The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 260: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“ae rf} © 952 THE STRING OF PEARLS. ee cg ieee atria peat ALLEL LLL LCL TL LLL LL LA AL EAL LCA LAL DAL AAD AAA NAN ca aati “My own—my own pearls—my beautiful pearls!—Oh, blessed chance—my pearls back again. Ha! ha! ha!” ‘Hal? echoed Todd, as he stepped behind the chair on which John Mundell was sitting. With his left hand he took one vigorous grasp of the remaining hair upon the head of the usurer, and forced his back against the chair. In another instant there was a Sickening gushing sound. ‘Todd, with the razor he held in his right t hand, had nearly cut John Mundell’s head off. Then he held him still by the . hair, Gasp—gasp—gasp—bubble—gasp—bubble.—Ah! ah! ah!—Goggle— | goggle. A slight convulsive movement of the lashes, and the eyes set, and became opaquely dim, The warm blood still bubbled, but John Mundell was dead. ‘lodd picked up the pearls and carefully replaced them in his bosom again. es How many strange events,” he said, “hang upon these baubles. Ah, it’s only one more—a dirty job rather—but business is business !” “ He stood in the room as silent as a statue, and listened intently. Not the slightest sound indicative of the proximity of any one came upon his ears. He i felt quite convinced that the deed of blood had been done in perfect secrecy. But then there he was.—Who but he could be accused? There he stood, the self- convicted murderer. Had he not done the deed with the weapon of his handi- craft that he had brought to the house? How was Todd to escape the seeming | inevitable cold-bleoded murder? We shall see. Huddled up in the chair, was | the dead body. Mundell had not fallen out of the capacious easy seat in which he sat when he breathed his last: The blood rolled to the floor, where it lay in a steaming mass. ‘Todd was careful—very careful not to tread in it, and he looked down his garments to see if there were any tell-tale spots of gore; but standing behind the chair to do the deed, as he had done, he had been saved from anything of the sort. There he stood, externally spotless, like many a seem- ing and smirking sinner in this world—but oh, how black and stained within ! “ Humph!” said ‘Todd; “John Mundell was half distracted bya heavy loss. | He was ill, and his mind was evidently affected. He could not even shave him- self, Oh, it is quite evident that John Mundell, unable to bear his miseries, real or ideal, any longer, in a fit of partial insanity, cut his throat. Yes, that will do.” Todd still kept the razor in his grasp. What is he going to do?—Murder again the murdered ?—~Is he afraid that a man, ‘‘ With twenty murders on his head !” Ril will jostle him from his perilous pinnacle of guilty safety?——-No. He takes one of the clammy dead hands in his own—he clasps the half rigid fingers over the handle of the razor, and then he holds them until, in the course of a minute or |' so, they have assumed the grasp he wishes, and the razor, with which he, Todd, did deed of blood, is held listlessly, but most significantly, in the hand of the dead. “That will do,” said Todd. The door is reached and unfastened, and the barber slips outoftheroom. He closes the door again upon the fetid hot aroma of the blood that is there, fresh from the veins of a human being like himself—no—no—not like himself,—No one can be like Sweeney Todd. He is a being of his own species—distinct; alone, an incarnation of evil! Todd was in no particular hurry to descend the stairs. ERP eee eee ee oe me Sn cement et eaena nn i orer em See 2 weer ate ee G3 - d + rn ues is | ? BAL | ore beth it 4yiil} 4 hy : Pith it hie Wl ¥ A 4 \ y Pi uth ; uy 1a. owt i t : > % J ple b4 *nh ‘ * at hy #0 } i] I ’ Tey DS ti d bp | a | teh ete } > ei +| uh Ser) wM, hc | » t ' | Br b OES , if : | ' hi i i / fit | He 7 il : y Vf * ; 1} a hi , SAG | ae | ed ! hii} } { BBL 7 : ; i Hee ‘ 0H MH Ah! iy a Ne) ul ‘ Rh) WaT it Wau a Dan t Lee I : 1 tt J Hd ' hed Vh Heote f edid : | a a | ( } tate me) if. get ee | * oe we a ’ 3 i aS vote Ph Hf, va | iH i we j eh haere thy i / hat Hey 1 { & 3 f ait AA i 4 y 12 ay : ae 4 Hy Re | ea ea th Me ae i i] RE Ba tal ; aR Bie vita » hae : i ag te be: : ay Oh ey) - i i AR Wh Hi att i mir pie Py ry tS i j i i } i ‘ OUT aa if eae ii ! iE ¢ t Be fk ype elt y TA, ss ae Mi ‘fh h € ur bi ne a a Phi ry aN i i ee y 4 he | ii Kiel 4 Ba yf fey ahh a Kil ii aa) % { | ; | ea’ pet ri 4 et ip Pa i : ai eT i iit Fi. q i a SE 4 i 4 Be ie | ig RI { a ~ See ie ee He gained the passage with tolerable deliberation, and then he heard voices in the parlour. ; ‘¢ What a man you are!” said Mrs. Blisset. ‘© Ah, my dear, 1am indeed. Who would not bea man for your sake? As | for Mr. Blisset, I don’t think him worth attention.’’ ‘Nor I,” said the lady, snapping her fingers, ‘‘ I don’t value him that. The poor mean-spirited wretch—he’s not to be compared to you, captain.”’ “‘] should think not, my love. Have you got any change in your pocket ?” = Se = Fare Semmes aio comicbooks.com