Oldal 241 [241]
181
6 Real ones," rejoined the girl, § This
was not,"
There was something so uncommon in
her manner that the flesh of the concealed
listener crept as he heard the girl utter
these words, and the blood chilled within
him. He had never experienced a greater
relief than hearing the sweet voice of
the young lady, as she begged her to be
calm and not allow herself to become the
prey of such fearful fancies.
‘Speak to her kindly,” said the young
lady to her companion. “ Poor creature!
she seems to need it.”
“ Your haughty religious people would
have held their heads up to see me as I
am to-night, and preached of flames and
vengeance,’ cried the girl. "Oh dear
lady, why ain’t those who claim to be
God’s own folks as gentle and as kind to
us poor wretches as you, who, having
outh and beauty and all that they have
ost, might be a little proud instead of so
much humbler ?”’
6 Ah!" said the gentleman. “A Turk
turns his face, after washing it well, to
. the East when he says his prayers; these
good people, after giving their faces such
a rub with the world as takes the smiles
off, turn with no less regularity to the
darkest side of heaven. Between the
Mussulman and the Pharisee, commend
me to the former.”’
These words appeared to be addressed
to the younger lady, and were perhaps
uttered with the view of affording Nancy
time to recover herself. ‘The gentleman
shortly afterwards addressed himself to
her.
« You were not here last Sunday night, "
he said.
s [ couldn’t come," replied Nancy, “I
was kept by force."
6 By whom ?”’
“ Bill him that I told the young
lady of before.”
** You were not suspected of bolding
any communication with anybody on the
subject which has brought us here to¬
night, I hope?” asked the old gentleman
anxiously.
“No,” replied the girl shaking her
head. “It’s not very easy for me to
leave him unless he knows why; I
could n’t have seen the lady when I did,
but that I gave him a drink of laudanum
before I came away.”
s Did he awake before you returned ?”’
rejoined the gentleman.
“ No, and neither he nor any of them
suspect me."
16
s Good,” said the gentleman: “ now lis¬
ten to me.”’
“T am ready,”’ replied the girl, as he
paused for a moment.
“ This young lady," the gentleman be¬
gan, " has communicated to me and some.
other friends, who can be safely trusted,
what you told her nearly a fortnight since,
I confess to you that I had doubts at first,
whether you were to be implicitly relied
upon, but now I firmly believe you are."
6 [ am,” said the girl earnestly.
“T repeat, that I firmly believe it. To
prove to you that I am disposed to trust "
you, I tell you without reserve, that we
purpose to extort the secret, whatever it
may be, from the fears of this man Monks.
But if—if—” said the gentleman, "he
cannot be secured, or, if secured, he can¬
not be acted upon as we wish, you must
deliver up the Jew.”
“Fagin !" cried the girl, recoiling.
“That man must be delivered up by
you,” said the gentleman.
“T will not do it—I will never do it?—
replied the girl. “ Devil that he is, and .
worse than devil as he has been to me, I
will never do that."
“You will not?” said the gentleman,
who seemed fully prepared for this answer.
“ Never,” returned the girl.
«Tell me why."
“For one reason,” rejoined the girl
firmly,—‘ for one reason that the lady
knows and will stand by me in—I know
she will, for I have her promise; and for.
this other reason besides, that bad life as
he has led, I have led a bad life too: there
are many of us who have kept the same
courses together, and [711 not turn upon
them, who might, any of them, have
turned upon me, but didn’t, bad as they
are."
“ Then," said the gentleman quickly,
as if this had been the point he had been
aiming to attain, “put Monks into my
hands, and leave me to deal with him.”
“ What if he turns against the others?”
‘“‘T promise you in that case, if the truth
is forced from him, there the matter will
rest. ‘There must be circumstances in
Oliver’s little history which it would be
painful to drag before the public eye, and
if the truth is once elicited, they will go
Scot free.”
6 And if it is not?” suggested the girl,
"Then," pursued the gentleman, “ this
Jew shall not be brought to justice with¬
out your consent. In such a case I could
show you reasons, I think, which would
induce you to yield it.”