oliver twist(雾都孤儿(孤星血泪))-第99章
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“Let me go;” said the girl; with great earnestness; then sitting
herself down on the floor; before the door; she said; “Bill; let me
go; you don’t know what you are doing。 You don’t; indeed。 For
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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 himself on a bench; 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; wearied 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 Fagin。
“Whew!” said the housebreaker; wiping the perspiration from
his face。 “Wot a precious strange gal that is!”
“You may say that; Bill;” replied Fagin thoughtfully。 “You may
say that。”
“Wot did she take it into her head to go out tonight for; do you
think?” asked Sikes。 “Come: you should know her better than me。
Wot does it mean?”
“Obstinacy; woman’s obstinacy; I suppose; my dear。”
“Well; I suppose it is;” growled Sikes。 “I thought I had tamed
her; but she’s as bad as ever。”
“Worse;” said Fagin thoughtfully。 “I never knew her like this;
for such a little cause。”
“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。”
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“I’ll let her a little blood; without troubling the doctor; if she’s
took that way again;” said Sikes。
Fagin 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 restless—eh?”
“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。
“Why; now she’s on the other tack!” exclaimed Sikes; turning a
look of excessive surprise on his companion。
Fagin nodded to him to take no further notice just then; and; in
a few minutes; the girl subsided into her accustomed demeanour。
Whispering Sikes that there was no fear of her relapsing; Fagin
took up his hat and bade him good…night。 He paused when he
reached the room door; and looking round; asked if somebody
would light him down the dark stairs。
“Light him down;” said Sikes; who was filling his pipe。 “It’s a
pity he should break his neck himself; and disappoint the sightseers。 Show him a light。”
Nancy followed the old man downstairs; with a candle。 When
they reached the passage; he laid his finger on his lips; and
drawing close to the girl; said; in a whisper:
“What is it; Nancy; dear?”
“What do you mean?” replied the girl; in the same tone。
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“The reason of all this;” replied Fagin。 “If he”—he pointed with
his skinny forefinger up the stairs—“is so hard with you (he’s a
brute; Nance; a brute…beast); why don’t you—”
“Well?” said the girl; as Fagin paused; with his mouth almost
touching her ear; and his eyes looking into hers。
“No matter just now;” said Fagin。 “We’ll talk of this again。 You
have a friend in me; Nance; a staunch friend。 I have the means at
hand; quiet and close。 If you want revenge on those that treat you
like a dog—like a dog! worse than his dog; for he humours him
sometimes—come to me。 I say; come to me。 He is the mere hound
of a day; but you know me of old; Nance。”
“I know you well;” replied the girl; without manifesting the
least emotion。 “Good…night。”
She shrank back; as Fagin offered to lay his hand on hers; but
said good…night again; in a steady voice; and; answering his
parting look with a nod of intelligence; closed the door between
them。
Fagin walked towards his own home; intent upon the thoughts
that were working within his brain。 He had conceived the idea—
not from what had just passed; though that had tended to confirm
him; but slowly and by degrees—that Nancy; wearied of the
housebreaker’s brutality; had conceived an attachment for some
new friend。 Her altered manner; her repeated absences from
home alone; her comparative indifference to the interests of the
gang for which she had once been so zealous; and; added to these;
her desperate impatience to leave home that night at a particular
hour; all favoured the supposition; and rendered it; to him at least;
almost matter of certainty。 The object of this new liking was not
among his myrmidons。 He would be a valuable acquisition with
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such an assistant as Nancy; and must (thus Fagin argued) be
secured without delay。
There was another; and a darker; object to be gained。 Sikes
knew too much; and his ruffian taunts had not galled Fagin the
less; because the wounds were hidden。 The girl must know; well;
that if she shook him off; she could never be safe from his fury;
and that it would be surely wreaked—to the maiming of limbs; or
perhaps the loss of life—on the object of her more recent fancy。
“With a little persuasion;” thought Fagin; “what more likely than
that she would consent to poison him? Women have done such
things; and worse; to secure the same object before now。 There
would be the dangerous villain—the man I hate—gone; another
secured in his place; and my influence over the girl; with a
knowledge of this crime to back it; unlimited。”
These things passed through the mind of Fagin; during the
short time he sat alone; in the housebreaker’s room; and with
them uppermost in his thoughts; he had taken the opportunity
afterwards afforded him; of sounding the girl in the broken hints
he threw out at parting。 There was no expression of surprise; no
assumption of an inability to understand his meaning。 The girl
clearly comprehended it。 Her glance at parting showed that。
But perhaps she would recoil from a plot to take the life of
Sikes; and that was one of the chief ends to be attained。 “How;”
thought Fagin; as he crept homewards; “can I increase my
influence with her? what new power can I acquire?”
Such brains are fertile in expedients。 If; without extracting a
confession from herself; he laid a watch; discovered the object of
her altered regard; and threatened to reveal the whole history to
Sikes (of whom she stood in no common fear) unless she entered
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into his designs; could he not secure her compliance?”
“I can;” said Fagin; almost aloud。 “She durst not refuse me
then。 Not for her life; not for her life! I have it all。 The means are
ready; and shall be set to work。 I shall have you yet!”
He cast back a dark look; and a threatening motion of the hand;
towards the spot where he had left the bolder villain; and went on
his way; busying his bony hands in the folds of his tattered
garment; which he wrenched tightly in his grasp as though there
were a hated enemy crushed with every motion of his fingers。
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Chapter 45
Noah Claypole Is Employed By Fagin On A Secret
Mission。
The old man was up; betimes; next morning; and waited
impatiently for the appearance of