"By Heaven he is off!" cried the colonel, as he heard the clatter of the horse's feet.
"No!" shouted Ingestrie; "it cannot be!"
"Easy does it," said Ben, from the corner into which he had fallen. "Easy—Easy!"
"Johanna, unhand me, I implore you," cried Mark Ingestrie. "Do you wish the murderer to be lost sight of? Come on, colonel—you and I must engage in this pursuit. God of Heaven! the idea of me saving Todd from the waves!"
The colonel and Ingestrie seized their hats, and rushed down the stairs, tumbling over the servant in the hall. The next object they came across was the groom who had had charge of the horse. They found him sitting on the pavement, looking as confused as possible.
"Which way has he gone?" cried the colonel.
"The—the man. Round that corner, and Hector has gone after him, like mad, sir. Oh, dear!"
"Hector? Then he will be taken, for I will back Hector to hang upon him like grim death. Come with me to the nearest stable, Ingestrie, and let us get horses! Come—come!"
CHAPTER CLXXII.
THE PURSUIT OF TODD ON THE LONDON ROAD.
The whole of these proceedings had really come with such a rush upon the senses of Mark Ingestrie, that he might well have been excused had he not been able to act with the energy that he did; but the strong desire to capture Sweeney Todd, and so to put an end to all the doubts and fears that were felt concerning him, upon the parts of those to whom he was fondly attached, roused the young man to action.