05-01-远大前程 [62]
boy．But looking into the frture，well，that's like looking for the bottom of the river， isn't it？ Can't be done．’He remained silent after that．
We decided to spend the night at a little riverside pub．It seemed safe because there were no other guests， but the pub owner asked us a question which worried us．
‘Did you see that boat go past， gentlemen？ Rowed by four men， with two others on board．It's been up and down the river several times．Could be a Customs boat．’
When he left us alone， we discussed this information in whispers．In the end we decided to go to bed， and then set out the next morning just in time to catch the ship to Hamburg．I woke early，and when I looked out of the window，I saw two men examining our boat，but I decided not to wake Herbert or Startop，who needed their rest after rowing all the previous day．
Late in the morning we rowed into the centre of the river．We could see the ship to Hamburg coming closer． Magwitch and I picked up our bags，and said goodbye to Herbert and Startop，so that we would be ready to stop the ship and get on board．Suddenly a boat rowed by four men appeared from nowhere and came out very fast into the centre of the river，close to us． A fifth man was steering， and a sixth， his face hidden in his cloak， whispered instructions to the steerer．They all stared at us．
‘You have a convict there who's returned from Australia，'shouted the steerer．‘That's the man，in the cloak．His name is Abel Magwitch．I'm a Customs officer and I arrest him！’
Suddenly their boat was touching ours．The Hamburg ship was almost on top of us， and the ship's captain shouted the or-der to stop engines， but it was too late． At the same moment the Customs officer put his hand on Magwitch's shoulder，and Magwitch pulled the cloak off the other man in the boat．It was Compeyson！And as I watched，he fell backwards into the water，his face full of terror．The huge ship hit our tiny boat with a great crash，Somehow the Customs officers managed to get me on board their boat，with Herbert and Startop，but our boat sank，and the two convicts had disappeared．
Soon，however，we discovered Magwitch in the water，badly injured，and pulled him into the boat． He told me that he had fallen into the water with Compeyson，and then been hit by the ship．I believed what he said．At the time there was no sign of Compeyson，whose dead body was found several days later．
Magwitch was taken to prison to wait for his trial．I arranged for Jaggers to be his lawyer，but Jaggers warned me there was almost no hope of saving his life．Magwitch's thick wallet was handed over to the police，and Wemmick was quite annoyed with me about it．
‘Really， Mr Pip， to lose so much cash！’ he said．‘You see，Compeyson was so determined to get his revenge that you couldn't have saved Magwitch． But you certainly could have saved the cash．That's the difference． But could I ask you something， Mr Pip？ Would you come for a walk with me on Monday morning？’
It seemed a strange request， and although I did not really feel like accepting， he politely insisted．
I arrived at the Castle early on Monday morning， and after a glass of rum and milk， we set out on the road．
‘Well，well！’ said Wemmick suddenly．‘Here's a church！Let's go in！’And when we were inside，there was another surprise．
‘Well，well！’ he said again．‘Look what I've found in my pockets！Let's put them on！’As he had‘found’two pairs of white gloves，and his post-box mouth was as wide as it could possibly be，I began to suspect something．And when I saw the Aged come in with a lady，I knew I was right．
‘Well，well！'said Wemmick，still pretending to be sur-prised，‘here's the Aged，and Miss Skiffins！ Let's have a wedding！’
And so wemmick was married to Miss Skiffins， and we all celebrated
We decided to spend the night at a little riverside pub．It seemed safe because there were no other guests， but the pub owner asked us a question which worried us．
‘Did you see that boat go past， gentlemen？ Rowed by four men， with two others on board．It's been up and down the river several times．Could be a Customs boat．’
When he left us alone， we discussed this information in whispers．In the end we decided to go to bed， and then set out the next morning just in time to catch the ship to Hamburg．I woke early，and when I looked out of the window，I saw two men examining our boat，but I decided not to wake Herbert or Startop，who needed their rest after rowing all the previous day．
Late in the morning we rowed into the centre of the river．We could see the ship to Hamburg coming closer． Magwitch and I picked up our bags，and said goodbye to Herbert and Startop，so that we would be ready to stop the ship and get on board．Suddenly a boat rowed by four men appeared from nowhere and came out very fast into the centre of the river，close to us． A fifth man was steering， and a sixth， his face hidden in his cloak， whispered instructions to the steerer．They all stared at us．
‘You have a convict there who's returned from Australia，'shouted the steerer．‘That's the man，in the cloak．His name is Abel Magwitch．I'm a Customs officer and I arrest him！’
Suddenly their boat was touching ours．The Hamburg ship was almost on top of us， and the ship's captain shouted the or-der to stop engines， but it was too late． At the same moment the Customs officer put his hand on Magwitch's shoulder，and Magwitch pulled the cloak off the other man in the boat．It was Compeyson！And as I watched，he fell backwards into the water，his face full of terror．The huge ship hit our tiny boat with a great crash，Somehow the Customs officers managed to get me on board their boat，with Herbert and Startop，but our boat sank，and the two convicts had disappeared．
Soon，however，we discovered Magwitch in the water，badly injured，and pulled him into the boat． He told me that he had fallen into the water with Compeyson，and then been hit by the ship．I believed what he said．At the time there was no sign of Compeyson，whose dead body was found several days later．
Magwitch was taken to prison to wait for his trial．I arranged for Jaggers to be his lawyer，but Jaggers warned me there was almost no hope of saving his life．Magwitch's thick wallet was handed over to the police，and Wemmick was quite annoyed with me about it．
‘Really， Mr Pip， to lose so much cash！’ he said．‘You see，Compeyson was so determined to get his revenge that you couldn't have saved Magwitch． But you certainly could have saved the cash．That's the difference． But could I ask you something， Mr Pip？ Would you come for a walk with me on Monday morning？’
It seemed a strange request， and although I did not really feel like accepting， he politely insisted．
I arrived at the Castle early on Monday morning， and after a glass of rum and milk， we set out on the road．
‘Well，well！’ said Wemmick suddenly．‘Here's a church！Let's go in！’And when we were inside，there was another surprise．
‘Well，well！’ he said again．‘Look what I've found in my pockets！Let's put them on！’As he had‘found’two pairs of white gloves，and his post-box mouth was as wide as it could possibly be，I began to suspect something．And when I saw the Aged come in with a lady，I knew I was right．
‘Well，well！'said Wemmick，still pretending to be sur-prised，‘here's the Aged，and Miss Skiffins！ Let's have a wedding！’
And so wemmick was married to Miss Skiffins， and we all celebrated