CHAPTER XXXVIII.

SIR RICHARD PRIES INTO TODD'S SECRETS.

Crotchet soon reached the attic floor of the shoemaker's house, and

although in profound darkness, he managed, as he thought, to touch the

right door. Tap! tap! went Crotchet's knuckles, and as he did so he

followed a habit very general, when the knock is only a matter of

ceremony, and opened the door at the same moment. He popped his head

into a room where there was a light, and said--

"Here yer is."

A scream was the reply to him, and then Crotchet saw, by the state of

affairs there, that he had made a little mistake in the topography of

the attic landing. The attic in which he found himself, for he had

crossed the threshold, was in the occupation of an elderly gaunt-looking

female, who was comforting her toes by keeping them immersed in a pan of

water by the side of a little miserable fire, which was feebly

pretending to look cheerful in the little grate.

"Lor, mum!" said Crotchet. "Who'd a thought o' seeing of you?"

"Oh, you monster. You base man, what do you want here?"

"Nothink!"

"Be off with you, or else I'll call the _perlice_."

"Oh, I'm a going, mum. How do you bring it in, mum, in a general way?"

"Help! Murder!"

"Lord bless us, what a racket. Don't you go for to fancy, mum, that I

comed up these here attic stairs for to see you. Quite the rewerse,

mum."

"Then, pray who did you come to see, you big ugly monster you? The other

attic is empty. Oh, you base infidel. I believe I knows what men are by

this time."

"No doubt on it, mum. Howsomedever this here's the wrong door, I take

it. No harm done, mum. I wish you and your toes, mum, a remarkably good

evening."

"Crotchet," said a voice.

"Here yer is."

Sir Richard Blunt had been attentively listening for Crotchet, and when

he heard the screams of the old lady in the next attic, he opened the

door of his apartment, and looked out. He soon discovered what was

amiss, and called out accordingly.

"Bless us, who's that?"

"The Emperor o' Russia, mum," said Crotchet. "He's took that 'ere attic

next to you, cos he's heard so much o' the London chumbley pots, and he

wants to have a good look at them at his leisure."

With these words Mr. Crotchet left the old lady's attic, and closed the

door carefully, leaving her, no doubt, in a considerable state of

bewilderment. In another moment he was with the magistrate.

"Crotchet," said Sir Richard, "I thought I told you to do this thing as

quietly as you possibly could."

"Down as a hammer, sir."

"I think it is anything but down."

"Right as a trivet, sir, with a hextra leg. Lots o' fear, but no danger.

Now for it, Sir Richard. What lay is we to go on?"

It certainly never occurred to Sir Richard Blunt to hold any argument

with Mr. Crotchet. He had long since found out that he must, if he would

avail himself of his services--and for courage and fidelity he was

unequalled--put up with his eccentricities; so upon this occasion he

said no more about Crotchet's mistake, but, after a few moments' pause,

pointing to the attic door, he said--

"Secure it."

"All's right."

Crotchet took a curious little iron instrument from his pocket, and

secured it into the wall by the side of the door. It did not take him

more than a moment to do so, and then, fully satisfied of the efficacy

of his work, he said--

"Let 'em get over that if they can."

While he was so occupied. Sir Richard Blunt himself had opened the

window, and fastened it open securely.

"Now, Crotchet," he said, "look to your pistols."

"All's right, sir."

The magistrate carefully examined the priming of his own arms, and

seeing that all was right, he at once emerged from the attic through the

window on to the parapet of the house. He might have crept along the

gutter just within the parapet, but the gutter aforesaid was not exactly

in the most salubrious condition. Indeed, from its filthy state, one

might have fancied it to be peculiarly under the direction of the city

commissioners of sewers. Crotchet followed Sir Richard closely, and in a

moment or two they had traversed a sufficient portion of the parapet to

find themselves at the attic window of Todd's house. It would have been

next thing to a miracle if they had been seen in their progress, for the

roof was very dark coloured, and the night had fairly enough set in, so

that if any one had by chance looked up from the street below, they

would scarcely have discovered that there was anybody creeping along the

parapet. Now there was a slight creaking noise for about half a minute,

and then the window of Sweeney Todd's attic swung open.

"Come on," said Sir Richard, and he softly alighted in the apartment.

Crotchet followed him, and then the magistrate carefully closed the

window again, and left it in such a way, that a touch from within would

open it. Then they were in profound darkness, and as it was no part of

the policy of Sir Richard Blunt to run any unnecessary risks, he did not

move one inch from the place upon which he stood until he had lighted a

small hand lantern, which had a powerful reflector and a tin shade,

which in a moment could be passed over the glass, so as to hide the

light upon an emergency.

"Now, Crotchet," he said, "we shall see where we are."

"_Reether_," said Crotchet.

By holding the light some height up, they were able to command a good

view of the attic. It was a miserable looking room: the walls were in a

state of premature decay, and in several places lumps of mortar had

fallen from the ceiling, making a litter of broken plaster upon the

floor. It was entirely destitute of furniture, with the exception of an

old stump bedstead, upon which there lay what looked like a quantity of

old clothes.

"Safe enough," said Sir Richard.

"Stop!" said Crotchet.

"What's the matter?"

"There's something odd on the floor here. Don't you see as the dust has

got into a crevice as is bigger nor all the other crevices, and goes

right along this ways and then along that ways? Don't you move, sir.

I'll be down upon it in a minute."

Mr. Crotchet laid himself down flat upon the floor, and then crept on

until he came to that part of the flooring which had excited his

suspicions. As soon as he pressed upon it with both his hands it gave

way under them plainly, by the elevation of the other end of the three

boards of which this trap was composed, proclaiming that it was a

moveable portion of the floor, revolving or turning upon one of the

joists as a centre.

"Oh dear, how clever!" said Crotchet. "If Mr. Todd goes on a cutting

away his joists in this here way he'll bring his blessed old house down

with a run some day. How nice and handy, now, if any one was to step

upon here--they'd go down into the room below, and perhaps break their

blessed legs as they went."

[Illustration: The Secret Trap Discovered In Todd's House.]

"Escape the first for us!" said Sir Richard.

"Oh, lor, yes. Now this here Todd thinks, by putting this here man-trap

here, as he has _perwided_ again any accidents; but we ain't them 'ere

sort o' birds as is catched by chaff, not we. Why he must have spilted

his blessed ceiling down below to make this here sort of a jigamaree

concern."

"It's not a bad contrivance though, Crotchet. Its own weight, you see,

restores it to its place again, and so there's no trouble with it."

"Oh dear, no. It's a what I calls a self-acting catch-'em-who-can sort

o' machine. Yes, Sir Richard, I never did think that 'ere Todd was wery

green. He don't know quite so much as we know; but yet he's a rum 'un."

"No doubt of it. Do you think, Crotchet, there is anything else in this

attic to beware of?"

"Not likely; when he'd finished this here nice little piece of

handywork, I dare say he said to himself--'This will catch 'em,' and so

down stairs he toddled, and grinned like a monkey as has swallowed a

whole nut by haccident, and gived himself a pain in the side in

consekence. 'That'll catch 'em,' says he."

Mr. Crotchet seemed so much amused at the picture he drew to himself of

the supposed exultation of Todd, that for some moments he did nothing

but laugh. The reader must not suppose, however, that in the

circumstances of peril in which they were, he indulged in a regular "Ha!

ha!"--quite the contrary. He had a mode of laughing under such

circumstances that was entirely his own, and which, while it made no

noise, shook his huge frame as though some commotion had taken sudden

possession of it, and the most ridiculous part of the process was the

alarming suddenness with which he would become preternaturally serious

again. But Sir Richard Blunt knew his peculiarities, and paid no

attention to them, unless they very much interfered with business.

"We must not waste time. Come on, Crotchet."

Sir Richard walked to the door of the attic and tried it. It was as fast

as though it had been part of the wall itself.

"So--so," he said. "Master Todd has taken some precautions against being

surprised from the top of his house. He has nailed up this door as

surely as any door was ever nailed up."

"Has he really, though?"

"Yes. Quick, Crotchet. You have your tools about you, I suppose."

"Never fear," said Crotchet. "I'm the _indiwedal_ as never forgets

nothink, and if I don't have the middle panel out o' this door a'most as

soon as look at it, it's only cos it takes more time."

With this philosophical and indisputable remark, Mr. Crotchet stooped

down before the door, and taking various exquisitely made tools from his

pocket, he began to work at the door. He knocked nearly noiselessly, and

it looked like something little short of magic to see how the panel was

forced out of the door without any of the hammering and flustering which

a carpenter would have made of it.

"All's right," he said. "If we can't creep through here, we are bigger

than I think we is."

"That will do. Hush!"

They both listened attentively, for Sir Richard thought he heard a faint

noise from the lower part of the house. As, however, five minutes of

attentive listening passed away, and no repetition of it occurred, they

thought it was only some one of those accidental sounds which will at

times be heard in all houses whether occupied or not. Crotchet took the

lead by creeping clearly enough through the opening that he had made in

the door of the attic, and Sir Richard followed him. They were both,

now, at the head of the staircase, and Sir Richard held up the lantern

so as to have a good look around him. The walls looked damp and

neglected. There were two other doors opening from that landing, but

neither of them was fastened, so that they entered the rooms easily.

They took care, though, not to go beyond the threshold for fear of

accidents, although it was very unlikely that Todd would take the

trouble to construct a trap-door in any other attic than the one which

was so easily accessible from the parapet.

"Old clothes--old clothes!" said Crotchet. "There seems to be nothing

else in these rooms."

"So it would appear," said Sir Richard.

He lifted up some of the topmost of a heap of garments upon the floor,

and a cloud of moths flew upwards in confusion.

"There's the toggery," said Mr. Crotchet, "of the _smugged 'uns_!"

"You really think so."

"Knows it."

"Well, Crotchet, I don't think from what I know myself that we shall

disagree about Todd's guilt. The grand thing is to discover how, and in

what way he is guilty."

"Just so. I'm quite sure we have seed all as there is to see up here, so

suppose we toddle down stairs now, sir. There's, perhaps, quite a lot o'

wonders and natur', and art, down below."

"Stop a bit. Hold the lamp."

Crotchet did so, while Sir Richard took from his pocket a pair of thick

linsey-woolsey stockings, and carefully drew them on over his boots, for

the purpose of deadening the sound of his footsteps; and then he held

the light, while Mr. Crotchet, who was similarly provided with

linsey-woolseys, went through the same process. After this, they moved

like spectres, so perfectly noiseless were their footsteps upon the

stairs. Sir Richard went first, while Crotchet now carried the light,

holding it sufficiently high that the magistrate could see the stairs

before him very well, as he proceeded. It was quite evident, from the

state of those stairs, as regarded undisturbed dust, that they had not

been ascended for a considerable time; and indeed, Todd, considering the

top of his house as perfectly safe after the precautions he had taken,

did not trouble himself to visit it. Our adventurers reached the landing

upon the second floor in perfect safety; and after giving a few minutes

more to the precautionary measure of listening, they opened the first

door that presented itself to the observation, and entered the room.

They both paused in astonishment, for such a miscellaneous collection of

matters as was in this room, could only have been expected to be met

with in the shop of a general dealer. Several chairs and tables were

loaded with wearing apparel of all kinds and conditions. The corners of

the room were literally crowded with mobs of swords, walking sticks, and

umbrellas; while a countless heap of hats lay upon the floor in

disorder. You could not have stepped into that room for miscellaneous

personal appointments of one sort or another; and Mr. Crotchet and Sir

Richard Blunt trod upon the hats as they walked across the floor, from

sheer inability to get out of the way.

"Well," said Crotchet, "if so be as shaving should go out of fashion,

Todd could set up a clothier's shop, and not want for stock to begin

with."

"I can imagine," muttered the magistrate to himself, "what a trouble and

anxiety all these things must be to Todd, and woollen goods are so

difficult to burn. Crotchet, select some of the swords, and look if

there are maker's names upon the blades."

While Crotchet was preparing this order. Sir Richard was making a hasty

but sufficiently precise examination of the room.