06-02-雾都孤儿 [14]
．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，
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，