These words were followed by the lashing of what must have been a heavy carter's whip, and then the shrieks died away in deep groans, every one of which went to the heart of poor Tobias.
'I can never live amid all these horrors,' he said. 'Oh, why don't they kill me at once? It would be much better, and much more merciful. I can never live long here. Help, help, help!'
When he shouted this word 'help', it was certainly not with the most distant idea of getting any help, but it was a word that came at once uppermost to his tongue; and so he called it out with all his might, that he should attract the attention of someone, for the solitude, and the almost total darkness of the place he was in, were beginning to fill him with new dismay.
There was a faint light in the cell, which made him know the difference between day and night; but where that faint light came from, he could not tell, for he could see no grating or opening whatever; but yet that was in consequence of his eyes not being fully accustomed to the obscurity of the place; otherwise he would have seen that close up to the roof there was a narrow aperture, certainly not larger than anyone could have passed a hand through, although of some four or five feet in length; and from a passage beyond that, there came the dim borrowed light, which made darkness visible in Tobias's cell.
With a kind of desperation, heedless of what might be the result,
Tobias continued to call aloud for help, and after about a quarter of an hour, he heard the sound of a heavy footstep.
Someone was coming; yes, surely someone was coming, and he was not to be left to starve to death. Oh, how intently he now listened to every sound, indicative of the nearer approach of whoever it was who was coming to his prison-house.
Now he heard the lock move, and a heavy bar of iron was let down with a clanging sound.
'Help, help!' he cried again, 'help, help!' for he feared that whoever it was might even yet go away again, after making so much progress to get at him.
The cell-door was flung open, and the first intimation that poor Tobias got of the fact of his cries having been heard, consisted in a lash with a whip which, if it had struck him as fully as it was intended to do, would have done him serious injury.
'So, do you want it already?' said the same voice he had heard before.
'Oh, no, mercy, mercy,' said Tobias.
'Oh, that's it now, is it? I tell you what it is, if we have any more disturbance here, this is the persuader to silence that we always use: what do you think of that as an argument, eh?'
As he spoke, the man gave the whip a loud smack in the air, and confirmed the truth of the argument by reducing poor Tobias to absolute silence; indeed the boy trembled so that he could not speak.
'Well, now, my man,' added the fellow, 'I think we understand each other. What do you want?'
'Oh, let me go,' said Tobias, 'let me go. I will tell nothing. Say to Mr Todd that I will do what he pleases, and tell nothing, only let me go out of this dreadful place. Have mercy upon me - I'm not at all mad - indeed I am not.'
The man closed the door, as he whistled a lively tune.
XXVIII. The Madhouse Yard, and Tobias's New Friend
This sudden retreat of the man was unexpected by Tobias, who at least thought it was the practice to feed people, even if they were confined to such a place; but the unceremonious departure of the keeper, without so much as mentioning anything about breakfast, began to make Tobias think that the plan by which he was to be got rid of was starvation; and yet that was impossible, for how easy it was to kill him if they felt so disposed! 'Oh, no, no,' he repeated to himself, 'surely they will not starve me to death.'
As he uttered these words, he heard the plaintive singing commence again; and he could not help thinking that it sounded like some requiem for the dead, and that it was a sort of signal that his hours were numbered.
Despair again began to take possession of him, and despite the savage threats of the keeper, he would again have called loudly for help, had he not become conscious that there were footsteps close at hand.
By dint of listening most intently he heard a number of doors opened and shut, and sometimes when one was opened, there was a shriek, and the lashing of the whips, which very soon succeeded in drowning all other noises. It occurred to Tobias, and correctly too, for such was the fact, that the inmates of that most horrible abode were living like so many wild beasts, in cages fed. Then he thought how strange it was that even for any amount of money human beings could be got to do the work of such an establishment. And by the time Tobias had made this reflection to himself, his own door was once more opened upon its rusty hinges.
There was the flash of a light, and then a man came in with a water-can in his hand, to which there was a long spout, and this he placed to the mouth of Tobias, who fearing that if he did not drink then he might be a long time without, swallowed some not over-savoury ditch-water, as it seemed to him, which was thus brought to him.
A coarse, brown-looking hard loaf was then thrown at his feet, and the party was about to leave his cell, but he could not forbear speaking, and, in a voice of the most supplicating earnestness, he said,-
'Oh, do not keep me here. Let me go, and I will say nothing of Todd. I will go to sea at once if you will let me out of this place, indeed I will, but I shall go really mad here.'
'Good, that, Watson, ain't it?' said Mr Fogg, who was of the party. 'Very good, sir. Lord bless you, the cunning of 'em is beyond anything in the world, sir; you'd be surprised at what they say to me sometimes.'
'But I am not mad, indeed I am not mad,' cried Tobias.
'Oh,' said Fogg, 'it's a bad case, I'm afraid; the strongest proof of insanity, in my opinion, Watson, is the constant reiteration of the statement that he is not mad on the part of a lunatic. Don't you think it is so, Watson?'
'Of course, sir, of course.'
'Ah! I thought you would be of that opinion; but I suppose as this is a mere lad we may do without chaining him up; besides, you know that today is inspection-day, when we get an old fool of a superannuated physician to make us a visit.'
'Yes, sir,' said Watson, with a grin, 'and a report that all is well conducted.'
'Exactly. Who shall we have this time, do you think? I always give a ten-guinea fee.'
'Why, sir, there's old Dr Popplejoy, he's eighty-four years old, they say, and sand-blind; he'll take it as a great compliment, he will, and no doubt we can humbug him easily.'
'I dare say we may! I'll see to it; and we will have him at twelve o'clock, Watson. You will take care to have everything ready, of course, you know; make all the usual preparations.'
Tobias was astonished that before him they chose thus to speak so freely, but despairing as he was, he little knew how completely he was in the power of Mr Fogg, and how utterly he was shut out from all human sympathy.
Tobias said nothing; but he could not help thinking that however old and stupid the physician whom they mentioned might be, surely there was a hope that he would be able to discover Tobias's perfect sanity.
But the wily Mr Fogg knew perfectly well what he was about, and when he retired to his own room, he wrote the following note to Dr Popplejoy, who was a retired physician, who had purchased a country house in the neighbourhood. The note will speak for itself, being as fine a specimen of hypocrisy as we can ever expect to lay before our readers:
The Asylum, Peckham
SIR - Probably you may recognise my name as that of the keeper of a lunatic asylum in this neighbourhood. Consistent with a due regard for the safety of that most unhappy class of the community submitted to my care, I am most anxious, with the blessing