I was in mortal terror of the young man who wanted my heart and liver; I was in mortal terror of my interlocutor with the iron leg; I was in mortal terror of myself, from whom an awful promise had been extracted.
– Charles Dickens
Great Expectations, Chapter 2. Magwitch has ordered Pip to bring him food and drink under pain of a horrible death. He warned the boy that there is a young man with him who will tear out Pip’s heart and liver if he doesn’t comply. The “iron leg” is the leg iron worn by Magwitch indicating that he is an escaped prisoner. Pip’s terror is all too evident in this passage.