Acting upon this resolve, which certainly was diabolically to the purpose, Todd spoke to the man again, saying in the same assumed tone in which he had before addressed him—
"All's right—all's right. I'll open the door."
"That's the thing; but you seem to have a bad cold."
"So I have—so I have. A very bad cold; and it has affected my voice so that I can hardly speak at all."
"So I hear."
Todd slowly undid the fastenings of the door, and an infernal feeling of joy came over him at the idea of murdering this unhappy man likewise. It quite reconciled him to the danger in which he was, for he could not but know that the daylight was rapidly approaching, and that each moment increased his peril.
"Yes," he muttered, "he will make three this morning, three idiots who fancy they are a match for me; but I will soon convince them of the contrary, I will soon put him out of his pains and anxieties in this world. Ha! he shall be an independent man, for he shall have no wants, and that is true independence."
Todd drew the last bolt back that held the door.
"Come, Joe, are you coming?" said the man.
"Soon enough, my dear friend, soon enough," said Todd. "You will find me quite soon enough. Come in."