Upon reaching the foot of the stone steps, instead of traversing the
passage that led in the direction of Bell Yard, which he had formerly
done, Sir Richard turned directly the other way, saying as he did so--

"This, I presume, will be our direction?" "We shall see in a moment," said the architect. "I have taken the
bearings so exactly, that I can point out to you the precise course." He forced into the ground to a sufficient depth to make it stand steady,
his walking stick, and then removing a little gold cap from the top of
it, he disclosed a small compass, which after some oscillations,
steadied itself. "Then," said Sir Christopher, "through that wall would lead in a direct
line to Todd's house." "This will assist us," said Sir Richard. "We will, before we actually
begin excavating, endeavour to find some of the vaults which may run in
that direction, and so perhaps save ourselves an immense amount of
labour." "Very good," said Sir Christopher Wren, "I can at any time give you,
from any place, the exact bearing of Todd's house, for I have it fixed
in my mind, and can read it off from the compass plate in a moment." They now at once made their way into the vaults, and by dint of keeping
to the right hand, they avoided going much out of their course. These
vaults were of great extent, and although some of them, owing to being
full of the dead, had been bricked up, yet they were very easily opened,
and in many cases a direct thoroughfare for considerable distances was
affected. Ever and anon the compass was appealed to, and showed them that they
were approaching Todd's house. One of the party, a well-dressed gentlemanly-looking man, now stepped
forward, and said to Sir Richard--

"Here, according to the plans of the church, the vaults end." "Then we can get no further?" "Not an inch, Sir Richard." "Then here commences in reality our mission, which is to try to discover
some communication between the lower part of the house occupied by
Sweeney Todd, and these vaults. Let us each use our utmost
discrimination to affect that object." He lighted for himself a small lantern, and commenced a rigorous search
of the walls, but for some few minutes could find nothing to excite the
least suspicion. At length he paused at one portion of one of the
vaults, where a kind of wooden tomb had been erected close to the wall. A large piece of dirty oak was placed upright against the earth work. "If there be any mode of leaving this vault, but the one we have
entered," he said, "it is here." At these words, so significant as they were of some discovery having
been made by Sir Richard, all those who were with him made their way to
that spot, and from their several lanterns, a glare of light was thrown
upon the wooden monument. "This," said the person who had before spoken of the plan of the vaults,
"this is the monument of a Sir Giles Horseman, who was killed by
accident and interred here about twenty-two years ago. It was a very
unusual thing to make any such erection in a vault, but his widow wished
it, and the authorities saw no good reason for interfering." The monument had evidently consisted of an oaken kind of square
ornamental tomb affixed to the wall, and extending out about six feet
into the vault. That portion of it which did so extend into the vault
had fallen in, but the piece of oak which had been originally affixed to
the wall there remained. "What leads you to suppose, Sir Richard," said the architect, "that this
place will show us anything?" "This," said the magistrate, as he picked up from amid the rubbish of
the broken monument, a nearly new glove of thick leather. "How did this
get here?" The glove was passed from hand to hand, and duly examined. No one owned
it, and the only remark that could be made upon it was, that it was of
an immense size. "Then," said Sir Richard Blunt, "since it belongs to none of us, I give
it as my opinion that it belongs to Sweeney Todd, and has fallen from
his hand in this place." "It must be so," said the fruiterer. "I know of no hand in the City of
London that such a glove would fit but his." "But how came he here?" said Sir Christopher. "That is the question. How
could he get here." "We shall see," said the magistrate. "Lend me that small iron crow-bar,
Jenkins." The crow-bar was handed to Sir Richard Blunt, and at one touch with it
down come the piece of oak that was against the wall. That was
conclusive, for, instead of the solid wall beyond it, there was a deep
crevice or opening just sufficient to enable one person to go through
it. "This is the place," said the magistrate. There was a death-like silence among all present. Every ear was on the
stretch, and every eye was fixed upon the narrow opening in the wall of
the vault. It would almost seem as though every one expected Sweeney
Todd to appear with one of his victims on his back that he had just, to
use his own expressive phraseology, succeeded in polishing off. Sir Christopher stuck up his compass again, and it was his voice that
first broke the stillness. "The route is direct," he said. "To Todd's house?" asked Sir Richard. "Yes, direct." "Then all we have got to do is to follow it. It is an enterprise perhaps
attended with some danger, and certainly with much horror, I think. Now,
I do not ask any one to follow me, but go I will." "I will follow you, Sir Richard," said the fruiterer. "I reside in Fleet
Street, and rather than not ferret out such a villain as Todd from the
neighbourhood, I would run any risks. I am with you, sir." "And I," said Sir Christopher Wren. "And I--and I," cried every one. "Come on," said the magistrate. "Come on. I will take the small lantern,
and if I meet Todd, my great aim will be to take him a prisoner, not to
kill him; and mind all of you, if by any chance a scuffle with that man
should ensue, it would be a scandalous cheating of the gallows to do him
any injury that might even delay his execution. Now, come on." It required no small amount of real courage to lead the way in that
expedition into the very bowels of the earth as it were; but with the
small lantern elevated as far above his head as the roof of the passage
would admit of, Sir Richard stepped cautiously and slowly on. The excavation in which they were was roughly but well made. At
intervals of about twelve feet each, there always occurred two upright
pieces of plank supporting a third piece on the roof, and firmly wedged
in, so that there was but little likelihood of a fall of earth from
above. Suddenly a scuffling noise was heard, and Sir Richard for a moment
paused. "What is it?" said the fruiterer. "Only some rats," he replied. "I daresay there are plenty of such
gentlemen in this quarter of the world, and probably they never saw so
large a party here before. They are scudding along in a regiment here." After going on for about twenty paces further, Sir Richard found a door
completely blocking up the passage.