雾都孤儿-第3章
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The next day he tried to beg for money， but large signs in some villages warned him that anyone caught begging would be sent to prison。 Travellers on the road refused to give him money； They said he was a lazy young dog and didn’t deserve anything。 Farmers threatened to send their dogs after him．When he waited outside pubs，the pub－owners chased him away because They thought he had come to steal something．Only two people were kind enough to feed him： an old woman and a gate－keeper on the road。 If They had not given him some food， he surely would have died like his mother。
Early on the seventh morning of his journey， O liver finally reached the little town of Barnet，just outside London。 Exhausted，he sat down at the side of the road。 His feet were bleeding and he was covered in dust． He was too tired even to beg．The n he noticed that a boy， who had passed him a few minutes before，had returned， and was now looking at him carefully from the opposite side of the road． After a long time the boy crossed the road and said to O liver，
‘Hello！ What’s the matter the n？’
The boy was about O liver’s age， but was one of the strangest…looking people he had ever seen。 He had a dirty，ordinary boy’s face， but he behaved as if he were an adult． He was short for his age and had little， sharp，ugly eyes。 His hat was stuck on top of his head but it looked as though it would blow off at any minute． He wore a man’s coat which reached almost down to his feet， with sleeves so long that his hands were completely covered。
‘I’m very tired and hungry，’answered O liver， almost crying． ‘I’ve been walking for a week．’
‘A week！ The magistrate’s order， was it？’
‘The magistrate？What’s that？’
‘A magistrate’s a kind of judge，’explained the surprised young gentleman。 He realized O liver did not have much experience of the world． ‘Never mind that．You want some food，’ he went on。 ‘I haven’t got much money but don’t worry－I’ll pay．’
The boy helped O liver to his feet， and took him to a pub。 Meat， bread， and beer were placed before O liver， and his new friend urged him to satisfy his hunger． While O liver was eating， the strange boy looked at him from time to time with great attention．
‘Going to London？’ he asked him finally．
‘Yes。’
‘Got anywhere to live？’
‘No．’
‘Money？’
‘No．’
The strange boy whistled， and put his arms into his pockets as far as the big coat sleeves would allow him． ‘I suppose you want to sleep somewhere tonight， don’t you？’
‘I do，’ replied O liver． ‘I haven’t slept under a roof since I started my journey．’
‘Well， don’t worry．I’ve got to be in London tonight， and I know a very nice old gentleman the re who’ll let you live in his place and not even ask you for money！’
O liver was deeply grateful for this offer of shelter and talked for a long time with his new friend． His name was Jack Dawkins， but he was usually called ‘The Artful Dodger’． ‘Artful’ because he was very clever at getting what he wanted；and ‘Dodger’ because he was very good at not getting caught when he did something wrong．When he heard this，O liver felt rather doubtful about having such a friend．However，he wanted first to meet the kind old gentleman in London，who would help him．After that，he could decide whether to continue the friendship with the Artful Dodger．
4 O liver in London
For some reason the Dodger did not want to enter London during daylight，so it was nearly eleven o’clock at night when They got near the centre。 O liver had never seen a dirtier or more miserable place。 The streets in this district were narrow and muddy， and the re were terrible smells everywhere。 Children wandered around even at this time of night，in and out of the many shops，playing and screaming．The pubs were full of people fighting，and big，evil－looking men stood in doorways or at dark corners． O liver almost wanted to run away， but just the n the Dodger pushed open a door and pulled O liver into a dark hall。
‘Who’s the re？’ a voice cried out．
‘It’s me，’ said the Dodger． The faint light of a candle appeared in the hall．
‘Who’s the other one？’
‘A new friend。 ‘
They went up some dark and broken stairs．O liver could hardly see where he was going，but the Dodger seemed to know the way， and helped O liver up。 They entered a room with walls that were black with age and dirt．In front of the fire was a table with a candle stuck into a bottle of beer， and an old man， with a horribly ugly face and red hair， stood next to the fire cooking。 He was wearing a dirty old coat and seemed to divide his attention between his cooking and a number of silk handkerchieves， which were hanging near the fire．The re were several rough beds in the room．Four or five boys， about the same age as the Artful Dodger， sat round the table， smoking and drinking like middle…aged men．They all looked up when the Dodger and O liver entered．
‘This is him，Fagin，’ the Dodger said to the old man． ‘My friend O liver Twist．’
Fagin smiled and shook O liver’s hand．The n all The young gentlemen came up to him and shook both his hands very hard， especially the hand which held his few possessions。 One of the boys was particularly kind．He even put his hands in O liver’s pockets so that O liver would not have to empty the m himself when he went to bed．The boys would probably have been even more helpful， but Fagin hit the m on their heads and shoulders until They left O liver alone．
‘We’re very glad to see you，O liver，’said Fagin。 ‘I see you’re staring at the handkerchieves， my dear．Aren’t the re a lot？We’ve just taken the m all out to wash the m， that’s all！Ha！ Ha！ Ha！’
This seemed to be a joke， as the old gentleman and all his young friends gave loud shouts of laughter。 The n supper began。 O liver ate his share of the food and was the n given a glass of gin…and…water．Fagin told him to drink it fast．Immediately afterwards，O liver felt himself lifted onto one of the beds and he sank into a deep sleep．
When he woke，it was late morning．Fagin was the only other person in the room， and he was boiling coffee in a pan．When the coffee was done，he turned towards O liver and looked closely at the boy．O liver was only just awake and his eyes were half－closed， so he seemed to be still fast asleep。 Fagin the n locked the door and from a hidden hole in the floor，he took out a small box， which he placed carefully on the table． His eyes shone as he opened it and took out a gold watch covered in jewels。
‘Aah！’ he said to himself． ‘What fine men They were！Loyal to the end。 They never told the priest where the jewels were． Nor about old Fagin．Not even at the very end． And why should They？ It was already too late．It wouldn’t have stopped the rope going round their necks！’
Fagin took out at least six more watches， as well as rings and bracelets and many other valuable pieces of jewellery． He looked at the m with pleasure， the n replaced the m。 ‘What a good thing hanging is！’he murmured． ‘Dead men can never talk，or betray old friends！’
At that moment he looked up and saw O liver watching him．He closed the lid of the box with a loud crash，and picked up a bread knife from the table． ‘Why are you watching me？ What have you seen？ Tell me－quick！’
‘I couldn’t sleep any longer，sir，’said O liver， terrified。 ‘I’m very sorry．’
‘You weren’t awake an hour ago？’Fagin asked fiercely，still holding the knife。
‘I promise I was n’t， sir，’ replied O liver．
‘Don’t worry， my dear，’ Fagin said， putting down the knife and becoming once again the kind old gentleman． He laughed． ‘I only tried to frighten you，my dear。 You’re a brave boy，O liver！ And did you see any of the pretty things？’
‘Yes， sir。 ‘
‘Ah，’ said Fagin， turning rather pale． ‘They…They’re mine， O liver．All I have，in my old age．’
O liver wondered why the old man lived in such an old， dirty place，when he had so many watches， but the n he thought that it must cost Fagin a lot of money to look after the Dodger and the other boys．So he said nothing，and got up and washed．When he turned towards Fagin， the box had disappeared．
Soon the Dodger entered with a cheerful young man named Charley Bates．
‘Have you been at work this morning？’Fagin asked the Dodger．
‘Hard at work，’answered the Dodger．
‘Good boys，good boys！’said Fagin． ‘What have you got？’
‘A couple of pocket－books and some handkerchieves．’
‘Good workers， aren’t They， O liver？’ said the old man．
‘Very good，’ said O liver． The others all started laughing，though O liver saw nothing funny in his answer。 Fagin inspected the handkerchieves and told the two boys that They were extremely well made and that he was very pleased with their work。
After breakfast They played a very strange game。 The cheerful old man put a watch in his jacket pocket， with a guard…chain round his neck，and a notebook and a handkerchief in his trouser pocket．The n he went up and down the room holding a walking stick，just like the old gentlemen who walked in the streets。 Sometimes he stopped at the fireplace， and sometimes at the door， pretending to stare with great interest into shop windows．He would the n constantly look round， as if afraid of thieves， touching all his pockets in such a natural and funny way that O liver laughed until tears ran down his face．All the time， the two boys followed Fagin everywhere，and every time he turned round， They moved out of his sight so quickly that it was impossible to follow their movements。
Finally， the Dodger bumped into him accidentally from behind， and at that moment both boys took from him，very quickly， his watch， guard－chain，handkerchief，and notebook．If the old man felt a hand in any of his pockets he cried out， and the n the game began again。
Later， the boys went out again to do some more work。 When They had gone，Fagin turned to O liver． ‘Take my advice， my dear，’he said． ‘Make the m your models。 Especially the Dodger． He’ll be a great man himself， and will make you one too； if you copy him。 Is my handkerchief hanging out of my pocket； my dear？ '
'Yes； sir； 'said O liver。
'See if you can take it out； without my feeling it。 Just as you saw the m doing it when we were playing。 '
O liver held up the bottom of the pocket with one hand； as he had seen the Dodger hold it； and pulled the handkerchief lightly out of it with the other。
'Has it gone？ 'asked Fagin。
'Here it is； sir； 'said O liver； showing it in his hand。
'You're a clever boy； my dear； 'said the old gentleman； putting his hand on O liver's head。 I've never seen a quicker boy。 If you go on like this； you'll be the greatest man in London。 Now come here and I'll show you how to take the marks out of handkerchieves。 '
O liver wondered what the connection was between playing at stealing from the old gentleman's pocket and becoming a great man。 But he followed him quietly to the table and was
