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oliver twist(雾都孤儿(孤星血泪))-第45部分

小说: oliver twist(雾都孤儿(孤星血泪)) 字数: 每页4000字

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by his companion’s unexpected obstinacy; and the vexation of the 
night; “I WILL change it! Listen to me; you drab。 Listen to me; 
who with six words; can strangle Sikes as surely as if I had his 
bull’s throat between my fingers now。 If he comes back; and leaves 
the boy behind him; if he gets off free; and; dead or alive; fails to 
restore him to me; murder him yourself if you would have him 
escape Jack Ketch。 And do it the moment he sets foot in this room; 
or mind me; it will be too late!” 

“What is all this?” cried the girl involuntarily。 

“What is it?” pursued Fagin; mad with rage。 “When the boy’s 
worth hundreds of pounds to me; am I to lose what chance threw 

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me in the way of getting safely; through the whims of a drunken 
gang that I could whistle away the lives of! And me bound; too; to 
a born devil that only wants the will; and has the power to; to—” 
Panting for breath; the old man stammered for a word; and in that 
instant checked the torrent of his wrath; and changed his whole 
demeanour。 A moment before; his clenched hands had grasped 
the air; his eyes had dilated; and his face grown livid with passion; 
but now; he shrank into a chair; and; cowering together; trembled 
with the apprehension of having himself disclosed some hidden 
villainy。 After a short silence; he ventured to look round at his 
companion。 He appeared somewhat reassured; on beholding her 
in the same listless attitude from which he had first roused her。 

“Nancy; dear!” croaked the Jew; in his usual voice。 “Did you 
mind me; dear?” 

“Don’t worry me now; Fagin!” replied the girl; raising her head 
languidly。 “If Bill has not done it this time; he will another。 He has 
done many a good job for you; and will do many more when he 
can; and when he can’t he won’t; so no more about that。” 

“Regarding this boy; my dear?” said the Jew; rubbing the 
palms of his hands nervously together。 

“The boy must take his chance with the rest;” interrupted 
Nancy hastily; “and I say again; I hope he is dead; and out of 
harm’s way; and out of yours—that is; if Bill comes to no harm。 
And if Toby got clear off; Bill’s pretty sure to be safe; for Bill’s 
worth two of Toby any time。” 

“And about what I was saying; my dear?” observed the Jew; 
keeping his glistening eye steadily upon her。 

“You must say it all over again; if it’s anything you want me to 
do;” rejoined Nancy; “and if it is; you had better wait till 

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tomorrow。 You put me up for a minute; but now I’m stupid again。” 

Fagin put several other questions; all with the same drift of 
ascertaining whether the girl had profited by his unguarded hints; 
but; she answered them so readily; and was withal so utterly 
unmoved by his searching looks that his original impression of her 
being more than a trifle in liquor; was confirmed。 Nancy; indeed; 
was not exempt from a failing which was very common among the 
Jew’s female pupils; and in which; in their tenderer years; they 
were rather encouraged than checked。 Her disordered 
appearance; and a wholesale perfume of Geneva which pervaded 
the apartment; afforded strong confirmatory evidence of the 
justice of the Jew’s supposition; and when; after indulging in the 
temporary display of violence above described; she subsided; first 
into dullness; and afterwards into a compound of feelings; under 
the influence of which she shed tears one minute; and in the next 
gave utterance to various exclamations of “Never say die!” and 
divers calculations as to what might be the amount of the odds so 
long as a lady or gentleman was happy; Mr。 Fagin; who had had 
considerable experience of such matters in his time; saw; with 
great satisfaction; that she was very far gone indeed。 

Having eased his mind by this discovery; and having 
accomplished his twofold object of imparting to the girl what he 
had; that night; heard; and of ascertaining; with his own eyes; that 
Sikes had not returned; Mr。 Fagin again turned his face 
homeward; leaving his young friend asleep; with her head upon 
the table。 

It was within an hour of midnight。 The weather being dark; and 
piercing cold; he had no great temptation to loiter。 The sharp wind 
that scoured the streets; seemed to have cleared them of 

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passengers; as of dust and mud; for few people were abroad; and 
they were to all appearance hastening fast home。 It blew from the 
right quarter for the Jew; however; and straight before it he went; 
trembling; and shivering; as every fresh gust drove him rudely on 
his way。 He had reached the corner of his own street; and was 
already fumbling in his pocket for the door…key; when a dark 
figure emerged from a projecting entrance which lay in deep 
shadow; and; crossing the road; glided up to him unperceived。 

“Fagin!” whispered a voice close to his ear。 

“Ah!” said the Jew; turning quickly round; “is that—” 

“Yes!” interrupted the stranger。 “I have been lingering here 
these two hours。 Where the devil have you been?” 

“On your business; my dear;” replied the Jew; glancing uneasily 
at his companion; and slackening his pace as he spoke。 “On your 
business all night。” 

“Oh; of course!” said the stranger; with a sneer。 “Well; and 
what’s come of it?” 

“Nothing good;” said the Jew。 

“Nothing bad; I hope?” said the stranger; stopping short; and 
turning a startled look on his companion。 

The Jew shook his head; and was about to reply; when the 
stranger; interrupting him; motioned to the house; before which 
they had by this time arrived; remarking; that he had better say 
what he had got to say; under cover; for his blood was chilled with 
standing about so long; and the wind blew through him。 

Fagin looked as if he could have willingly excused himself from 
taking home a visitor at that unseasonable hour; and; indeed; 
muttered something about having no fire; but; his companion 
repeating his request in a peremptory manner; he unlocked the 

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door; and requested him to close it softly; while he got a light。 

“It’s as dark as the grave;” said the man; groping forward a few 
steps。 “Make haste!” 

“Shut the door;” whispered Fagin from the end of the passage。 
As he spoke it closed with a loud noise。 

“That wasn’t my doing;” said the other man; feeling his way。 
“The wind blew it to; or it shut of its own accord; one or the other。 
Look sharp with the light; or I shall knock my brains out against 
something in this confounded hole。” 

Fagin stealthily descended the kitchen stairs。 After a short 
absence; he returned with a lighted candle; and the intelligence 
that Toby Crackit was asleep in the back room below; and that the 
boys were in the front one。 Beckoning the man to follow him; he 
led the way upstairs。 

“We can say the few words we’ve got to say in here; my dear;” 
said the Jew; throwing open a door on the first floor; “and as there 
are holes in the shutters; and we never show lights to our 
neighbours; we’ll set the candle on the stairs。 There!” 

With those words; the Jew; stooping down; placed the candle on 
an upper flight of stairs; exactly opposite to the room door。 This 
done; he led the way into the apartment; which was destitute of all 
movables save a broken armchair; and an old couch or sofa 
without covering; which stood behind the door。 Upon this piece of 
furniture; the stranger sat himself with the air of a weary man; and 
the Jew; drawing up the armchair opposite; they sat face to face。 It 
was not quite dark; for the door was partially open; and the candle 
outside; threw a feeble reflection on the opposite wall。 

They conversed for some time in whispers。 Though nothing of 
the conversation was distinguishable beyond a few disjointed 

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words here and there; a listener might easily have perceived that 
Fagin appeared to be defending himself against some remarks of 
the stranger; and that the latter was in a state of considerable 
irritation。 They might have been talking; thus; for a quarter of an 
hour or more; when Monks—by which name the Jew had 
designated the strange man several times in the course of their 
colloquy—said; raising his voice a little: 

“I tell you again; it was badly planned。 Why not have kept him 
here among the rest; and made a sneaking; snivelling pick…pocket 
of him at once?” 

“Only hear him!” exclaimed the Jew; shrugging his shoulders。 

“Why; do you mean to say you couldn’t have done it; if you had 
chosen?” demanded Monks sternly。 “Haven’t you done it; with 
other boys; scores of times? If you had had patience for a 
twelvemonth; at most; couldn’t you have got him convicted; and 
sent safely out of the kingdom perhaps for life?” 

“Whose turn would that have served; my dear?” inquired the 
Jew humbly。 

“Mine;” replied Monks。 

“But not mine;” said the Jew submissively。 “He might have 
become of use to me。 When there are two parties to a bargain; it is 
only reasonable that the interests of both should be consulted; is it 
not; my good friend?” 

“What then?” demanded Monks。 

“I saw it was not easy to train him to the business;” replied the 
Jew; “he was not like the other boys in the same circumstances。” 

“Curse him; no!” muttered the man; “or he would have been a 
thief; long ago。” 

“I had no hold upon him to make him worse;” pursued the Jew; 

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anxiously watching the countenance of his companion。 “His hand 
was not in。 I had nothing to frighten him with; which we always 
must have in the beginning or we labour in vain。 What could I do? 
Send him out with the Dodger and Charley? We had enough of 
that; at first; my dear; I trembled for us all。” 

“That was not my doing;” observed Monks。 

“No; no; my dear!” renewed the Jew。 “And I don’t q

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