06-02-雾都孤儿 [65]
and bought a meal，the n went on again．It was now dark and as he continued walking，he felt as if Nancy were following him，her shadow on the road，her last low cry in the wind．If he stopped，the ghostly figure did the same．If he ran，it ran too，moving stiffly，like a corpse．Sometimes he turned，determined to drive the ghost away，but his blood ran cold with terror．Every time he turned，the ghost turned too，and was still behind him．
Finally，he found another field where he could hide．He lay down，unable to sleep，his mind filled with visions of the dead girl．Her wide，dead eyes stared at him，watching him through a curtain of blood．
Suddenly he heard shouting in the distance．He jumped to his feet and saw that the sky seemed on fire．Sheets of flame shot into the air，driving clouds of smoke in his direction．He heard an alarm bell，and more shouts of 'Fire！'Running with his dog across the fields，he joined the crowds of men and women fighting the fire．He could forget his own terror in this new danger，and he worked all night with the crowd，shouting，running and working togethe r to stop the flames destroying more buildings．
In the morning the mad excitement was over，and the dreadful memory of his crime returned-more terrifying than ever．In desperation，he decided to go back to London．
'At least the re'll be somebody I can speak to，'he thought to himself． 'And it's a better hiding-place than out here in the country．I'll hide the re for a week，get some money out of Fagin，the n escape to France．'
Suddenly he remembered the dog-people would be looking for his dog as well as himself．He decided to drown the animal．But the dog smelt the man's fear，and turned and ran away from him faster than it had ever run in its life． 'You have a choice，Mr Monks，'said Mr Brown low ． 'You have been kidnapped and brought here to my house．You can either tell me what I want to know，or I'll have you arrested，instantly，for fraud and robbery．It's your choice．And you must decide now．At once．'
Monks hesitated and looked at the old man，but Mr Brown low 's expression was so serious and determined that The younger man realized it was pointless to protest． 'I didn't expect this treatment from my father's oldest friend，'said Monks angrily，sitting down with a frown on his face．
'Yes，I was your father's oldest friend，'said Mr Brown low ． 'And I know all about you-how your father，while still a boy，was forced by his family into an unhappy marriage with an older woman，and how you were the result of that marriage．I also know that your parents separated，hating each other by the end．'
'Well-what's so important about that？'
'When They'd been separated for ten years，'said Mr Brown low ， 'your father met another family．The re were two daughters，one nineteen years old and the other only two or three．Your father became engaged to the older daughter．At this point one of his rich relations died and left him a lot of money in his will．Your father had to travel to Italy to receive his inheritance，and while the re，he became ill and died．Your mother，who was living with you in Paris，immediately rushed to Italy when she heard the news．As your father had made no will of his own，all the relation's money came to you and her．'
Monks listened with close attention，biting his lip and staring at the floor．
'Before your father went to receive that money，he came to see me，'continued Mr Brown low slowly，his eyes fixed on Monks'face．
'I never heard that before，'said Monks，looking up suddenly，a suspicious expression on his face．
'He left me a picture of the poor girl he wanted to marry．He talked wildly about shame and guilt，and how he would give part of the money he'd inherited to his wife and to you，and use the rest to escape from England with the girl he loved．He refused to tell me any more details．'
Finally，he found another field where he could hide．He lay down，unable to sleep，his mind filled with visions of the dead girl．Her wide，dead eyes stared at him，watching him through a curtain of blood．
Suddenly he heard shouting in the distance．He jumped to his feet and saw that the sky seemed on fire．Sheets of flame shot into the air，driving clouds of smoke in his direction．He heard an alarm bell，and more shouts of 'Fire！'Running with his dog across the fields，he joined the crowds of men and women fighting the fire．He could forget his own terror in this new danger，and he worked all night with the crowd，shouting，running and working togethe r to stop the flames destroying more buildings．
In the morning the mad excitement was over，and the dreadful memory of his crime returned-more terrifying than ever．In desperation，he decided to go back to London．
'At least the re'll be somebody I can speak to，'he thought to himself． 'And it's a better hiding-place than out here in the country．I'll hide the re for a week，get some money out of Fagin，the n escape to France．'
Suddenly he remembered the dog-people would be looking for his dog as well as himself．He decided to drown the animal．But the dog smelt the man's fear，and turned and ran away from him faster than it had ever run in its life． 'You have a choice，Mr Monks，'said Mr Brown low ． 'You have been kidnapped and brought here to my house．You can either tell me what I want to know，or I'll have you arrested，instantly，for fraud and robbery．It's your choice．And you must decide now．At once．'
Monks hesitated and looked at the old man，but Mr Brown low 's expression was so serious and determined that The younger man realized it was pointless to protest． 'I didn't expect this treatment from my father's oldest friend，'said Monks angrily，sitting down with a frown on his face．
'Yes，I was your father's oldest friend，'said Mr Brown low ． 'And I know all about you-how your father，while still a boy，was forced by his family into an unhappy marriage with an older woman，and how you were the result of that marriage．I also know that your parents separated，hating each other by the end．'
'Well-what's so important about that？'
'When They'd been separated for ten years，'said Mr Brown low ， 'your father met another family．The re were two daughters，one nineteen years old and the other only two or three．Your father became engaged to the older daughter．At this point one of his rich relations died and left him a lot of money in his will．Your father had to travel to Italy to receive his inheritance，and while the re，he became ill and died．Your mother，who was living with you in Paris，immediately rushed to Italy when she heard the news．As your father had made no will of his own，all the relation's money came to you and her．'
Monks listened with close attention，biting his lip and staring at the floor．
'Before your father went to receive that money，he came to see me，'continued Mr Brown low slowly，his eyes fixed on Monks'face．
'I never heard that before，'said Monks，looking up suddenly，a suspicious expression on his face．
'He left me a picture of the poor girl he wanted to marry．He talked wildly about shame and guilt，and how he would give part of the money he'd inherited to his wife and to you，and use the rest to escape from England with the girl he loved．He refused to tell me any more details．'