a great confirmation of the former intelligence; and sir richard made up his mind to search the wood, as well as it could be done by him and crotchet.
they engaged a lad from highgate to come with them, and to take care of the horses, while they should go into the wood; but they did not say one word to him regarding their object in going there, nor could he possibly suspect it. sir richard and crotchet both thought it would be much more prudent to keep that to themselves, than to put it in the power of a boy to gossip about it to every one who might chance to pass that way, while he was minding the horses.
when the wood was reached, sir richard said to the lad—
"now, my boy, we shall not be very long gone, but you will bear in mind that if we are absent longer than you expected, you will be paid in proportion; so don't be impatient, but walk the horses up and down this bit of the lane; and think that you have got a very good job."
"thank you, sir," said the boy. "across that there meadow is the nearest way to the wood. i seed two fellows go that way, early this morning, and one on 'em was the ugliest fellow i ever saw, and he calls out to the other—'come along lupin, we shall be all right in the wood now. come along, lupin—ha! ha!'"
"you heard that?"
"yes, sir, i did. you see, i was sloe-gathering in the hedge, and they don't let you do it, cos they say you breaks down all the young twigs, and spoils the hedge, and so you does; and so, sir, when i heard footsteps a-coming, i hid myself right down among the long grass, so that they did not see me."
mr. crotchet gave a long whistle.
"very good," said sir richard; "we shall be back with you soon. you take good care of the horses."
"i will, sir."
"what do you think of that, crotchet?" said sir richard, as they made their way into the very meadow across which todd and lupin had run to get to caen wood.
"it's the finger o' providence, yer worship."
"well, i cannot deny, crotchet, but that it may be so. at all events, whether it be providence or chance, one thing is quite certain, and that is, that we are on the track of those whom we seek."
"not a doubt o' that, sir. into the wood here they have been, but whether they have staid here or not, you see, sir, is quite another affair. but it's worth looking well to; at all events yer worship, and i shan't leave an old tree in this here place as we is coming to, that i shan't walk right round and have a jolly good look at, somehow or another."
"nor i, crotchet. they may know of some hiding-place in this wood, for all we know to the contrary, and if they do, it strikes me we shall ferret them out."
"in course we shall, sir; and here we is."
they had reached the wood by this time, and before plunging into its recesses the magistrate looked carefully about him, and crotchet did the same.
"do you think, your worship, there's a chance of such a fellow as todd staying long here?"
"why do you think that?" said sir richard.
"why, sir," said crotchet, putting his head on one side, "this here is a sort of place that makes a man think; and always when i am in a quiet place like this, with the beautiful trees all about me, and the little birds a singing, and the frogs a croaking, it makes me think of things that i don't always think of, and of those as has passed away like spirits, and as we may meet in t'other world nor this, sir."
"indeed, crotchet, i do not wonder that the silence and solitude of nature should have that effect upon you."
"exactly, sir. in course, it ain't for me to say whether in this ere world there ought to be prigs, and sneaks, and cracksmen, and all that sort of thing or not; but i will say, sir, as i'm not a little surprised how anybody can do anything very wrong, sir, in the country."
"indeed, crotchet?"
"yes, sir; it has an effect on me. when i gets among the old trees and sees the branches a waving about, and hear the wind a moaning among 'em, it makes me think as there ain't a great deal in this world as is worth the bothering about, you see, sir; and least of all is it worthwhile doing anything that ain't the right thing."
"you are quite a philosopher, crotchet, although you are not the first nor the only one upon whom the beauties of nature have produced an elevating effect. the reason i fear is that you are not familiar with such places as these. you are town-bred, crotchet, and you pass your life among the streets of london; so such places as this affect you with all the charm of novelty, while those who are born in the country know nothing and care nothing for its sights and sounds."
"that's about it, sir, i shouldn't wonder," said crotchet; "but i feels what i feels and thinks what i thinks."
they now had fairly penetrated into caen wood; and we may here appropriately remark, that caen wood was much more of a real wood then, than it is now, when it is rather an imitation of one than one in reality. the smoke and the vegetation-killing vapours of london have almost succeeded in begriming the green trees even at that distance off; and in a few short years caen wood, we fear, will be but a thing of tradition in the land.
so time works his changes!
sir richard blunt, with long practised sagacity, began his hunt through the wood. it could scarcely be said that he expected to find todd there, but he would be satisfied if he found some conclusive evidence that he had been there, for that would show him that he was upon the track of the villain, and that he was not travelling wide from the course that todd had taken. the idea that he might have at once, on foot, made his way to some part of the coast, haunted sir richard, notwithstanding all the seemingly conclusive evidence he had to the contrary; and knowing well, as he did, how very little reliance ought to be placed upon personal descriptions, he did buoy himself up with many hopes consequent upon the presumed identity of todd with the person who had been seen by those who had described him.
taking a small piece of chalk from his pocket, the magistrate marked a few of the trees in the different directions where they searched, so that they might not, amid the labyrinths of the wood, give themselves increased trouble; and in the course of half an hour they had gone over a considerable portion of the wood.
they paused at an open spot, and crotchet lifted from the ground a thick stick that appeared to have been recently cut from a tree.
"this is late work," he said.
"yes; and here are the marks of numerous footsteps. what is the meaning of this strange appearance on the ground, as if something had been dragged along it?"
crotchet looked at the appearance that sir richard pointed out, and then with a nod, he said—
"let's follow this, sir richard. it strikes me that it leads to something."
