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* What do you mean, Bill?
know what you’re doing !"
s Know what I’m—oh!” cried Sikes,
turning to Fagin, “ she’s out of her senses,
you know, or she daren’t talk to me in
that way.”
“You'll drive me to something despe¬
rate,” muttered the girl, placing both
hands upon her breast, as though to keep
down by force some violent outbreak.
“ Let me go, will you, this moment—this
instant.”
6 No, —roared Sikes.
“ Tell him to let me go, Fagin. He
had better. It'll be better for him. Do
you hear me?" said Nancy, stamping her
foot upon the ground.
‘* Hear you!” repeated Sikes, turning
round in his chair, toconfront her. “ Ay,
and if I hear you for half a minute longer,
the dog shall have such a grip on your
throat as’li tear some of that screaming
voice out. Wot has come over you, you
jade, wot is it?”
6 Let me go,”—said the girl, with
great earnestness. ‘Then sitting herself
down on the floor, before the door, she
sald, * Bill, let me go; you don’t know
what you’re doing, you don’t, indeed. For
only one hour—do—do.”
* Cut my limbs off one by one,” cried
Sikes, seizing her roughly by the arm,
“if I don’t think the gal’s stark raving
mad. Get up.”
“ Not till you let me go—not till you
let me go.—Never—never !”—screamed
the girl. .
Sikes looked on for a minute, watching
his opportunity, and suddenly pinioning
her hands, dragged her, struggling and
wrestling with him by the way, into a
small room adjoining, where he sat him¬
self on a benco, and thrusting her into a
chair, held her down by force. She
struggled and implored by turns, until
twelve o’clock had struck, and then, wea¬
ried and exhausted, ceased to contest the
point any further. With a caution,
backed by many oaths, to make no more
efforts to go out that night, Sikes left
her to recover at leisure, and rejoined the
Jew.
6 Phew!” said the housebreaker, wip¬
ing the perspiration from his face. " Wot
a precious strange gal that is!”
c You may say that, Bill," replied the
Jew thoughtfully. “ You may say that.”
“Wot did she take it into her head to
go out to-night for, do you think?” asked
Sikes. “Come; you should know her
better than me—wot does it mean?"
Do you
pose, my dear,” replied the Jew, shrug¬
ging his shoulders.
c Well, I suppose it is,” growled Sikes.
sc [ thought I had tamed her, but she’s as
bad as ever."
c Worse,” said the Jew thoughtfully.
6] never knew her like this, for such a
little cause."
6 Nor I,” said Sikes. “I think she’s
got a touch of that fever in her blood yet,
and it won’t come out—eh ?”’
“Like enough,” replied the Jew.
s [711 let her a little blood without
troubling the doctor, if she’s took that
way again,” said Sikes.
The Jew nodded an expressive approval
of this mode of treatment.
“She was hanging about me all day
and night too when I was stretched on
my back, and you, like a black-hearted
wolf as you are, kept yourself aloof,” said
Sikes. ‘“ We was very poor too all the
time, and I think one way or other it’s
worried and fretted her, and that being
shut up here so long has made her rest¬
less—eh ?” |
c That’s it, my dear," replied the Jew
in a whisper—* Hush !”
As he uttered these words, the girl
herself appeared and resumed her former
seat. Her eyes were swollen and red;
she rocked herself to and fro, tossed her
head, and after a little time burst out
laughing.
s Why now she’s on the other tack !”’
exclaimed Sikes, turning a look of exces¬
sive surprise upon his companion.
The Jew nodded to him to take no fur¬
ther notice just then, and in a few minutes
the girl subsided into her accustomed de¬
meanour. Whispering Sikes that there
was no iear of her relapsing, Fagin took
up his hat and bade him good night. He
paused when he reached the door, and
looking round asked if somebody would
light him down the dark stairs.
“Tight him down,” said Sikes, who
was filling his pipe. “It’s a pity he
should break his neck himself, and disap¬
point the sight-seers. There, show him
a light.”
Nancy followed the old man down
stairs with the candle. When they
reached the passage, he laid his fingers
on his lip, and drawing close to the girl,
said in a whisper—
c What is it, Nancy dear?"
“ What do you mean?” replied the
girl in the same tone.
s The reason of all this,” replied Fa¬
gin. " If he”—he pointed with his skinn