05-01-远大前程 [24]
iron chain．It did not belong to the prisoners who had escaped that day．
The police spent the next week investigating the attack，but did not arrest anybody. I felt sure the iron chain belonged to my convict，but I did not think he had attacked my sister. The attacker could have been either Orlick，or the stranger who had shown me the file . But several witnesses had seen Or－lick in town all evening．My only reason for suspecting him was his quarrel with my sister，but she had quarrelled with everyone in the village ten thousand times．And if the stranger had come to ask for his two pounds back，my sister would gladly have given it to him．So I could not imagine who her attacker was．
She lay ill in bed for a long time．She could not speak or understand much，and her character was greatly changed．She had become quiet，patient，and grateful for all our care．She used to write a word or draw a picture when she wanted some－thing，and we tried to discover what she meant．She needed someone to take care of her all the time，and luckily old Mrs Wopsle had just died，so Biddy came to live with us. She understood my sister perfectly and looked after us all very well.
One day my sister drew a T，and seemed to want it very much．I brought her toast，and tea，but Biddy knew immediately.
‘It's not a T，it's Orlick's hammer！'she cried．‘She's forgotten his name but she wants to see Orlick！’
I must say l expected to see my sister accuse Orlick of at－tacking her，but instead she seemed very pleased to see him. She often used to ask for him after that，and nobody knew why.
One Sunday I asked Biddy to come for a walk on the marshes．
‘Biddy，’I said seriously，‘promise to keep this a secret．I'm going to tell you something．I want to be a gentleman.'
‘Don't you think you're happier as you are？'she replied．
I had often wondered this myself，but I didn't want to hear it from her. ‘It's a pity，I know，’I said．‘It would have been much better if I could have been happy working at the forge．Perhaps you and I would have spent more time together．I would have been good enough for you，wouldn't I，Biddy？’
‘Oh yes，'she said sadly．‘But I don't ask for very much．'
‘The point is，'I continued crossly，‘if nobody had told me I was coarse and common，I wouldn't have thought abut it！’
Biddy looked at me，interested．‘That wasn't a true or polite thing to say. Who said it？’
‘It was the beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham's，and I admire her greatly，and I want to be a gentleman for her！'The words rushed out before I could stop them．
Biddy said gently，‘She may not be worth the trouble，Pip.’
‘That may be true，but I can't stop myself admiring her.'
Biddy was the most sensible of girls，and did not try to persuade me any more．As we walked home，I felt rested and comforted．
‘Pip，what a fool you are！'I said to myself．I realized how much happier I would always be with Biddy than with Estella．
‘Biddy，I wish I could make myself fall in love with you！’I said suddenly．‘You don't mind my speaking so openly，as you're such an old friend？’
‘No，of course not．But you never will fall in love with me，you see，'she answered，a little sadly .
I wondered if I should continue working with Joe in a plain，honest way of life，and perhaps marry Biddy. Or dare I hope that Miss Havisham would make my fortune and marry me to Estella？
■ 5 匹普的姐姐被袭击
在仅有的一年中，每一件事情都发生了变化。我去郝薇香小姐家，遇见艾丝黛拉之前，我总是想做乔的徒弟，不管我姐姐的训斥，在家里总是很愉快。现在，我对我的家和工作感到苦恼，我很悲伤。然而，为了乔，我呆在铁匠铺并拼命地工作。使我欣慰的是没有把这些烦恼告诉他，我尽可能地以他为榜
The police spent the next week investigating the attack，but did not arrest anybody. I felt sure the iron chain belonged to my convict，but I did not think he had attacked my sister. The attacker could have been either Orlick，or the stranger who had shown me the file . But several witnesses had seen Or－lick in town all evening．My only reason for suspecting him was his quarrel with my sister，but she had quarrelled with everyone in the village ten thousand times．And if the stranger had come to ask for his two pounds back，my sister would gladly have given it to him．So I could not imagine who her attacker was．
She lay ill in bed for a long time．She could not speak or understand much，and her character was greatly changed．She had become quiet，patient，and grateful for all our care．She used to write a word or draw a picture when she wanted some－thing，and we tried to discover what she meant．She needed someone to take care of her all the time，and luckily old Mrs Wopsle had just died，so Biddy came to live with us. She understood my sister perfectly and looked after us all very well.
One day my sister drew a T，and seemed to want it very much．I brought her toast，and tea，but Biddy knew immediately.
‘It's not a T，it's Orlick's hammer！'she cried．‘She's forgotten his name but she wants to see Orlick！’
I must say l expected to see my sister accuse Orlick of at－tacking her，but instead she seemed very pleased to see him. She often used to ask for him after that，and nobody knew why.
One Sunday I asked Biddy to come for a walk on the marshes．
‘Biddy，’I said seriously，‘promise to keep this a secret．I'm going to tell you something．I want to be a gentleman.'
‘Don't you think you're happier as you are？'she replied．
I had often wondered this myself，but I didn't want to hear it from her. ‘It's a pity，I know，’I said．‘It would have been much better if I could have been happy working at the forge．Perhaps you and I would have spent more time together．I would have been good enough for you，wouldn't I，Biddy？’
‘Oh yes，'she said sadly．‘But I don't ask for very much．'
‘The point is，'I continued crossly，‘if nobody had told me I was coarse and common，I wouldn't have thought abut it！’
Biddy looked at me，interested．‘That wasn't a true or polite thing to say. Who said it？’
‘It was the beautiful young lady at Miss Havisham's，and I admire her greatly，and I want to be a gentleman for her！'The words rushed out before I could stop them．
Biddy said gently，‘She may not be worth the trouble，Pip.’
‘That may be true，but I can't stop myself admiring her.'
Biddy was the most sensible of girls，and did not try to persuade me any more．As we walked home，I felt rested and comforted．
‘Pip，what a fool you are！'I said to myself．I realized how much happier I would always be with Biddy than with Estella．
‘Biddy，I wish I could make myself fall in love with you！’I said suddenly．‘You don't mind my speaking so openly，as you're such an old friend？’
‘No，of course not．But you never will fall in love with me，you see，'she answered，a little sadly .
I wondered if I should continue working with Joe in a plain，honest way of life，and perhaps marry Biddy. Or dare I hope that Miss Havisham would make my fortune and marry me to Estella？
■ 5 匹普的姐姐被袭击
在仅有的一年中，每一件事情都发生了变化。我去郝薇香小姐家，遇见艾丝黛拉之前，我总是想做乔的徒弟，不管我姐姐的训斥，在家里总是很愉快。现在，我对我的家和工作感到苦恼，我很悲伤。然而，为了乔，我呆在铁匠铺并拼命地工作。使我欣慰的是没有把这些烦恼告诉他，我尽可能地以他为榜