sir francis varney , probably , had tom eccles not gone off so rapidly , would have yet taken another thought , and gone in another direction than that which led him to the ruins , and tom , if he had had his senses fully about him , as well as all his powers of perception , would have seen that the progress of the vampyre was very slow , while he continued to converse with marchdale , and that it was only when he went off at good speed that sir francis varney likewise thought it prudent to do so .