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jthem that their gentle kindness had not been castaway;
. intothe country; andmy aunt intends.tliat ‘you shall
‘ I was thinking that I am ungrateful now,”.
-carriage which belonged-to Mrs. Maylie. ..lVhen they
' “Yes; well, what of it? Stop,’ coachman. ‘.Pull
lag the door so suddenly, that the octor, from the very
OLIVER T WIST.
exposure to the wet and cold had brought on fever and
ague : which hung about him: for many weeks,.and'.re-
duced him sadly.‘- ,But, at length, he began, by slow de- ..
grees, to get better, and to be able to say.someti.mes,.in a
fewgtearful words, how deeply he felt the goodness of the
two sweet ladies, and how ardently he hoped that, when
he grew strong and well again, he could do something to
ratitude ; only-something which :would let
them see t e love and dutywith which his breast .was
full; something, however slight, which wouldprove to
but that H the .,poor boy whom, their, charity had ,.rescued
from misery, or death, was eager. to serve them with his
whole heart and soul. . ., q , .:, ; . ., .Vn
, ,5‘, Poor fellow I” said Rose, when Oliver had been one
idayfeebly endeavouring to utter, the words of thankful-
ness that rose to his palelips: “you shall have many
opportunities of serving us, ifyyou will. ,VVe.:ire going
accompany Vus. Thequiet place, the pure air,-andall
the pleasures andbeauties of. spring, will restore you in
a few days. ..VVe,will.employ youiin ahundredmways,
when you can bear the trouble." A v I< i , v . r ,,
- “The trouble I” cried Oliver. “Oh ldear lady, ifVI
could but work for you ; if ‘I could only give you pleas-
ure by. watering your iiowers, or watching your :birds,
or running up and'down:the,wliolo day loiig,'to'make ‘-
you happy ; what would I give to do it I” '
“.You shall give nothing at, all,” said Miss Maylie,
smiling; “for, as,:I,told you ‘before, we shall employ
youVin a hundred ,ways; and. if you only take half the
trouble to please us, that you promisenow, you will
‘make me very happy indeed.” . V , 7 1 .. i i .V
VV?‘Happy, ma’aml” cried Oliver ;,“how kind of you
tosayso!,”V,,V t . '
“You will make me happier than I can tell you,” re-
plied the young lady. “ Tothinkthat my dear good
aunt should.havc.been the,means of rescuing anyone
from such sad misery as you have Vdescribedtotus,
would be unspeakable pleasure to me ; .but to know that
the object of her goodness and compassion was sincerely
grateful and attached in conscquencogwould delight me,
more than you can well -imagine; iDo you understand
me?’? she inquired, watching Oliver's thoughtful-face.‘
“ Oh yes, ma’am, yes I” replied Oliver, eagerly ; .“but
“To whom?” inquired the young lady.. t . .. V‘
-“To the kind gentleman; and the dear oldnurso, who
took so much care of me bcfore,’.’ rejoined Olivcr. .“If
they knew how happy I am, they wouldbe plcased,I
am sure.” -, V , .. ; , .. V‘ ,
"I am sure they woiild,”Vrcjoined 0liver’s benefac-
tress, “ and ltir. Losbcrne has already been kind enou h
to promise that when you are well enough to hear t e
Journey, he will cari-y.you to see them.” V v?" < ' 7
“Has he, rna’ani?" cried Oliver, his face brightening
with pleasure. x“I don’t knowwhat ‘I shall do for joy
when I see their kind faces once again If‘. . ..
-In a short time Oliver wassutiicientlyrecovered‘ to
undergo the fatigiiogof this expcditioii.- One morning
he and Mr. Losberne set out, accordingly, in .a little
came to Chertsey. Bridge, Oliver turned very pale, and
uttered aloud exclamation.‘ V . V t t V .-
‘.‘ lVhat’s the matter. with the boy? ” V cried theydoctor,
as usual, all in ii. bustle. “Do youzsco anything-hear
anything-feel anything-eh?” “ V -- ‘ - - M
V.“That, si.-,’V’.-' cried Oliver, pointing out of the carriage
window. V,--“ That house I.’’,.. . v ‘
hlfilge.” cried the doctor. .“ Vfhat of the house, my man,
e”. 1
.:‘The thieves ; the house they took me to,” whispered
Oliver. - ,4 ,. .. ,.
"The devil it is!” cried the doctor. "Halloa, there!
let meoutl” ” - , . , , ,
But. -before the coachman could dismount from his
1903, he had tumbled out of the coach, by some means or
09191‘; and running down to the ‘deserted tenement, be-
832 kicking at the door like a madman. ‘
. . Halloa?” said xi little ugly hum -backed man : open-
’65
irnpetus.,of his last kick; nearly-fell forward into the
passa e. , ‘.‘VVhat’s the matter here?” .. ,
. ‘.‘ atterl”.exclai1iicd the other, collating him witli-
out a.momcnt‘s reiiection. ‘fA good deal. Robbery is
the matter.”.. V . . 2 .,. V
. f‘ There’ll be murder the matter, too,” replied the
hump-backed man, coolly, “if you don’t take your hands
otf.r Do.you.hear me?” . . u . v - .
, ‘fI hear you,” said the doctor,'giving his captivtra
hearty shake. “VVhere’s-confoundVthe fellow, what's
his rascally name-Sikes: that's it. VVhero’s Sikcs, you
thief?.’.’, . V V .' . V
The hump -backed man stared, as if in excess of
amazement and indignation ; then, twisting himself,
dexterously, from the doctor’s grasp, growlcd forth a vol-
ley.of horrid oaths, and retiredpintotlie house. Before
he could shut the door, however, the doctorhm passed
into theparlour, withouta Vword of parley. He looked
iinxiouslyround ; not an article of furniture ;‘ not a ves-
tige of anything, animate or inanimate;,not even the
position of the cupboards; answered Oliver's descrip-
tion I .
- . “ N ow 1'’ said the hump-backed man, wliohad watched
liimkeenly, “what do you mean by coming into my
house, in this violent way? Do you want to rob me, or
to murdcrme? “'hicli is it? ” ‘
“Did you ever know :1 man come out to do either,‘ in a
chariot and pair, you ridiculous old vampire ‘l” said the
irritable doctor. -v ‘ ‘ ' V ’
..ff What do you want, then?” demanded the hunch-
back. ." “'ill you: take yourself oif, before I do you.a
mischief‘? Curse you I’’ ’
. f‘ As soon as I think proper,” said Mr. Losberne, look-
ing into the other parlour ; which, like the Iirst, bore no
resemblance whatever to Olivcr’s account of it. V“ I shall
find you out, some day, my friend." ; p’ -
" lVill you?” sneercd the ill-favoured crip le. “If
you ever want me,'I’ni here. I haven't lived’ iero mad,
and all alone, for five-and-twenty years, to be scarcxl. by
you. -, You shall pay for this; you shall pay for this.”
And so saying, the misshapen little demon set up a yell,
and danced upon the ground, as if wild with rage. 4
V V“.Stupid enough, this,” muttered the doctor to himself ;
“the boy‘, must have made a mistake. ‘Hero I "Put that
in your pocket, and shut yourself up again’? . ll itli these
words he flung the huncliback a piece of money, and re-
turned to the carriage.‘ V ; ' v . i '
V The manfollowed to the chariot door, Vuttcringtlie
wildest imprecations and curses all the way ; but as ltir.
VLosberne turned,V to speak to the driver, liolooked into
the carriage, and eyed Oliver for an instant with a glance
so sharp and fierce and at the same timotso furious and
vindictive, thatwaking or sleeping, he could not forget
it for months afterwards. lip continued to utter the
most fearful imprecations, until ‘the driver had resumed
his seat; and when they were once moreion their way,
they could see him some distance behiridabeating his
feet uponptho ground, and tearing his hair, in transports
of real or pretended rage. V - V ‘ .
w“ I am an ass I”. said the doctor, after a long silence.
“ Did you know that before, Oliver?” ‘
“-No, sir.”- - t V 2 - V ’ is '
V “ Then don’t forget it another time.” ' ‘
" An ass,” said the doctor again, after a further silence
of some minutes. ,“ Even if it had been the right place,
and the ri ht fellowsliad been there, -whntpould I 11M'0
done, sin e-handed !- And if -I had had assistance, I see
no good t at Ishould have done, except leading to my
own exposure, and an unavoidable ‘statement of the
manner‘inVwhich.I>havc hushed up this business. That
would have served me right, thou h. I 11111 j31W3F5,m‘
volving myself 'lIl some scrape or 0t 31‘. by nctmg 0“ 1111‘
pulse. It might have done me good. h ‘
Now, the fact was that the encellcnt doctor a payer
acted upon anything else-bu? 1111P“l5" an tluvugtl 1:15
life ; and it was no bad compliment to the natupoto o
impulses which governed hiin. ‘hat 50.1.“? fmm “13:n.v‘.-’h1“(i
volved inany peculiar, troubles or :misfortun<fS. Ch. 3
the warmest respect and esteem of "all who knew im.
If the mini must be told, he was a little out of temizer.
for a minute or two, at being disappointed in procuring
corroborative evidence of Oliver's story, on the very first