Remember, my
darling, that upon your safety hangs my life; for if I were to hear that
anything had happened to you, it would kill me. I have nothing now but
you in the world to live for." "Oh, father, you do not mean to tell me that my mother is no more?" "No, my dear. No.--Ask me nothing now. You shall know all at another
time. Only tell me when I shall see you again." "At sunset," said Sir Richard Blunt, as he stepped into the room at this
moment. "At sunset, I hope, Mr. Oakley; and in the meantime be assured
of her perfect safety. I offer my life as security for hers, and would
not hesitate to sacrifice it for her." The manner of the magistrate was such that no one could for one moment
doubt that he spoke the genuine sentiments at his heart; and such words,
coming from such a quarter, it may be well supposed were calculated to
produce a great impression. "I am satisfied," said Mr. Oakley. "I should be more than an
unreasonable man if I were not fully convinced now of the safety of
Johanna." When she had got her father to say this much, Johanna was anxious to be
off, and she signified as much to Sir Richard Blunt, who fully
acquiesced in the propriety of the measure, for already her absence had
been quite long enough from the shop, and Todd might not be in the best
of humours at her return. After one more embrace, Johanna tore herself from her father's arms, and
followed the magistrate from the fruiterer's house, by the same route
which had conducted her to it. On their way, he explained to her some little matters of which she was
in ignorance, or at least concerning which she could only conjecture. "Both the persons, whom you left in Todd's shop," he said, "belong to my
force; and the one only went for the protection of the other, as I, of
course, surmised that you would be at once sent out of the way upon some
real or mock errand, to give Todd opportunity of committing a murder. My
great object is to find out precisely how he does the deed; and the man
who came in to be shaved was to make what observations of the place he
could during the ceremony, while the other distracted Todd's attention." "I understand," said Johanna. "I of course knew that they were friends
when they mentioned the watchword of St. Dunstan to me." "Exactly. I gave them instructions to seize the very first opportunity
of letting you hear the watch-word. Are there any large cupboards in the
shop?" "Yes. There is one of great size." "Would it, do you think, hold two men?" "Oh, yes. Perchance you, who are tall, might have to stoop a little; but
with that exception as to height, there is most ample space." "That will do then. I cannot tell you, of course, the exact hour; but be
it when it may, the moment Todd leaves the shop to day to go upon any
business out of doors, two persons from me will come to hide themselves
in that cupboard." "They will use the watch-word?" "Yes, certainly; and you will so dispose any movable article in the
shop, as to take away any idea that the cupboard had been visited, or in
the slightest degree interfered with." "That I can easily do." "Well, here we are, then, in Fleet-street again; and mind all this that
I have planned has nothing to do with your proceedings to call for
assistance, if any special or unforeseen danger should occur to you." Johanna, upon this, showed him the jagged stone she had in her pocket,
to cast through the window. "Yes, that would do," said Sir Richard; "but I would gladly supply you
with arms. Do you think you could manage a pistol, if you had one?" "Yes. I have often looked at some fire-arms that my father had in his
shop to sell once, and I have seen them used." "I am glad of that," continued Sir Richard. "Here are two very small
pistols loaded. They may be thoroughly depended upon in a room; but they
would not carry any distance, in consequence of the shortness of the
barrel. If, however, you should be in any sudden and extreme danger from
Todd, anywhere else than in the shop, or there, if you are pushed for
time, one of these fired in his face will be tolerably effective. You
can keep them both in your pocket." The magistrate, as he spoke, handed to Johanna a pair of very small, but
exquisitely made pistols, encircled with silver mounting, and she
carefully concealed them, feeling still more secure from any treachery
upon the part of Todd, now that she held his life as much, if not more,
in her hands, than he held hers in his. [Illustration: Sir Richard Gives Johanna Pistols For Her Protection.] She shook her kind friend warmly by the hand, and then hastened to the
barber's shop. As she got near to it, she saw the tall thin man who had
so perplexed Todd about the religious tract, come out, and Todd followed
him to the door, looking after him with such an expression of deadly
malice, that Johanna could not but pause a moment to look at him. He suddenly turned his eyes towards her, and saw her. He beckoned with
his finger, and she entered the shop. "Well, Charley," he said, with quite an affectation of good humour. "You
are a good lad." "I am glad you think so, sir," she replied, seeing that Todd paused for
an answer. "I cannot but think so. I shall have to look over some accounts in the
parlour this morning, and if anybody--any female, I mean--comes for me,
say I have gone to the city, and that, after that, I said I would call
in Bell Yard before I came home. You well remember that, Bell Yard. Be
vigilant and discreet, and you shall have the reward that I have all
along intended for you, and which you should not miss upon any account." "I am much beholden to you, sir. But if any one should come to be shaved
while you are in the parlour, what shall I say to them?" "You can say I have gone to the Temple to dress Mr. Block's new wig, if
you like, so that you got rid of them, for I must not be disturbed on
any consideration." "Very well, sir." "Put another turf on the fire, Charley, and make yourself quite
comfortable." What inconsistent amenity this was upon the part of Todd. It seemed as
though he had turned over a new leaf completely, and intended to put an
end to all suspicions, if he had any, of Charley Green; and after
that--after that, Todd still preserved his kind intention of cutting his
throat with one of the razors. "The very best thing you can do with people," muttered Todd to himself,
as he went into the parlour, "is to cut their throats as soon as they
cease to be useful to you, for from that moment, if you do not put them
out of the way, they are almost certain to be mischievous to you." What a pleasant lot of maxims Todd had, and what a beautiful system of
moral philosophy his was, to be sure! One thing was quite evident, and that was that he fully expected and
dreaded the visit of Mrs. Lovett upon money matters.