Put the sentences in the right order. 1) The doctor looked anxiously round; nothing answered Oliver's description!

1) ______ a short time Oliver was well enough ______ this expedition.

2) The hump-backed man stared ______ amazement and indignation and then, twisting himself from the doctor's grasp, he retired ______ the house.

3) The doctor made _____ his mind to think ______ that house later.

4) As Oliver knew the name ______ the street ______ which Mr. Brownlow resided, they found the street ______ any difficulty.

5) Soon the ladies departed ______ a cottage ______ the country, and took Oliver______ them.

5 Insert articles a, an, the where necessary.

1)Mr. Losberne ran to ______ house and _____ began kicking at ______ door like ______ madman.

2) 'Hello?' said ______ little ugly hump-backed man, opening ______ door so suddenly, that ______ doctor nearly fell forward into ______ passage.

3) 'I am _____ ass!' said ______ doctor.

4) As Oliver knew______ name of ______ street in which Mr. Brownlow resided, they found______ street without any difficulty.

5) If we go to ______ book-stall keeper's, we shall certainly ______ find that he is dead, or has set______ his house on fire, or run away.

6) Then Oliver prepared ______ his lesson for ______ next day.

Complete the sentences.

1)Many times during his illness Oliver pleased him­self with …

2) The doctor ran to the house and …

3) The servant presently returned, and said, that …

4) The idea that Mr. Brownlow and Mrs. Bedwin could …

5) Oliver tried his best to please the old gentleman because …

What do you think?

1)Why did Oliver want to find Mr. Brownlow and Mrs. Bedwin so much?

2) Why did Mr. Losberne give some money to the hump-backed man?

3) Why do you think Mr. Losberne called himself an ass?

4) Why did Oliver feel much sorrow and grief, even in the midst of his happiness?

CHAPTER 15

Mr. Bumble Meets a Strange Man, and Mrs. Bumble Tells Her Story

It was a rainy evening when Mr. Bumble, who became master of the workhouse, stepped into a public-house and ordered something to drink. In a minute or two a stranger came up to him.

'Once you were a beadle here, were you not?' said the strange.

'I was,' said Mr. Bumble, in some surprise.

'What are you now?'

'Master of the workhouse,' rejoined Mr. Bumble, slowly and impressively. 'Master of the workhouse, young man!'

'Now listen to me,' said the stranger. 'I came down to this place to find you. I want some information from you. I don't ask you to give it for nothing.'

As he spoke, he pushed a couple of sovereigns across the table to his companion. When Mr. Bumble examined the coins, to see that they were genuine, and put them, with much satisfaction, in his waistcoat-pocket, he went on:

'I speak of a pale-faced boy, who was an apprentice to a coffin-maker and who afterwards ran away to London, as it was supposed.'

'Why, you mean Oliver! Young Twist!' said Mr. Bumble; 'I remember him, of course.'

'It's not of him I want to hear; I've heard enough of him,' said the stranger, stopping Mr. Bumble. 'It's of a woman who nursed his mother. Where is she?'

'She died last winter,' rejoined Mr. Bumble. But Mr. Bumble was cunning enough; and he at once saw that an opportunity was opened. He informed the stranger, with an air of mystery, that he had a reason to believe that one woman could be of some interest to him.

'How can I find her?' said the stranger.

'Only through me,' rejoined Mr. Bumble.

'When?' cried the stranger, hastily.

'To-morrow,' rejoined Bumble.

'At nine in the evening,' said the stranger. He took a scrap of paper and wrote his address on it; 'at nine in the evening, bring her to me there. I needn't tell you that it's a secret. It's your interest.' He gave the scrap of paper to Mr. Bumble and left.

Mr. Bumble glanced at the address and saw that there was no name there. So he followed the stranger to ask it.

'What do you want?' cried the man, turning quickly round, as Bumble touched him on the arm. 'Why are you following me?'

'Only to ask a question,' said the other, pointing to the scrap of paper. 'What name am I to ask for?'

'Monks!' rejoined the man; and went away hastily.

It was a rainy summer evening when Mr. and Mrs. Bumble turned out of the main street of the town. They were both wrapped in old and shabby raincoats, which might, perhaps, serve the double purpose of protecting their persons from the rain, and sheltering them from observation. The husband carried a lantern, from which, however, no light yet shone.

The couple paused in front of a ruinous building near the river.

'The place is somewhere here,' said Bumble, consulting the scrap of paper he held in his hand.

'Hello!' cried a voice from above.

Following the sound, Mr. Bumble raised his head and saw a man, looking out of a window on the second story.

'Stand still, a minute,' cried the voice; 'I'll be with you directly.' With which the head disappeared, and the door closed.

'Is that the man?' asked Mr. Bumble's wife.

Mr. Bumble nodded in the affirmative.

'Then, mind what I told you,' said the wife: 'and be careful to say as little as you can, or you'll betray us at once.'

Mr. Bumble was going to express some doubts whether it was a good idea to enter the house, when Monks opened a small door and invited them inwards.

'Come in!' he cried impatiently, stamping his foot upon the ground. 'Don't keep me here!'

The woman walked boldly in without any other invitation. Mr. Bumble, who was ashamed or afraid to lag behind, followed her. Monks bolted the door behind them.

'This is the woman, is it?' demanded Monks.

'That is the woman,' replied Mr. Bumble.

'You think women never can keep secrets, I suppose?' said the woman?

'I know they will always keep one till it's found out,' said Monks. 'Now, the sooner we come to our business, the better for all. The woman knows what it is, does she?'

'What's it worth to you?' asked the woman.

'It may be nothing; it may be twenty pounds,' replied Monks. 'Speak out, and let me know which.'

'Add five pounds to the sum you have named; give me twenty five pounds in gold,' said the woman; 'and I'll tell you all I know. Not before.'

'Twenty five pounds!' exclaimed Monks, drawing back.

'It's not a large sum,' replied Mrs. Bumble.

'Not a large sum for a secret, that may be nothing when it's told!' cried Monks impatiently.

'What if I pay it for nothing?' asked Monks, hesitating.

'You can easily take it away again,' replied Mrs. Bumble. 'I am but a woman; alone here; and unprotected.'

'Not alone, my dear, nor unprotected, neither,' said Mr. Bumble, in a voice tremulouswith fear. 'I am here, my dear. And besides,' said Mr. Bumble, 'Mr. Monks is too much of a gentleman to attempt any violence on us.'

'So! He's your husband, eh?' said Monks, grimly.

'He is my husband!' answered Mrs. Bumble.

'I thought so, when you came in,' rejoined Monks. 'So much the better.See here!'

He thrust his hand into a side-pocket and produced a canvas bag. He put twenty-five sovereigns on the table, and pushed them over to the woman.

'Now,' he said, 'gather them up and let's hear your story.'

'When this nurse, we called her old Sally, died, she and I were alone.'

'Was there no one by?' asked Monks, in the same hollow whisper; 'No one who could hear?'

'Not a soul,' replied the woman; 'we were alone. I stood alone beside the body when death came over it.'

'Good,' said Monks, listening to her very attentively. 'Go on.'

'She spoke of a young creature, who gave birth to a child some years before. The child was the one you named to Mr. Bumble last night,' said the woman. 'The nurse robbed the mother.' 'In life?' asked Monks.

'In death,' replied the woman, with something like a shudder.'She stole from the corpse. The mother prayed her with her last breath, to keep for the infant's sake.'

'She sold it,' cried Monks, with desperate eagerness; 'did she sell it? Where? When? To whom?'

'As she told me this, with great difficulty,' said the woman, 'she fell back and died.'

'Without saying more?' cried Monks, in a furious voice. 'It's a lie! She said more. I'll tear the life out of you both, but I'll know what it was.'

'She didn't utter another word,' said Mrs. Bumble. 'When I saw that she was dead I found in her hand a scrap of dirty paper.'

'Where is it now?' asked Monks quickly. 'There,' replied the woman. She hastily threw upon the table a small bag, which Monks tore open with trembling hands. It contained a little gold locket: in which were two locks of hair, and a plain gold wedding-ring.

'It has the word "Agnes" engravedon the inside,' said the woman.

 'There is a blank left for the surname; and then follows the date; which is within a year before the child was born. I found out that.'

'And this is all?' said Monks.

'All,' replied the woman.

Mr. Bumble drew a long breath. He was glad that the story was over, and Monks did not want to take the twenty five pounds back.

'I know nothing of the story, beyond what I can guess at,' said his wife addressing Monks, after a short silence; 'and I want to know nothing; for it's safer not. But I may ask you two questions, may I?'

'You may ask,' said Monks, with some show of surprise; 'but whether I answer or not is another question.'

'Is that what you expected to get from me?' demanded the matron.

'It is,' replied Monks. 'The other question?'

'What are you going to do with it? Can it be used against me?'

'Never,' rejoined Monks; 'nor against me either. See here! But don't move a step forward!'

With these words, he suddenly wheeled the table aside, and pulling an iron ring in the boarding, threw back a large trap-doorwhich opened close at Mr. Bumble's feet, and caused that gentleman to step backward.

'Look down,' said Monks, lowering the lantern. 'Don't fear me.'

Mr. and Mrs. Bumble carefully drew near to the brink. The water, swollen by the heavy rain, was rushing rapidly on below; and all other sounds were lost in the noise of its plashing. Many years ago there was a water-millbeneath.

'If you throw a man's body down there, where will it be to-morrow morning?' said Monks, swinging the lantern to and fro in the dark well.

'Twelve miles down the river,' replied Mr. Bumble.

Monks took the gold locket and the gold wedding-ring, and dropped them into the stream. They fell straight down and were gone in an instant.

'There!' said Monks, closing the trap-door, which fell heavily back into its former position. 'We have nothing more to say, and may break up our pleasant party.'

'By all means,' observed Mr. Bumble, with great pleasure.

'You'll keep a quiet tongue in your head, will you?' said Monks, with a threatening look. 'I am not afraid of your wife.'

'You may depend upon us, Mr. Monks,' answered Mr. Bumble, bowing with excessive politeness.

'I am glad, for your sake, to hear it,' remarked Monks. 'Light your lantern! And get away from here as fast as you can.'

Helpful Words & Notes

sovereign  n — соверен; золотая монета в один фунт стерлингов

tremulousadj — дрожащий

So much the better.— Тем лучше.

shuddern — содрогание

for the infant's sake— ради ребенка

locketn — медальон

engravev — гравировать

trap-doorn — крышка люка

water-milln — водяная мельница

Activities

Answer the questions.

1) Where did Mr. Bumble meet a stranger and what did the stranger want?

2) What did the stranger give to Mr. Bumble?

3) About whom did the stranger speak?

4) Where did Mr. and Mrs. Bumble find Monks?

5) How much money did Mrs. Bumble want for the information she had?

6) Whose mother was a young woman who gave birth to her child in the workhouse?

7) What did the young mother pray the nurse to do?

8) What did the nurse steal?

9) What did Mrs. Bumble give to Monks and what did she get?

10) What was written on the wedding-ring?

11) What did Monks do with the gold locket and the wedding-ring?

12) What did Monks ask his visitors to do?

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