face with great surprise. She seemed to speak the truth; hercountenance was white and agitated; and she trembled with veryearnestness.“I have saved you from being ill-used once, and I will again, andI do now,” continued the girl aloud; “for those who would havefetched you, if I had not, would have been far more rough than me.I have promised for your being quiet and silent; if you are not, youwill only do harm to yourself and me too, and perhaps be mydeath. See here! I have borne all this for you already, as true asGod sees me show it.”She pointed, hastily, to some livid bruises on her neck andarms; and continued, with great rapidity:“Remember this! And don’t let me suffer more for you, justnow. If I could help you, I would; but I have not the power. Theydon’t mean to harm you; whatever they make you do, is no fault ofyours. Hush! Every word from you is a blow for me. Give me yourhand. Make haste! Your hand!”She caught the hand which Oliver instinctively placed in hers,Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 214and, blowing out the light, drew him after her up the stairs. Thedoor was opened, quickly, by some one shrouded in the darkness,and was as quickly closed, when they had passed out. A hackney-cabriolet was in waiting; with the same vehemence which she hadexhibited in addressing Oliver, the girl pulled him in with her, anddrew the curtains close. The driver wanted no directions, butlashed his horse into full speed, without the delay of an instant.The girl still held Oliver fast by the hand, and continued to pourinto his ear, the warnings and assurances she had alreadyimparted. All was so quick and hurried, that he had scarcely timeto recollect where he was, or how he came there, when thecarriage stopped at the house to which the Jew’s steps had beendirected on the previous evening.For one brief moment, Oliver cast a hurried glance along theempty street, and a cry for help hung upon his lips. But the girl’svoice was in his ear, beseeching him in such tones of agony toremember her, that he had not the heart to utter it. While hehesitated, the opportunity was gone; for he was already in thehouse, and the door was shut.“This way,” said the girl, releasing her hold for the first time.“Bill!”“Hallo!” replied Sikes, appearing at the head of the stairs, witha candle. “Oh! That’s the time of day. Come on!”This was a very strong expression of approbation, anuncommonly hearty welcome, from a person of Mr. Sikes’stemperament. Nancy, appearing much gratified thereby, salutedhim cordially.“Bull’s-eye’s gone home with Tom,” observed Sikes, as helighted them up. “He’d have been in the way.”Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 215“That’s right,” rejoined Nancy.“So you’ve got the kid,” said Sikes, when they had all reachedthe room, closing the door as he spoke.“Yes, here he is,” replied Nancy.“Did he come quiet?” inquired Sikes.“Like a lamb,” rejoined Nancy.“I’m glad to hear it,” said Sikes, looking grimly at Oliver; “forthe sake of his young carcass, as would otherways have sufferedfor it. Come here, young ’un, and let me read you a lecture, whichis as well got over at once.”Thus addressing his new pupil, Mr. Sikes pulled off Oliver’s capand threw it into a corner; and then taking him by the shoulder,sat himself down by the table, and stood the boy in front of him.“Now, first, do you know wot this is?” inquired Sikes, taking upa pocket-pistol which lay on the table.Oliver replied in the affirmative.“Well, then, look here,” continued Sikes. “This is powder; that’ere’s a bullet; and this is a little bit of a old hat for waddin’.”Oliver murmured his comprehension of the different bodiesreferred to; and Mr. Sikes proceeded to load the pistol, with greatnicety and deliberation.“Now it’s loaded,” said Mr Sikes, when he had finished.“Yes, I see it is, sir,” replied Oliver.“Well,” said the robber, grasping Oliver’s wrist tightly, andputting the barrel so close to his temple that they touched; atwhich moment the boy could not repress a start; “if you speak aword when you’re out o’ doors with me, except when I speak toyou, that loading will be in your head without notice. So, if you domake up your mind to speak without leave, say your prayers first.”Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 216Having bestowed a scowl upon the object of this warning, toincrease its effect, Mr. Sikes continued:“As near as I know, there isn’t anybody as would be asking verypartickler arter you, if you was disposed of; so I needn’t take thisdevil-and-all of trouble to explain matters to you, if it warn’t foryour own good. D’ye hear me?”“The short and the long of what you mean,” said Nancy,speaking very emphatically, and slightly frowning at Oliver as if tobespeak his serious attention to her words, “is, that if you’recrossed by him in this job you have on hand, you’ll prevent hisever telling tales afterwards, by shooting him through the head,and will take your chance of swinging for it, as you do for a greatmany other things in the way of business, every month of yourlife.”“That’s it!” observed Mr. Sikes approvingly; “women canalways put things in fewest words.—Except when it’s blowing up;and then they lengthens it out. And now that he’s thoroughly up toit, let’s have some supper, and get a snooze before starting.”In pursuance of this request, Nancy quickly laid the cloth; and,disappearing for a few minutes, presently returned with a pot ofporter and a dish of sheep’s heads; which gave occasion to severalpleasant witticisms on the part of Mr. Sikes, founded upon thesingular coincidence of “jemmies” being a cant name, common tothem. and also to an ingenious implement much used in hisprofession. Indeed, the worthy gentleman, stimulated perhaps bythe immediate prospect of being on active service, was in greatspirits and good-humour; in proof whereof, it may be hereremarked, that he humorously drank all the beer at a draught, anddid not utter, on a rough calculation, more than fourscore oathsCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 217during the whole progress of the meal.Supper being ended—it may be easily conceived that Oliverhad no great appetite for it—Mr. Sikes disposed of a couple ofglasses of spirits and water, and threw himself on the bed;ordering Nancy, with many imprecations in case of failure, to callhim at five precisely. Oliver stretched himself in his clothes, bycommand of the same authority, on a mattress upon the floor; andthe girl, mending the fire, sat before it, in readiness to rouse themat the appointed time.For a long time Oliver lay awake, thinking it not impossible thatNancy might seek that opportunity of whispering some furtheradvice; but the girl sat brooding over the fire, without moving,save now and then to trim the light. Weary with watching andanxiety, he at length fell asleep.When he awoke, the table was covered with tea-things, andSikes was thrusting various articles into the pockets of hisgreatcoat, which hung over the back of a chair; while Nancy wasbusily engaged in preparing breakfast. It was not yet daylight; forthe candle was still burning, and it was quite dark outside. A sharprain, too, was beating against the window-panes; and the skylooked black and cloudy.“Now, then!” growled Sikes, as Oliver started up; “half-pastfive! Look sharp, or you’ll get no breakfast; for it’s late as it is.”Oliver was not long in making his toilet; and having taken somebreakfast, he replied to a surly inquiry from Sikes, by saying thathe was quite ready.Nancy, scarcely looked at the boy, threw him a handkerchief totie round his throat, and Sikes gave him a large, rough cape tobutton over his shoulders. Thus attired, he gave his hand to theCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 218robber, who, merely pausing to show him with a menacing gesturethat he had that same pistol in a side-pocket of his greatcoat,clasped it firmly in his, and, exchanging a farewell with Nancy, ledhim away.Oliver turned, for an instant, when they reached the door, inthe hope of meeting a look from the girl. But she had resumed herold seat in front of the fire, and sat, perfectly motionless, before it.Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 219Chapter 21The Expedition.It was a cheerless morning when they got into the street;blowing and raining hard; and the clouds looking dull andstormy. The night had been very wet; for large pools ofwater had collected in the road; and the kennels were overflowing.There was a faint glimmering of the coming day in the sky; but itrather aggravated than relieved the gloom of the scene: thesombre light only serving to pale that which the street lampsafforded, without shedding any warmer or brighter tints upon thewet housetops, and dreary streets. There appeared to be nobodystirring in that quarter of the town; for the windows of the houseswere all closely shut; and the streets through which they passed,were noiseless and empty.By the time they had turned into Bethnal Green Road, the dayhad fairly begun to break. Many of the lamps were alreadyextinguished; a few country waggons were slowly toiling on,towards London; and now and then, a stagecoach, covered withmud, rattled briskly by; the driver bestowing, as he passed, anadmonitory lash upon the heavy waggoner who, by keeping on thewrong side of the road, had endangered his arriving at the office, aquarter of a minute after his time. The public-houses, with gaslights burning inside, were already open. By degrees, other shopsbegan to be unclosed, and a few scattered people were met with.Then, came straggling groups of labourers going to their work;then, men and women with fish-baskets on their heads; donkeyCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 220carts laden with vegetables; chaise-carts filled with live stock orwhole carcasses of meat; milk-women with pails: an unbrokenconcourse of people, trudging out with various supplies to theeastern suburbs of the town. As they approached the city, thenoise and traffic gradually increased: when they threaded thestreets between Shoreditch and Smithfield, it had swelled into aroar of sound and bustle. It was as light as it was likely to be, tillnight came on again; and the busy morning of half the Londonpopulation had begun.Turning down Sun Street and Crown Street, and crossingFinsbury Square, Mr. Sikes struck, by way of Chiswell Street, intoBarbican; thence into Long Lane, and so into Smithfield; fromwhich latter place are a tumult of discordant sounds that filledOliver Twist with amazement.It was market morning. The ground was covered, nearly ankle-deep, with filth and mire; a thick steam perpetually rising from thereeking bodies of the cattle, and mingling with the fog, whichseemed to rest upon the chimney-tops, hung heavily above. All thepens in the centre of the large area, and as many temporary pensas could be crowded into the vacant space, were filled with sheep;tied up to posts by the gutter side were long lines of beasts andoxen, three or four deep. Countrymen, butchers, drovers, hawkers,boys, thieves, idlers, and vagabonds of every low grade, weremingled together in a mass; the whistling of drovers, the barkingof dogs, the bellowing and plunging of oxen, the bleating of sheep,the grunting and squeaking of pigs; the cries of hawkers, theshouts, oaths, and quarrelling on all sides; the ringing of bells androar of voices, that issued from every public-house; the crowding,pushing, driving, beating, whooping and yelling; the hideous andCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 221discordant din that resounded from every corner of the market;and the unwashed, unshaven, squalid, and dirty figures constantlyrunning to and fro, and bursting in and out of the throng,rendered it a stunning and bewildering scene, which quiteconfounded the senses.Mr. Sikes, dragging Oliver after him, elbowed his way throughthe thickest of the crowd, and bestowed very little attention on thenumerous sights and sounds, which so astonished the boy. Henodded, twice or thrice, to a passing friend; and, resisting as manyinvitations to take a morning dram, pressed steadily onward, untilthey were clear of the turmoil, and had made their way throughHosier Lane into Holborn.“No, young ’un!” said Sikes, looking up at the clock of St.Andrew’s Church, “hard upon seven! you must step out. Come,don’t lag beyind already, Lazylegs!”Mr. Sikes accompanied this speech with a jerk at his littlecompanion’s wrist; Oliver, quickening his pace into a kind of trot,between a fast walk and a run, kept up with the rapid strides ofthe housebreaker as well as he could.They held their course at this rate, until they had passed HydePark corner, and were on their way to Kensington, when Sikesrelaxed his pace, until an empty cart, which was at some littledistance behind, came up. Seeing “Hounslow” written on it, heasked the driver, with as much civility as he could assume. if hewould give them a lift as far as Isleworth.“Jump up,” said the man. “Is that your boy?”“Yes; he’s my boy,” replied Sikes, looking hard at Oliver, andputting his hand abstractedly into the pocket where the pistol was.“Your father walks rather too quick for you, don’t he, my man?”Charles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 222inquired the driver, seeing that Oliver was out of breath.“Not a bit of it,” replied Sikes, interposing. “He’s used to it.Here, take hold of my hand, Ned. In with you!”Thus addressing Oliver, he helped him into the cart; and thedriver, pointing to a heap of sacks, told him to lie down there, andrest himself.As they passed the different mile-stones. Oliver wondered,more and more, where his companion meant to take him.Kensington, Hammersmith, Chiswick, Kew Bridge, Brentford,were all passed; and yet they went on as steadily as if they hadonly just begun their journey. At length they came to a public-house called the Coach and Horses: a little way beyond whichanother road appeared to turn off. And here, the cart stopped.Sikes dismounted with great precipitation, holding Oliver bythe hand all the while; and lifting him down directly, bestowed afurious look upon him, and rapped the side-pocket with his fist, ina significant manner.“Good-bye, boy,” said the man.“He’s sulky,” replied Sikes, giving him a shake; “he’s sulky. Ayoung dog! Don’t mind him.”“Not I!” rejoined the other, getting into his cart. “It’s a fine dayafter all.” And he drove away.Sikes waited until he had fairly gone; and then, telling Oliver hemight look about him if he wanted, once again led him onward onhis journey.They turned round to the left, a short way past the public-house; and then, taking a right-hand road, walked on for a longtime; passing many large gardens and gentlemen’s houses on bothsides of the way, and stopping for nothing but a little beer, untilCharles Dickens ElecBook ClassicsOliver Twist 223they reached a town. Here against the wall of a house, Oliver sawwritten up in pretty large letters “Hampton.” They lingered about,in the fields, for some hours. At length, they came back into thetown; and, turning into an old public-house with a defacedsignboard, ordered some dinner by the kitchen fire.The kitchen was an old, low-roofed room, with a great beamacross the middle of the ceiling, and benches, with high backs tothem, by the fire; on which were seated several rough men insmock-frocks, drinking and smoking. They took no notice ofOliver, and very little of Sikes; and, as Sikes took very little noticeof them, he and his young comrade sat in a corner by themselves,without being much troubled by their company.They had some cold meat for dinner, and sat so long after it,while Mr. Sikes indulged himself with three or four pipes, thatOliver began to feel quite certain they were not going any farther.Being much tired with the walk, and getting up so early, he dozeda little at first; then, quite overpowered by fatigue and the fumes ofthe tobacco, fell asleep.It was quite dark when he was awakened by a push from Sikes.Rousing himself sufficiently to sit up and look about him, he foundthat worthy in close fellowship and communication with alabouring man, over a pint of ale.“So, you’re going on to Lower Halliford, are you?” inquiredSikes.“Yes, I am,” replied the man, who seemed a little the worse—orbetter, as the case might be—for drinking; “and not slow about itneither. My horse hasn’t got a load behind him going back, as he