The String of Pearls (1850), p. 728

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.
Colonel Jeffrey was cooler than Ingestrie in the affair; but he was not a whit the less determined upon that account.
In the course of seven or eight minutes at the outside, they were both mounted, and as there were plenty of people who could tell them in which direction Todd had gone, they were soon upon his track.
Todd had taken the London Road, and had really got a considerable distance onward, and if he had been, which he was far from being, a good horseman, there is very little doubt but that he would either have led his pursuers a long distance, or possibly escaped them altogether, for the animal that he rode was one that
in skilful hands wd&ld have done wonders.
It was no small aggravation to Colonel Jeffrey to be pursuing his own horse, while he himself was mounted upon a hack that was by no means equal to it.
Skill, however, will get more work out of an indifferent steed than absolute ignorance will achieve from a first-rate one, so that after getting to the top of a rising ground about three miles out of Brighton, our friends saw Todd not three quarters of a mile in advance, coasting a little water-course to find a safe place to cross at. Notwithstanding the distance was great, the colonel knew his own horse in a moment.
"Come on, Ingestrie," he said. "There he is!"
"Are you sure?"
"Quite. That's the rascal. Ah, there he goes through the water! The horse will carry him well across it, but he did not know that, so it is a bold step. On—on!"
They had let their horses come rather easy up the ascent, for the colonel was too good a horseman to break down his steed, merely with an useless burst, when there might be a chase before it of some twenty or thirty miles yet, for all he knew to the contrary; and so, as the country, from the hill-top, sloped very gently right away to the north, they got on wonderfully, and without giving the cattle too much to do.
To keep Todd in sight was everything now, for in that case they felt certain that they must eventually have him. From his actions, it did not seem
that he was at all aware of his being so closely pursued, but suddenly they saw him pull up on an eminence and turn his horse's head in the direction of Brighton.
They saw him shade his eyes with his hands, and take a long look, and then by the sudden start that he gave, and which caused the horse to plunge in alarm,
they knew that he had seen them, and that from that moment he would strain every nerve to escape.
The slight pause that Todd had made in order to look back and see if he were pursued or not, had given his foes the advantage of about one hundred yards, for they had pushed on during that pause with renewed vigour; but now bending low in the saddle, it was evident that he was doing his best to urge the colonel's horse onwards, and it went like the wind.
"There he goes, colonel!" cried Ingestrie. "That pace will do for us pretty quickly. He is having us behind fast enough."
"He is, by Heaven, and if he gets to a turn of the road, there is no knowing

CHAPTER CLXXII.

THE PURSUIT Or 1 TODD ON THE ^ONDON 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.

Colonel Jeffrey was cooler than Ingestrie in the affair; but he was not a whit
the less determined upon that account.

Jn the course of seven or eight minutes at the outside, they were both mounted,
and as there were plenty of people who could tell them in which direction Todd
j had gone, they were soon upon his track.

Todd had taken the London Road, and had really got a considerable distance
onward, and if he had been, which he was far from being, a good horseman, there
is very little doubt but that he would either have led his pursuers a long distance,
or possibly escaped them altogether, for the animal that he rode was one that
in skilful hands wd&ld have done wonders.

It was no small aggravation to Colonel Jeffrey to be pursuing his own horse,
| while he himself was mounted upon a hack that was by no means equal to it.
! Skill, however, will get more work out of an indifferent steed than absolute
ignorance will achieve from a first-rate one, so that after getting to the top of
arising ground about three miles out of Brighton, our friends saw Todd not
three quarters of a mile in advance, coasting a little water-course to find a safe
place to cross at. Notwithstanding the distance was great, the colonel knew
his own horse in a moment.

" Come on, Ingestrie/' he said. " There he is V 9

" Are you sure ! n

" Quite. That's the rascal. Ah, there he goes through the water ! The
horse will carry him well across it, but he did not know that, so it is a bold
step. On — on! 1 '

They had let their horses come rather easy up the ascent, for the colonel was
too good a horseman to break down his steed, merely with an useless burst,
when there might be a chase before it of some twenty or thirty miles yet, for
all he knew to the contrary ; and so, as the country, from the hill-top, sloped
very gently right away to the north, they got on wonderfully, and without
giving the cattle too much to do.

To keep Todd in sight was everything now, for in that case they felt certain
that they must eventually have him. From his actions, it did not seem
that he was at all aware of his being so closely pursued, but suddenly they saw
him pull up on an eminence and turn his horse's head in the direction of Brighton.
They saw him shade his eyes with his hands, and take a long look, and then by
the sudden start that he gave, and which caused the horse to plunge in alarm,
they knew that he had seen them, and that from that moment he would strain
every nerve to escape.

The slight pause that Todd had made in order to look back and see if he were
pursued or not, had given his foes the advantage of about one hundred yards,
j for they had pushed on during that pause with renewed vigour ; but now bend-
ing low in the saddle, it was evident that he was doing his best to urge the
I colonel's horse onwards, and it went like the wind.

" There he goes, colonel !" cried Ingestrie. "That pace will do for us
pretty quickly. He is having us behind fast enough. "

" He is, by Heaven, and if he gets to a turn of the road, there is no knowing