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." [Illustration: Johanna Receives A Mysterious Letter In Todd's Shop.] 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."