Oldal 99 [99]
65
any sister, or father and mother either.
’m an orphan; I live at Pentonville.”
c Oh, only hear him, how he braves it
out!” cried the young woman.
c Why, it’s Nancy!” exclaimed Oli¬
ver, who now saw her face for the first
time, and started back in irrepressible
astonishment.
c You see he knows me,” cried Nancy,
aye to the bystanders. " He can’t
help himself. Make him come home,
there "s good people, or he "11 kill his dear
c What the devil’s this?” said a man
bursting out of a beer-shop, with a white
dog at his heels; "young Oliver! Come
home to your poor mother, you young
dog! come home directly.”
. “I don’t belong to them. I don’t know
them. Help! help!” cried Oliver, strug¬
gling in the man’s powerful grasp.
«Help ) repeated the man. * Yes;
I"11 help you, you young rascal! What
books are these? You’ve been a steal¬
ing "em, have yout Give’em here!”
With these words the man tore the vol¬
umes from his grasp, and struck him vio¬
lently on the head.
c "That ’s right!” cried a looker-on, from
a garret window. ‘“ That’s the only way
of bringing him to his senses !”
c "To be sure,” cried a sleepy-faced car¬
penter, casting an approving look at the
garret-window.
“Tt’ll do him good!” said the two wo¬
men.
s And he shall have it, too!” rejoined
the man, administering another blow, and
seizing Oliver by the collar. “Come on,
you young villain! Here, Bull’s-eye,
mind him, boy! mind him!”
Weak with recent illness, stupified by
the blows and the suddenness of the at¬
tack, terrified by the fierce growling of
the dog and the brutality of the man, and
overpowered by the conviction of the by¬
stubsiaia that he was really the hardened
little wretch he was described to be, what
could one poor child dot Darkness had
set in; it was a low neighbourhood ; no
help was near; resistance was useless.
In another moment he was dragged into
a ny rinth of dark, narrow courts, and
forced along them. at a pace which ren¬
dered the few cries he dared give utter¬
ance to, wholly unintelligible. It was of
little moment, indeed, whether they were
intelligible or not, for there was nobody
to care for them had they been ever so
plain.
a x ak *K * *
The e. TAN lighted ; Mrs. Bed¬
*
win was waiting anxiously at the open
door; the servant had run up the street
twenty times, to see if there were any
traces of Oliver; and still the two old
gentlemen sat perseveringly in the dark
parlour, with the watch between them.
CHAPTER THE SIXTEENTH
Relates what became of Oliver Twist, after he had
been claimed by Nancy,
THE narrow streets and courts at length
terminated in a large open space, scat¬
tered about which, were pens for beasts,
and other indications of a cattle-market.
Sikes slackened his pace when they reach¬
ed this spot, the girl being unable to sup¬
port any longer the rapid rate at which
they had hitherto walked; and, turning
to Oliver, commanded him roughly to take
hold of Nancy’s hand.
“ Do you hear?” growled Sikes, as Oli¬
ver hesitated, and looked round.
They were in a dark corner, quite out
of the track of passengers, and Oliver
saw but too plainly that resistance would
be of no avail. He held out his hand,
which Nancy clasped tight in hers.
“(ive me the other,” said Sikes, seiz¬
ing Oliver’s unoccupied hand. " Here,
Bull’s-eye !"
The dog looked up, and growled.
“See here, boy!” said Sikes, putting
his other hand to Oliver’s throat, and ut¬
tering a savage oath; “if he ever .
so soft a word, hold him! D’ye mind?”
The dog growled again, and licking his
lips, eyed Oliver as if he were anxious to
attach himself to his windpipe without
any unnecessary delay.
6 He "s as willing as a Christian, strike —
me blind if he isn’t!” said Sikes, regard¬
ing the animal with a kind of grim and
ferocious approval. “Now you know
what you ’ve got to expect, master, so call
away as quick as you like; the dog will
soon stop the game. Get on, young un!"
Bull’s-eye wagged his tail in acknow¬
ledgment of this unusually endearing
form of speech, and, giving vent to an¬
other admonitory growl for the benefit
of Oliver, led the way onward.
It was Smithfield they were crossing,
although it might have been Grosvenor
Square, for anything Oliver knew to the
contrary. The night was dark and oggya
and it was just beginning to rain.
lights in the shops coula scarcely struggle