"That is well thought of; I will meet him, and question him closely as
to the personal appearance of this Mr. Thornhill; beside, I shall hear
if he has any confirmed suspicion on the subject." "That is well, you will soon meet him, for the week is running on; and
let me implore you, Johanna, to come to me the morning after you have so
met him, and then we will again consult upon this plan of operations,
which appears to us feasible and desirable." Some more conversation of a similar character ensued between these young
girls; and upon the whole, Johanna Oakley felt much comforted by her
visit, and more able to think calmly as well as seriously upon the
subject which engrossed her whole thoughts and feelings; and when she
returned to her own home, she found that much of the excitement of
despair which had formerly had possession of her, had given way to hope;
and with that natural feeling of joyousness, and that elasticity of mind
which belongs to the young, she began to build in her imagination some
airy fabrics of future happiness. Certainly, these suppositions went
upon the fact that Mark Ingestrie was a prisoner, and not that his life
had been taken by the mysterious barber; for although the possibility of
his having been murdered had found a home in her imagination, still to
her pure spirit it seemed by far too hideous to be true, and she
scarcely could be said really and truly to entertain it as a matter
which was likely to be true. CHAPTER XIV. TOBIAS'S THREAT, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. Perhaps one of the most pitiable objects now in our history is poor
Tobias, Sweeney Todd's boy, who certainly had his suspicions aroused in
the most terrific manner, but who was terrified, by the threats of what
the barber was capable of doing against his mother, from making any
disclosures. The effect upon his personal appearance of this wear and
tear of his intellect was striking and manifest. The hue of youth and
health entirely departed from his cheeks, and he looked so sad and
careworn, that it was quite a terrible thing to look upon a young lad
so, as it were, upon the threshold of existence, and in whom anxious
thoughts were making such war upon the physical energies. His cheeks
were pale and sunken; his eyes had an unnatural brightness about them,
and, to look upon his lips, one would think they had never parted in a
smile for many a day, so sadly were they compressed together. He seemed
ever to be watching likewise for something fearful, and even as he
walked the streets he would frequently turn and look inquiringly around
him with a shudder; and in his brief interview with Colonel Jeffery and
his friend the captain, we can have a tolerably good comprehension of
the state of his mind. Oppressed with fears, and all sorts of dreadful
thoughts, panting to give utterance to what he knew and to what he
suspected, yet terrified into silence for his mother's sake, we cannot
but view him as signally entitled to the sympathy of the reader, and as,
in all respects, one sincerely to be pitied for the cruel circumstances
in which he was placed. The sun is shining brightly, and even that busy
region of trade and commerce, Fleet-street, is looking gay and
beautiful; but not for that poor spirit-stricken lad are any of the
sights and sounds which used to make up the delight of his existence,
reaching his eyes or ears now with their accustomed force. He sits moody
and alone, and in the position which he always assumes when Sweeney Todd
is from home--that is to say, with his head resting on his hands, and
looking the picture of melancholy abstraction. "What shall I do?" he said to himself, "what will become of me? I think
if I live here any longer, I shall go out of my senses. Sweeney Todd is
a murderer--I am quite certain of it, and I wish to say so, but I dare
not for my mother's sake. Alas! alas! the end of it will be, that he
will kill me, or that I shall go out of my senses, and then I shall die
in some mad-house, and no one will care what I say." The boy wept bitterly after he had uttered these melancholy reflections,
and he felt his tears something of a relief to him, so that he looked up
after a little time, and glanced around him. "What a strange thing," he said, "that people should come into this
shop, to my certain knowledge, who never go out of it again, and yet
what becomes of them I cannot tell." He looked with a shuddering anxiety towards the parlour, the door of
which Sweeney Todd took care to lock always when he left the place, and
he thought that he should like much to have a thorough examination of
that room. "I have been in it," he said, "and it seems full of cupboards and
strange holes and corners, such as I never saw before, and there is an
odd stench in it that I cannot make out at all; but it's out of the
question thinking of ever being in it above a few minutes at a time, for
Sweeney Todd takes good care of that." The boy rose, and opened a small cupboard that was in the shop. It was
perfectly empty. "Now, that's strange," he said, "there was a walking-stick with an ivory
top to it here just before he went out, and I could swear it belonged to
a man who came in to be shaved. More than once--ah! and more than twice,
too, when I have come in suddenly, I have seen people's hats, and
Sweeney Todd would try and make me believe that people go away after
being shaved, and leave their hats behind them." He walked up to the shaving chair as it was called, which was a large,
old-fashioned piece of furniture, made of oak, and carved; and, as the
boy threw himself into it, he said--

"What an odd thing it is that this chair is screwed so tight to the
floor! Here is a complete fixture, and Sweeney Todd says it is so
because it's in the best possible light, and if he were not to make it
fast in such a way, the customers would shift it about from place to
place, so that he could not conveniently shave them; it may be true, but
I don't know." "And you have your doubts," said the voice of Sweeney Todd, as that
individual, with a noiseless step, walked into the shop--"you have your
doubts, Tobias? I shall have to cut your throat, that is quite clear." [Illustration: Tobias Alarmed At The Mysterious Appearance Of Todd.] "No, no, have mercy upon me; I did not mean what I said." "Then it's uncommonly imprudent to say it, Tobias. Do you remember our
last conversation? Do you remember that I can hang your mother when I
please, because, if you do not, I beg to put you in mind of that
pleasant little circumstance?" "I cannot forget--I do not forget." "'Tis well; and mark me, I will not have you assume such an aspect as
you wear when I am not here. You don't look cheerful, Tobias; and,
notwithstanding your excellent situation, with little to do, and the
number of Lovett's pies you eat, you fall away." "I cannot help it," said Tobias, "since you told me what you did
concerning my mother. I have been so anxious that I cannot help--"

"Why should you be anxious?