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opposite to that in which Sikes was await¬
ing her return, guickened her pace, until
it gradually resolved into a violent run.
After completely exhausting herself, she
stopped to take breath, and, as if suddenly
recollecting herself, and deploring her
inability to do something she was bent
upon, wrung her hands, and burst into
tears.
It might be that her tears relieved her,
or that she felt the full hopelessness of her
condition; but she turned back, and hur¬
rying with nearly as great rapidity in the
contrary direction, partly to recover lost
time, and partly to keep pace with the
violent current of her own thoughts, soon
reached the dwelling where she had left
the housebreaker.
If she betrayed any agitation by the
time she presented herself to Mr. Sikes,
he did not observe it; for merely inquiring
if she had brought the money, and receiv¬
ing a reply in the affirmative, he laid his
head upon his pillow, and resumed the
slumbers which her arrival had inter¬
rupted.
CHAPTER THE THIRD.
A strange interview, which is a sequel to the last
d chapter.
Ir was fortunate for the girl that the
possession of money occasioned Mr. Sikes
so much employment next day in the way
of eating and drinking, and withal had so
beneficial an effect in smoothing down the
asperities of his temper, that he had nei¬
ther time nor inclination to be very criti¬
cal upon her behaviour and deportment.
That she had all the abstracted and nerv¬
ous manner of one who is on the eve of
some bold and hazardous step, which it
has required no common struggle to re¬
solve upon, would have been obvious to
his lynx-eyed friend, the Jew, who would
most probably have taken the alarm at
once; but Mr. Sikes lacking the niceties
of acute discrimination, and being trou¬
bled with no more subtle misgivings than
those which resolve themselves into a
dogged roughness of behaviour towards
everybody ; and being, furthermore, in an
unusually amiable condition, as has been
already observed, saw nothing unusual in
her demeanour, and, indeed, troubled him¬
self so little about her, that, had her agi¬
tation been far more perceptible than it
was, it would have been very unlikely to
have awakened his suspicions.
As the day closed in, the girl’s excite¬
ment increased, and, when night came on,
and she sat by, watching till the house¬
breaker should drink himself asleep, there
was an unusual paleness in her cheek,
and fire in her eye, that even Sikes ob¬
served with astonishment.
Mr. Sikes, being weak from the fever,
was lying in bed, taking hot water with
his gin to render it less inflammatory, and
had pushed his glass towards Nancy to be
replenished for the third or fourth time,
when these symptoms first struck him.
c Why, burn my body!” said the man,
raising himself on his hands as he stared
the girl in the face. “ You look like a
corpse come to life again. What’s the
matter!"
cc Matter!" replied the girl. § Nothing,
What do you look at me so hard for?"
“What foolery is this?’ demanded
Sikes, grasping her by the arm, and shak¬
ing her roughly. “ What is it? What
do you meant What are you thinking
of, ha?"
“Of many things, Bill,” replied the
girl, shuddering, and as she did so, press¬
ing her hands upon her eyes. " But,
Lord! what odds in that ?”
The tone of forced gaiety in which the
last words were spoken seemed to produce
a deeper impression on Sikes than the
wild and rigid look which had preceded
them.
“T tell you wot it is,” said Sikes, “if
you hayn’t caught the fever, and got it
comin’ on now, there’s something more
than usual in the wind, and something
dangerous too. You’re not ag 01ng to
ra | No, damme! you wouldn’t do
at!’
“ Do what?” asked the girl.
“There ain’t,” said Sikes, fixing his
eyes upon her, and muttering the words
to himself, "s there ain’t a stauncher-heart¬
ed gal going, or 1’d have cut her throat
three months ago. She’s got the fever
coming on; that’s it.”
Fortifying himself with this assurance,
Sikes drained the glass to the bottom, and
then, with many grumbling oaths, called
for his physic. The girl jumped up with
alacrity, poured it sankis out, but with
her back towards him: and held the ves¬
sel to his lips while he drank it off.
c Now,” said the robber, “ come and
sit aside of me, and put on your own face,
or [’ll alter it so that you won’t know it
again when you do want it.”
The girl obeyed, and Sikes, locking her
hand in his, fell back upon the pillow,
turning his eyes upon her face. ‘They
closed, opened again; closed once more,