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c Why, what evil wind has blowed you
here?" he asked of Fagin.
No evil wind at all, my dear," replied
the Jew; " for ill winds blow nobody any
good, and I’ve brought something good
with me that you’ll be glad to see. Dod¬
er, my dear, open the bundle, and give
ill the little trifles that we spent all our
money on this morning.”
In compliance with Mr. Fagin’s request,
the Artful untied his bundle, which was
of large size, and formed of an old table¬
cloth, and handed the articles it contained,
one by one, to Charley Bates, who placed
them on the table, with various encomi¬
ums on their rarity and excellence.
“Sitch a rabbit pie, Bill!" exclaimed
that young gentleman, disclosing to view
a huge pasty; “sitch delicate creeturs,
sitch tender limbs, Bill, that the wery
bones melt in your mouth, and there’s no
occasion to pick ’em; half a pound of
seven and sixpenny green, so precious
strong that if you mix it with boiling wa¬
ter, it "11 go nigh to blow the lid of the
teapot off; a pound and a half of moist
sugar that the niggers didn’t work at all
at afore they got it to sitch a pitch of
goodness, —oh no! two _ half-quartern
brans; pound of best fresh; piece of dou¬
ble Glo’ster, and, to wind up all, some of
the rightest sort you ever lushed.” Ut¬
tering this last panegyric, Master Bates
produced from one of his extensive pock¬
ets a full-sized wine-bottle, carefully
corked, while Mr. Dawkins at the same
instant poured out a wine-glassful of raw
spirits from the bottle he carried, which
the invalid tossed down his throat without
a moment’s hesitation.
6 Ah!” said the Jew, rubbing his hands
with great satisfaction. “ You'll do, Bill;
you "11 do now.”
* Do!” exclaimed Mr. Sikes; “I might
have been done for twenty times over,
afore you’d have done anything to help
me. What do you mean by leaving a
man in this state three weeks and more,
you false-hearted wagabond ?”
“Only hear him, boys!” said the Jew,
shrugging his shoulders; “and us come
to bring him all these beautiful things.”
“The things is well enough in their
way, observed Mr. Sikes, a little soothed
as he glanced over the table; "but what
have you got to say for yourself why you
should leave me here, down in the mouth,
health, blunt, and everything else, and
take no more notice of me all this mortal
time than if I was that ere dog.—Drive
nim down, Charley.”
“T never see such a jolly dog as that,”
cried Master Bates, doing as he was de¬
sired. ‘ Smellin the grub like a old lady
a-going to market! He’d make his for¬
tun’ on the stage that dog would, and re¬
wive the drayma besides.”
“ Hold your din,” cried Sikes, as the
dog retreated under the bed, still growl¬
ing angrily. “And what have you got
= say for yourself, you withered old fenee,
eh!" ae
‘*] was away from London a week and
— my dear, on a plant,” replied the
ew. > sa
“ And what about the other fortnight ?”
demanded Sikes. * What about the other
fortnight that you’ve left me lying here,
like a sick rat in his hole?"
“T couldn’t help it, Bill,” replied the
Jew. “I can’t go into a long explanation
before company; but I couldn’t help it,
upon my honour.” . -. : |
“Upon your what?” growled Sikes
with excessive disgust. ‘“ Here, cut me
off a piece of the pie, one of you boys, to
take the taste of that out of my mouth, or
it "11 choke me dead.”
‘Don’t be out of temper, my dear,”
urged the Jew submissively. “I have
never forgot you, Bill; never once.” . .
“ No, [711 pound it, that you hant," re¬
plied Sikes with a bitter grin. " You’ve
been scheming and plotting away every
hour that I’ve laid shivering and burning
here; and Bill was to do this, and Bill
was to do that, and Bill was to do it all
dirt cheap, as soon as he got well, and
was quite poor enough for your work. If
3 hadnt been for the girl, I might kave
led."
‘There now, Bill," remonstrated the
Jew, eagerly catching at the word. “If
it hadn’t been for the girl! Who was
the means of your having such a handy
girl about you but me?"
“He says true enough there, God
knows!” said Nancy, coming hastily for¬
ward. § Let him be, let him be.”
Nancy’s appearance gave a new turn .
to the conversation, for the boys, receiving
a sly wink from the wary old Jew, began
to ply her with liquor, of which, however,
she partook very sparingly; while Fagin,
assuming an unusual flow of spirits, gradu¬
ally brought Mr. Sikes into a better tem¬
per, by affecting to regard his threats as
a little pleasant banter, and, moreover,
laughing very heartily at one or two
rough jokes, which, after repeated appli¬
cations to the spirit-bottle, he condescend¬
ed to make.