He stood for a few moments now in silence, confronting a small piece of looking glass that hung upon the wall exactly opposite to him, and it would appear that he was struck very much by the appearance of his own face, for he suddenly said—
"How old and worn I look."
No one could have looked upon the countenance1 of Todd for one moment without fully2 concurring3 in this opinion. In truth, he did look old and worn. But a comparatively short time has elapsed since we first presented him to the readers of this most veracious4 narrative5. Then he was a man whose hideous6 ugliness was combined with such a look of cool triumphant7 villany, that one did not know which most to ponder upon. Now his face had lost its colour; a yellowish whiteness was the predominating tint8, and his cheeks had fallen. There was a wild and an earnest restlessness about his eyes that made him look very much like some famished9 wolf, with a touch of hydrophobia to set him off; and certainly, take him for all in all, one would not be over anxious
"To see his like again!"
"Old and worn," he repeated, "and the game is up; I am decided10. Off and away! is my game—off and away!—I have enough to be a prince anywhere where money is worshipped, and that of course must be the case in all civilised and religious communities. I must keep in some such. In the more savage11 wilds of nature man is prized for what he is, but, thank God, in highly cultivated and educated states he is only prized for what he has been. Ha! ha! If mankind had worshipped virtue12, I would have been virtuous13, for I love power."
A thought seemed suddenly to strike Todd; and he went into the parlour muttering to himself—
"My friend Peter must be effectually disposed of."
"Gone!—that will do."
There was no trace of the body that he had kicked under the table. By some strange mysterious agency it had entirely15 disappeared, and then Todd went somehow to the back of the house and got a wet mop, by the aid of which he got rid of some stains of blood upon the floor and the fender.
"All's right," he said, "I have done some service to Fogg, and I will, when I am far enough off for any sting not to recoil16 upon myself, take good care that the law pays him a visit. The villain17 as well as the fool, to deceive me regarding the boy Tobias. What can have become of him?"
This was a question that gave Todd some uneasiness, but at length he came to the conclusion that the dreadful treatment he, Tobias, had received at the asylum18 had really driven him mad, and that in all human probability he had fallen or cast himself into the river, or gone into some field to die.
"Were it otherwise," he said, "I should and must have heard something of him before now."
Todd then fairly began packing up. From beneath several tables in the room he dragged out large trunks, and opening then some of the drawers and cupboards that abounded19 in his parlour, he began placing their valuable contents in the boxes.
"My course is simple enough," he said—"very simple; I must and will, by violence—for she is by far too wily and artful to allow me to do so by any other means—get rid of Mrs. Lovett. Then I must and will possess myself of all that she calls her share of the proceeds of business. Then, at night—the dead hour of the night—after having previously20 sent all my boxes full of such valuables as from their likelihood to be identified I dare not attempt to dispose of in England, to Hamburgh, I will set the whole house in a flame."
The idea of burning down his house, and if possible involving a great portion of Fleet Street in the conflagration21, always seemed to be delightful22 enough to Todd to raise his spirits a little.
"Yes," he added, with a demoniac grin. "There is no knowing what amount of mischief23 I may do to society at large upon that one night, besides destroying amid the roar of the flames a mass of accumulated evidence against myself that would brand my memory with horrors, and, for aught I know, cause a European search after me."
As he spoke24, watches—rings—shoe buckles—brooches—silver heads of walking canes—snuff boxes, and various articles of bijouterie were placed row upon row in the box he was packing.
"Yes," he added, "I know—I feel that there is danger; I know now that I have spies upon me—that I am watched; but it is from that very circumstance that I ground my belief that as yet I am safe. They fancy there is something to find out, and they are trying to find it out. If they really knew anything, of course it would be—Todd, you are wanted."
Having placed in one of the boxes as many articles of gold and silver as made up a considerable weight, Todd lifted it at one end, and feeling satisfied that if he were to place any more metal in the box it would be too heavy for carriage, he opened a cupboard which was full of hats, and filled up the box with them. By this means he filled up the box, so that the really valuable articles within it would not shake about, and then he securely locked it.
"One," he said. "Some half-dozen of such will be sufficient to carry all that I shall think worth the taking. As for my money, that will be safest about me. Ah, I will outwit them yet, I will be off and away—only just in time. Suspicion will take a long time to ripen25 into certainty, and before it does, the flaming embers of this house will be making the night sky as fair and magnificent as the most golden sunset of summer." Another box was now opened, and in that, as it was of considerable length, he began to pack swords of a valuable character. He went to the rooms above stairs, which, as the reader is already aware, contained much valuable property, and brought down troops of things, which with complacent26 looks he carefully placed in the chest. Ever and anon, as he went through this process, he kept muttering to himself his hopes and fears. "What is to hinder me, in some principality of Germany, from purchasing a title which shall smother27 all remembrance of what I now am, and as the Baron28 Something, I shall commence a new life, for I am not old; no—no, I am not old—far from old, although late anxieties have made me look so. I am not so nervous and fearful of slight things as I was, although my imagination has played me some tricks of late." Some slight noise, that sounded as if in the house, although it was in all probability in the next one, came upon his ears, and with a howl of terror he shrunk down by the side of the box he had been packing.
Todd Alarmed At Strange Sounds Whilst Packing His Plunder.
"Help! mercy! What is that?"
The noise was not repeated, but for the space of about ten minutes or so, Todd was perfectly30 incapable31 of moving except a violent attack of trembling, which kept every limb in motion, and terribly distorted his countenance, if it might be called so.
"What—what was it?" he at length gasped32. "I thought I heard something, nay33, I am sure I heard something—a slight noise, but yet slight noises are to me awfully34 suggestive of something that may follow. Am I really getting superstitious35 now?"
He slowly rose and looked fearfully round him. All was still. True, he had heard a voice, but that was all. No consequences had resulted from it, and the fit of trembling that had seized him was passing away. He went to the cupboard where he kept that strong stimulant36 that had so much excited the admiration37 of Peter. He did not go through the ceremony of procuring38 a glass, but placing the neck of the bottle to his throat, he took a draught39 of the contents which would have been amply sufficient to confound the faculties40 of any ordinary person. Upon Todd, however, it had only a sort of sedative41 effect, and he gradually recovered his former diabolical42 coolness.
"It was nothing," he said. "It was nothing. My fears and my imaginations are beginning now to play the fool with me. If there were none others, such would be sufficient warnings to me to be off and away."
He continued the packing of the box which had been temporarily suspended, but ever and anon he would pause, and lifting up one of his huge hands, placed it at his ear to listen more acutely, and when nothing in the shape of alarm reached him he would say with a tone of greater calmness and contentment—
"All is still—all is still. I shall be off and away soon—off and away!"
The dusky twilight43 had crept on while Todd was thus engaged, and he was thinking of going out, when he heard the creaking noise of his shop door opening. As he was but in the parlour, he made his way to the shop at once, and saw a young man, who spoke with an affected44 lisp, as he said—
"Mr. Todd, can you give my locks a little twirl? I'm going to a party to-night, and want to look fascinating."
"Allow me," said Todd, as he rapidly passed him and bolted the door. "I am annoyed by a drunken man, so, while I am dressing45 your hair, I wish to shut him out, or else I might scorch46 you with the tongs47."
"Oh, certainly. If there's anything, do you know, Mr. Todd, that I really dislike more than another, it's a drunken man."
"There's only one thing in society," said Todd, "can come near it.—Sit here, sir."
"What's that?"
"Why, a drunken woman, sir."
"Werry good—Werry good."
Some one made an effort to enter the shop, but the bolt which Todd had shot into its place effectually resisted anything short of violence sufficient to break the door completely down.
"Mr. Todd—Mr. Todd," cried a voice.
"In a moment, sir," said Todd. "In a moment."
He darted48 into the parlour. There was a loud bang in the shop as though something had fallen, and then a half-stifled shriek49. Todd reappeared. The shaving chair in which the young man had been sitting was empty. Todd took up his hat, and threw it into the parlour. He then unbolted the door, and admitted a man who glanced around him, and then, without a word, backed out again, looking rather pale. Todd did not hear him mutter to himself, as he reached the street—
"Sir Richard will be frantic50 at this. I must post off to him at once, and let him know that it was none of our faults. What an awkward affair to be sure."
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1
countenance
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| n.脸色，面容；面部表情；vt.支持，赞同 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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concurring
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| 同时发生的，并发的 | |
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veracious
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| adj.诚实可靠的 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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6
hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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8
tint
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| n.淡色，浅色；染发剂；vt.着以淡淡的颜色 | |
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9
famished
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| adj.饥饿的 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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11
savage
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| adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人 | |
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12
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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13
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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14
grunt
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| v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝 | |
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15
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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16
recoil
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| vi.退却，退缩，畏缩 | |
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17
villain
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| n.反派演员，反面人物；恶棍；问题的起因 | |
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asylum
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| n.避难所，庇护所，避难 | |
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19
abounded
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| v.大量存在，充满，富于( abound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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24
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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ripen
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| vt.使成熟；vi.成熟 | |
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complacent
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| adj.自满的；自鸣得意的 | |
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27
smother
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| vt./vi.使窒息；抑制；闷死；n.浓烟；窒息 | |
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28
baron
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| n.男爵；(商业界等)巨头，大王 | |
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29
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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30
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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32
gasped
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| v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要 | |
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33
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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awfully
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| adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地 | |
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35
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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stimulant
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| n.刺激物，兴奋剂 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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38
procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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39
draught
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| n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计 | |
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40
faculties
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| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
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41
sedative
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| adj.使安静的，使镇静的；n. 镇静剂，能使安静的东西 | |
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42
diabolical
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| adj.恶魔似的，凶暴的 | |
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43
twilight
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| n.暮光，黄昏；暮年，晚期，衰落时期 | |
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44
affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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45
dressing
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| n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料 | |
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46
scorch
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| v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕 | |
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47
tongs
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| n.钳；夹子 | |
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48
darted
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| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
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49
shriek
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| v./n.尖叫，叫喊 | |
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50
frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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