The young lady awakened with a start, but the words that were twice
repeated still rung in her ears, and scream she did not, but she looked
half dead from fright. "Now, my dear," said Lupin, "Providence has brought us to your bed-side,
and if you make any disturbance, we mean to submit you and the whole of
the family to the operation of a carving-knife, the Lord willing. All we
want is money, and if we can get that quietly, we will go and not so
much as ask your pretty little lips for a kiss." [Illustration: The Murderers In The Young Lady's Chamber.] "Oh, Heaven protect me!" said the young lady. "A--men!" said Lupin. "Now my dear, who is in the house besides you?" "My father, the alderman, and my mother, and the servants above
stairs.--Oh, spare my parents." "Very good, where can any money be got hold of?" "Will a hundred pounds content you?" "Yes," said Todd, putting his head between the curtains at the foot of
the bed. The young lady gave a faint cry, and Mr. Lupin flourished the
carving-knife over her--"Where are the hundred pounds?" he said, "and we
will go." "In my father's room. It is the next room. His purse is on the
dressing-table. If you will let me go and get it, I will give it to you
upon your promise then to leave the house." "How are we to trust you not to say that we are here?" "I swear by all that is holy--I use the name of the great God. Oh,
indeed you may trust me." "Go," said Lupin. The young lady got out of bed, and both Todd and Lupin followed her from
the room. She crossed the landing, and at once opened the door of a
room. Then they heard a man's voice say--"Who's that?" and the young
lady replied--"Only me, father. I want something out of your room. I
shall not be a minute." "Bless the girl," said a female voice--"What can
she want?" In a minute or two the young lady came back to the landing where Todd
and Lupin were waiting for her. "Now," said Lupin in a low voice--"Now, my little dear, have you got
it?" "Quick--quick!" said Todd, "or you die. I am half a mind to cut your
throat as it is, just for the pleasure of the thing." The young lady stood just upon the threshold of the door of her father's
room, and then as Lupin held up his light, she raised both her hands, in
each of which was a horse-pistol, and presenting one at Lupin's head and
one at Todd's, she said--

"Thieves! thieves! thieves!" CHAPTER CXXXVII. THE MURDER AT CAEN WOOD, HAMPSTEAD. It would be quite impossible to describe the effect that was produced
upon Lupin and Sweeney Todd, by this heroic conduct on the part of the
young lady, from whom they did not in the least expect any such active
resistance to their proceedings. Lupin was constitutionally, by far the greater coward of the two, and
when he saw the bright barrel of the pistol in such startling and
unexpected contiguity to his head, he at once stepped back, and missing
his footing, fell down the stairs to the landing-place immediately below
that flight. Todd thought that there would be just a chance of dashing in upon the
young lady and disarming her of her pistols; but now that both of them
were levelled at him, and she began to cry out "Help! help! thieves!" again, louder than before, he reluctantly abandoned the idea, and
turning, he bounded down the staircase. The young lady leant over the stair-head and fired one of the pistols
after him, which so accelerated the movements of Todd, that he tumbled
right over Mr. Lupin, and fell down all the way to the hall with Lupin
after him. Under any other circumstances than the dangerous and exciting ones in
which they were in, no doubt they would both of them have been too much
hurt to do anything but lie on their backs in the hall; but the feeling
that if they were taken it would be to death, was sufficient to rouse
them, and they both scrambled to their feet. Lupin got the street-door open, and dashed out closely followed by Todd. A watchman tried to stop them, but him they felled with a blow, and then
off went Lupin down a cross-street, that led him into Old-street Road,
and with Todd at his heels, who was very faint. "Stop, stop!" panted Todd, "stop!" "What for?" said Lupin. "I cannot run so fast. Are you hurt? Oh, that I had a knife at that
girl's throat!" Lupin paused, and held by a post at the corner of a street, and swore
dreadfully, as he too panted a little for breath, although he was by no
means so much used-up as Todd was. But then Lupin was a younger man, and
much lighter on his feet, than our old friend of murdering notoriety. "Oh, dear," said Todd. "What's to be done now?" "Nothing." "Nothing, did you say? But, my dear friend, something must be done. We
have positively wasted half the night, and we are without money, and
half dead. I am covered with bruises from head to foot by the fall down
the staircase, and it will be daylight in another half hour or so at the
utmost." "Ah," said Lupin, "we must breakfast somewhere, I'm thinking, my
friend." "And so am I." "Well, well, we have made certainly a mess of our adventure at the
alderman's; but it can't be helped now. The idea, only to think of it
now, Todd, of you and I, two such men as we are, and as the world
refutes us to be, being beaten back, and, you may say, thrown down two
pair of stairs, by a girl of sixteen or thereabouts." Todd growled out some malediction. "It was the will of Providence," said Lupin. "But who is this? Stand
aside, Todd, and let this old gentleman pass on. We may as well not be
seen and described by any one." "Do you think he may likely have enough about him," whispered Todd, "to
pay our expenses for the day?" "A lucky thought. It is more than likely that he has. Knock him down and
rob him, Todd. There's not a soul in sight. Give him one of the knocks
you used to give the poor devils you made the pies of, you know." "Be quiet," said Todd, "I am amazed that a man of your profound sense
and sagacity, should give ear to such idle rumours about me! I am really
both shocked and surprised, Mr. Lupin!" "Amen!" said Lupin. "You rob the old man, and we won't quarrel about any
such nonsense, Todd. Here he comes, grinning like an old polecat. What
business has a man of that age out at such a time as this?" "None," said Todd, "except to provide us with a little money." Todd cast a keen glance around him, and was convinced that the report of
Mr. Lupin that no one was in sight was quite correct, so he stepped up
to the old man, and said--

"Good morning, sir." "Thieves! thieves!" cried the old man, and began to run, but Todd put
out one of his long legs and tripped him up. Then pouncing upon him, he
extracted a well-filled purse from his pocket, and holding it up to
Lupin, he said--

"This will do?" "Rather," replied Lupin. "Come on."