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‘ .t‘Hard,’’ replied the Dodger. ‘
‘ OLIVER
“As Nails,” added Charley Bates. ‘
"‘ Good boys, good boys I ” said the Jew.
have you got, Dodger?”
“ A couple of pocket-books,” replied that young gen-
tleman. '
“ Lined?” inquired the Jew, with eagerness.
“ VVhat
' ,“Pretty well,” replied the Dod er, producing two
pocket-books : one green, and the ot er red.
“ Not so heavy as they might be,” said the Jew, after
looking at the insides carefully; “but very neat and
nicely made. In enious workman, ain’t he, Oliver?”
“Very, indee , sir,” said Oliver. At which Mr.
Charles Bates laughed uproariously ; very much to the
amazement of Oliver,’ who saw nothing to laugh at, in
, anything that had passed.
“And what have you got, my dear?" said Fagin to
Charley Bates. - V ‘
“VVipes,” replied‘ Master Bates; at the saine time
producing four pocket’-handkerchiefs.
“ VVell,” said. the Jew, inspecting them closely;
“they're very good ones-very. You haven't marked
them well, though,’ Charley ; so the marks shall be
picked out with a needle, and we’ll teach Oliver how to
do it. Shall us, Oliver, eh? Hal ha! ha!”
“If you please, sir,” said Oliver. .
- y “ You'd like to be able to make pocket-handkerchiefs
as easy as Charley Bates, wouldn’t you, my dear T ” said
the Jew. '
“Very much indeed, if you’ll teach me, sir,” replied
Oliver. ' i '
‘Master Bates saw something so exquisitely ludicrous
in this reply, that he burst into another laugh ; which
laugh, meeting the coffee he was drinking, and carrying
it down some wrong channel, very nearly terminated in
his premature suffocation. .
“. He is so jolly green I’’ said Charley when he recov-
‘ cred’: as an apology to the company for his unpolite be-
‘l1lJ.V'lOl11'.
The" Dodger said nothing, but he smoothed Oliver's
hairiover his eyes, and said he'd know better by-:ind-
bye; upon which the old gentleman, observing Oliver’s
colour mounting, changed the subject by asking whether
there had been much of a crowd at the execution that
morning. This made him wonder more and more; for
it was plain from the replies of the two boys that they
had both been, there ; and Oliver naturally wondered
how they could possibly have found time to be so very
industrious. ‘
VVhen thebreakfast was cleared away, the merry old
gentleman and the two boys played at a very curious and
uncommon game, which was performed in this way. The
merry old gentleman : placing a snuff-box in one pocket
of his trousers, a note-case in the other, and a watch in
his waistcoat pocket : with a guard-chain round his
. neck: and sticking a mock diamond pin in his shirt :
buttoned his coat tight round him, and putting his spec-
tacle-case and handkerchief in his pockets, trotted up
and down the room with a stick, in imitation bf the .
manner in which old gentlemen walk about the streets
any hour in the (lay. Sometimes he stopped at the fire-
place, and sometimes at the door, making belief that he
was staring with all his might into shop-windows. At
such times, he would look constantly round him, for
fear of thieves, and keep slapping all his pockets in
turn, to see that he hadn’t lost anything, in such .11 very
funny and natural ‘manner, that Oliver laughed till the
tears ran down his face. All this time, the two boys
followed him closely about ; getting out of his sight so
nimbly every time he turned round, that it was im-
possibleto follow their motions. At last, the Dodger
trod upon his toes, or ran upon his boot accidentally,
while Charley Bates stumbled up against him behind ;
and in that one moment they took from him with the
most extraordinary rapidity, snutf-box, note-case, watch-
guard chain, shirt-pin, pocket-liandkcrchicf-even the
spectacle-case. If the old gentleman felt a hand in any
one of his pockets, he cried out where it was ; and then
the game began all over again. ,
'VVhen this game had been played a. great many times,
acouple of young ladies called to see the young gentle-
men; one of whom was named Bet, and the other Nancy.
TWIST. 19
a
They wore a good deal of hair, not very neatly turned up
behind, and were rather untidy about the shoes and
stockings. They were not exactly pretty, perhaps ; but
they had a great deal of colour in their faces, and looked
quite stout and hearty. Being remarkably free and
agreeable in their manners, Oliver thought them very
nice girls indeed. As there is no doubt they were.
These visitors stopped a long time. Spirits were pro-
duced, in consequence of one of the young ladies com-
plaining of a coldness in her inside ; and the conversation
took a very convivial and improving turn. At length
Charley Bates‘ expressed his opinion that it was time to
pad the hoof. This, it occurred to Oliver, must be
French for going out ; for, directly afterwards, the Dod-
ger, and Charley, and the two young ladies, went away
together, having been kindly furnished by the amiable
old Jew with money to spend.
“There, my dear,” said Fagin. “That’s a pleasant
life, isn’t it? They have gone out for the day.”
“Have they done their work, sir?” inquired Oliver.
“Yes,” said the Jew; “that is, unless they should
unexpectedly come across any, when they are out; and
they won’t neglect it, if they do, my dear : depend upon
it.”
“Make ’em your models, my dear. Make ’em your
models,” said the Jew, tapping the fire-shovel on the
hearth to add force to his words; “do everything they
bid you, and take their advice in all matters-especially
the Dodgers, my dear. He’ll be a great man himself,
and will make you one too, if you take pattern by him--
Is my handkerchief hanging out of my pocket, my dear ‘I ”
said the Jew, stopping short.
“ Yes, sir,” said Oliver.
“ See if you can take it out, without my feeling it : as
you saw them do, when we were at play this morning.”
Oliver held up the bottom of the pocket with one hand,
as he had seen the Dodger hold it, and drew the hand-
kerchief lightly out of it, with the other.
“ Is it gone?” cried the Jew. -
“ Here it is, sir," said Oliver, showing it in his hand.
“ You’rc a clever boy, my dear,” said the playful old
gentleman, patting Oliver on the head apprpvingly. “ I
never saw a sharper lad. Here’s a shilling for you.
If you go on in this way, you'll be the greatest man of
the time. And now come here, and I'll show you how
to take the marks out of the handkercliiefs.”
Oliver wondered what picking the old gentlemcn’s
pocket in play, had to do with his chances of being a.
great man. But, thinking that the Jew, being so much
his senior, must know best, he followed him quietly to
the table, and was soon deeply involved in his new
study.
CHAPTER X.
Oliver becomes lzetler acquainted trim the Clzarqcfers (g[Ms new Arso-
cialec; and purclzaser-' E-‘I17f7‘it’77N at 0 1111771 PI‘1C9- 1761"? “
short, but wry important Clzap(er, in this Ilistoiy.
FOR many days, Oliver remained in the Jew’s room,
picking the marks out of the pocket-liandkerchicfs, (of
which a great number were brought home,) and some-
times taking part in the game already described : which
the two boys and the Jew played re liirly, every morn-
ing. At length he began to Ian uis i for fresh air ; and
took many occasions of earn tly entreating the old
gentleman to allow him to go out to work; ‘V1111 1115 “V0
companions. , ,
Oliver was rendered the more anxious to be actively
employed, by what he had seen of the stern morality of
the old gentleman’s character. lVl1cnCV9l't118 Dodger 0!‘
Charley Bates came home at night. (mPl3'-1111DflCd.110
would cxpatiate with great vchemcnce on the misery of
idle and lazy habits ; and would enforce upon them ‘the
necessity of an active life, by sending them suppeness
to bed. On one occasion, Indeed, he even went sofar as
to knock them both down it flight of stairs: but “US “'33
carrying out his virtuous precepts to an unusual extent.
At len tli one morning,
he had sg ca erly sought. There had been no handker-
chicfs to wor upon for two or three days, and 1110 (1111:
Oliver obtained the permission .