Stranica 66 [66]
Early on the seventh morning after he
had left his native place, Oliver limped
slowly into the little town of Barnet. ‘The
window-shutters were closed, the street
was empty, not a soul had awakened to
the business of the day. The sun was
rising in all his splendid beauty, but the
altogether as roystermg and swaggering
a young gentleman as ever stood three
feet six, or something less, in his bluchers.
c Hullo, my covey, what’s the row ?"
said this strange young gentleman to
Oliver.
“Tam very hungry and tired,” replied
own lonesomeness and desolation as he
sat with bleeding feet and covered with
dust upon a cold door-step.
By degrees the shutters were opened,
the window-blinds were drawn up, and
people began passing to and fro. Some
few stopped to gaze at Oliver for a mo¬
ment or two, or turned round to stare at
him, or troubled themselves how he came
he sat.
He had been crouching on the step for
some time, gazing listlessly at the coaches
as they passed through, and thinking how
strange it seemed that they could do with
ease ina few hours what it had taken
him a whole week of courage and deter¬
mination beyond his years to accomplish,
when he was roused by observing that a
boy who had passed him carelessly some
minutes before, had returned, and was
now surveying him most earnestly from
the opposite side of the way. He took
little heed of this at first; but the boy re¬
mained in the same attitude of close ob¬
servation so long, that Oliver raised his
this, the boy crossed over, and walking
close up to Oliver, said,
* Hullo! my covey, what’s the row?”
The boy who addressed this inquiry to
the young wayfarer was about his own
age, but one of the queerest-looking boys
that Oliver had ever seen. He was a
snub-nosed, flat-browed, common-faced boy
enough, and as dirty a juvenile as one
would wish to see; but he had got about
him all the airs and manners of a man.
He was short of his age, with rather bow¬
legs, and little sharp ugly eyes. His hat
was stuck on the top of his head so slightly
that it threatened to fa.. ff every moment,
and would have done so very often if the
wearer had not had a knack of every now
and then giving bis head a sudden twitch,
which brought it back to its old place
again. He wore a man’s coat, which
reached nearly to his heels. He had
turned the cufis back halfway up his arm
to get his hands out of the sleeves, appa¬
rently with the ultimate view of thrusting
them into the pockets of his corduroy
Lrouser:, fur there he kept them. He was
he spoke. “I have walked a long way,
—I! have been walking these seven days."
“Walking for sivin days!” said the
young gentleman. “Oh, I see. Beak’s
orders, eh? But,” he added, noticing Oli¬
ver’s look of surprise, “1 suppose you
don’t know wot a beak is, my flash com¬
pan-l-on.”
Oliver mildly replied, that he had al¬
ways heard a bird’s mouth described by
the term in question.
“ My eyes, how green!” exclaimed the
young gentleman. ‘ Why, a beak’s a
madg’st’rate; and when you walk by a
beak’s order, it’s not straight forerd, but
always going up, and niver coming down
agen. Was you never on the mill ?”
6 What mill?” inquired Oliver.
c What mill !—why, the mill,—the mill
as takes up so little room that it’ll work
when the wind’s low with people than
when it’s high, acos then they can’t get
workmen. But come,” said the young
gentleman; § a want grub, and you
shall have it. I’m at low-water-mark,—
only one bob and a magpie; but as far as
it goes, [711 fork out and stump. Up with
you on your pins. There: now then,
morrice.”
Assisting Oliver to rise, the young gen¬
tleman took him toan adjacent chandler’s
shop, where he purchased a sufficiency of
ready-dressed ham and a half-quartern loaf,
or, as he himself expressed it, " fourpenny
bran ;” the ham being kept clean and pre¬
served from dust by the ingenious expe¬
dient of making a hole in the loaf by pull.
ing out a portion of the crumb, and stuff
ing it therein. ‘Taking the bread under
his arm, the young gentleman turned inte
a small public-house, and led the way tc
a tap-room in the rear of the premises.
Here, a pot of beer was brought in by the
direction of the mysterious youth; and
Oliver, falling to, at his new friend’s bid¬
ding, made a long and hearty meal, during
the progress of which the strange boy
eyed him from time to time with great
attention.
s Going to London?” said the strange
boy, when Oliver had at length con¬
cluded.
“ Yes,”