As may be well supposed, after
this, the subject assumed a much more serious aspect, and on the
following day a solemn meeting was held of all the church authorities,
at which it was determined that men should be employed to make a
thorough and searching examination of the vaults of St. Dunstan's, with
the view of discovering, if possible, from whence particularly the
abominable stench emanated. And then it was decided that the stench was
to be put down, and that the bishop was to be apprized it was put down,
and that he might visit the church in perfect safety. CHAPTER XVII. SWEENEY TODD'S PROCEEDINGS CONSEQUENT UPON THE DEPARTURE OF TOBIAS. We left the barber in his own shop, much wondering that Tobias had not
responded to the call which he had made upon him, but yet scarcely
believing it possible that he could have ventured upon the height of
iniquity, which we know Tobias had really been guilty of. He paused for
a few moments, and held up the light which he had procured, and gazed
around him with inquiring eyes, for he could, indeed, scarcely believe
it possible that Tobias had sufficiently cast off his dread of him,
Sweeney Todd, to be enabled to achieve any act for his liberation. But
when he saw that the lock of the parlour-door was open, positive rage
obtained precedence over every other feeling. "The villain!" he cried, "has he dared really to consummate an act I
thought he could not have dreamt of for a moment? Is it possible that he
can have presumed so far as to have searched the house?" That Tobias, however, had presumed so far, the barber soon discovered,
and when he went into his parlour and saw what had actually occurred,
and that not only was every cupboard door broken open, but that likewise
the door which led to the staircase and the upper part of the house had
not escaped, he got perfectly furious, and it was some time before he
could sufficiently calm himself to reflect upon the probable and
possible amount of danger he might run in consequence of these
proceedings. When he did, his active mind at once told him that there
was not much to be dreaded immediately, for that most probably Tobias,
still having the fear before his eyes of what he might do as regarded
his mother, had actually run away; and, "in all likelihood," muttered
the barber, "he has taken with him something which would allow me to fix
upon him the stigma of robbery, but that I must see to." Having fastened the shop-door securely, he took the light in his hands,
and ascended to the upper part of his house--that is to say, the first
floor, where alone anything was to be found. He saw at once the open
bureau, with all its glittering display of jewels, and as he gazed upon
the heap, he muttered--

"I have not so accurate a knowledge of what is here as to be able to say
if anything be extracted or not, but I know the amount of money, if I do
not know the precise number of jewels which this bureau contains." He opened a small drawer which had entirely escaped the scrutiny of
Tobias, and proceeded to count a large number of guineas which were
there. "These are correct," he said, when he had finished his
examination--"these are correct, and he has touched none of them." He then opened another drawer, in which were a great many packets of
silver done up in paper, and these likewise he carefully counted, and
was satisfied they were right. "It is strange," he said, "that he has taken nothing, but yet perhaps it
is better that it should be so, inasmuch as it shows a wholesome fear of
me. The slightest examination would have shown him these hoards of
money; and since he has not made that slight examination, nor discovered
any of them, it seems to my mind decisive upon the subject, that he has
taken nothing, and perchance I shall discover him easier than I
imagine." [Illustration: Tobias Discovers The Barber's Hidden Plunder.] He repaired to the parlour again, and carefully divested himself of
everything which had enabled him so successfully to impose upon John
Mundel, and replaced them by his ordinary costume, after which he
fastened up his house and sallied forth, taking his way direct to Mrs.
Ragg's humble home, in the expectation that there he would hear
something of Tobias, which would give him a clue where to search for
him, for search for him he fully intended; but what were his precise
intentions perhaps he could hardly have told himself, until he actually
found him. When he reached Mrs. Ragg's house, and made his appearance
abruptly before that lady, who seemed somehow or another to be always
ironing and always to drop the iron when any one came in, very near
their toes, he said--

"Where did your son Tobias go after he left you to-night?" "Lor! Mr. Todd, is it you? You are as good as a conjuror, sir, for he
was here; but bless you, sir, I know no more where he is gone to, than
the man in the moon. He said he was going to sea, but I am sure I should
not have thought it, that I should not." "To sea!--then the probability is that he would go down to the docks,
but surely not to-night. Do you not expect him back here to sleep?" "Well, sir, that's a very good thought of yours; and he may come back
here to sleep, for all I know to the contrary." "But you do not know it for a fact?" "He didn't say so; but he may come, you know, sir, for all that." "Did he tell you his reason for leaving me?" "Indeed no, sir; he really did not, and he seemed to me to be a little
bit out of his senses." "Ah! Mrs. Ragg," said Sweeney Todd, "there you have it. From the first
moment that he came into my service, I knew and felt confident that he
was out of his senses. There was a strangeness of behaviour about him,
which soon convinced me of that fact, and I am only anxious about him,
in order that some effort may be made to cure him of such a malady, for
it is a serious, and a dreadful one, and one which, unless taken in
time, will be yet the death of Tobias." These words were spoken with such solemn seriousness, that they had a
wonderful effect upon Mrs. Ragg, who, like most ignorant persons, began
immediately to confirm that which she most dreaded. "Oh, it's too true," she said, "it's too true. He did say some
extraordinary things to-night, Mr. Todd, and he said he had something to
tell, which was too horrid to speak of. Now the idea, you know, Mr.
Todd, of anybody having anything at all to tell, and not telling it at
once, is quite singular." "It is!--and I am sure that his conduct is such you never would be
guilty of, Mrs. Ragg;--but hark! what's that?" "It's a knock, Mr. Todd." "Hush, stop a moment--what if it be Tobias?" "Gracious goodness! it can't be him, for he would have come in at once." "No; I slipped the bolt of the door, because I wished to talk to you
without observation; so it may be Tobias, you perceive, after all. But
let me hide somewhere, so that I may hear what he says, and be able to
judge how his mind is affected. I will not hesitate to do something for
him, let it cost what it may."