Put the sentences in the right order. 1) When she ceased her struggling, Sikes left her and joined Fagin

1) 'She goes ______ to-night,' said Fagin, 'the man she is afraid ______ will not be back much ______ daybreak.'

2) 'What has come ______ her? What did she want to go ______ to-night _____?'asked Sikes.

3) 'That man must be delivered ______ ______ you,' said the gentleman.

4) 'I promise you that in that case, if the truth is forced ______ him, there the matter will rest; there must be circumstances ______ Oliver's little history which it would be painful to drag ______ the public eye.'

5) 'Take it ______ my sake, that you may have some resource ______ an hour______ need and trouble.'

Put the verbs, given in brackets, in the right tense form.

1)Sikes (rise), (lock) the door, (take) the key out, and pulling her bonnet from her head (fling) it on the floor.

2) 'She has (find) some new friends, my dear, and I must (know) who they (be),' (reply) Fagin.

3) Six nights (pass), and on each Fagin (come) home with a disappointed face.

4) 'You have (give) us most valuable assistance,' (say) the old gentleman.

5) As they disappeared, the girl sunk down and burst into tears.

Complete the sentences.

1) Fagin paused when he reached the room-door, and looking round, asked if …

2) Everything that Fagin saw in the last days proved the idea that …

3) Nancy looked nervously round, twice or thrice, and …

4) Nancy thoroughly explained the localities of …

5) When the spy was certain that he was again alone he …

What do you think?

1)Why do you think Bill Sikes didn't let Nancy go out?

2) Why did Fagin want Nancy to poison Bill Sikes?

3) Why did Nancy stop to let two men, who were close behind her, pass on?

4) Why did the girl refuse to give up Fagin and why did she give up Monks?

5) Why did Nancy refuse to take the purse?

CHAPTER 19

Fatal Consequences and the Flight of Sikes

It was nearly two hours before day-break.

The spy lay on the floor, stretched upon a mattress, fast asleep. Towards him the old man sometimes directed his eyes for an instant, and then brought them back again to the candle. Fagin's face was so pale and his eyes were so red, that he looked less like a man, than like a phantom, worried by an evil spirit.

The loss of his revenge on Sikes bitterly disappointed him. He hated Nancy who dared to speak about them with strangers. And the fear came, the fear of detection, and ruin, and death.

The bell rang gently. The old man crept upstairs to the door, and presently returned accompanied by Bill Sikes.

'There!' he said, laying the bundle on the table. 'Take care of that, and do the most you can with it. It's been trouble enough to get.'

Fagin laid his hand upon the bundle, and locking it in the cupboard, sat down again without speaking. But he did not take his eyes off the robber, for an instant, during this action; and now that they sat over against each other, face to face, he looked fixedly at him, with his lips quivering so violently, and his face so altered by the emotions, that the housebreaker involuntarily drew back his chair.

'What now?' cried Sikes. 'Have you gone mad?'

'I've got to tell you something, Bill,' said Fagin, drawing his chair nearer, 'that will make you worse than me.'

Fagin looked hard at the robber; and, motioning him to be silent, stooped over the bed upon the floor, and shook the sleeper to rouse him.

'He's tired, tired with watching for her so long, Bill.'

'What do you mean?' asked Sikes.

Fagin made no answer, but bending over the sleeper, shook him again. The spy rubbed his eyes, and, giving a heavy yawn, looked sleepily about him.

'Tell me that again, once again, just for him to hear,' said Fagin, pointing to Sikes as he spoke.

'Tell what?' asked the sleepy young man.

'About Nancy,' said Fagin. 'You followed her?'

'Yes.'

'To London Bridge?'

'Yes.'

'Where she met two people.'

'So she did.'

'A gentleman and a lady asked her to describe Monks first, which she did, and to tell them what house it was that we meet at, and go to, which she did, and where it could be best watched from, which she did, and what time the people went there, which she did. She did all this. She told it all, did she not?' cried Fagin, half mad with fury.

'All right,' replied the young man, scratching his head. 'That's just what it was!'

'What did they say, about last Sunday?'

'About last Sunday!' replied spy, considering. 'Why I told you that before.'

'Again. Tell it again!' cried Fagin.

'They asked her,' said the lad, 'they asked her why she didn't come, last Sunday, as she promised. She said she couldn't.'

'Why, why? Tell him that.'

'Because she was forcibly kept at home by Bill,' replied the spy.

'What else did she say about him?' cried Fagin. 'What else? Tell him that, tell him that.'

'She said she couldn't very easily get out of doors unless he knew where she was going to,' said the spy; 'and so the first time she went to see the lady, she gave him a drink of laudanum.'

'Hell's fire!' cried Sikes. 'Let me out! Don't speak to me; it's not safe. Let me out, I say!'

'You won't be too violent, Bill?' said Fagin.

Sikes made no reply; but, pulling open the door, dashed into the silent streets.

Without one pause, or moment's consideration; without once turning his head to the right or left, or raising his eyes to the sky, or lowering them to the ground, but looking straight before him with savage resolution the robber held on his headlong course, until he reached his own door. He opened it, softly, with his key; went lightly up the stairs; and entering his own room, double-locked the door.

The girl was sleeping.

'Get up!' said the man.

Nancy raised herself with a hurried and startled look. 'It is you, Bill!' said the girl, with an expression of pleasure at his return.

'It is,' was the reply. 'Get up.'

The girl rose to undraw the curtain.

'Let it be,' said Sikes, thrusting his hand before her. 'There's enough light for what I've got to do.'

'Bill,' said the girl, in the low voice of alarm, 'why do you look like that at me!'

The robber grasped her by the head and throat, dragged her into the middle of the room, and looking once towards the door, placed his heavy hand upon her mouth.

'Bill, Bill!' gasped the girl, wrestling with the strength of mortal fear, 'I won't scream or cry. Tell me what I have done!'

'You know, what you have done!' returned the robber. 'You were watched to-night; every word you said was heard.'

'Then spare my life for the love of Heaven, as I spared yours,' rejoined the girl, clinging to him. 'Bill, dear Bill, you cannot have the heart to kill me. Bill, Bill, for dear God's sake, for your own, for mine, stop before you spill my blood! I have been true to you, I have!'

'Bill,' cried the girl, trying to lay her head upon his breast. 'Let me see the gentleman and that dear lady again and beg them, on my knees, to show the same mercy and goodness to you; and let us both leave this dreadful place, and lead better lives, and forget how we have lived, except in prayers. It is never too late to repent.'

The housebreaker freed one arm, and grasped his pistol. Even in the midst of his fury Sikes realized that shooting would be heard, so he hit the girl twice with all his force upon her head.

She staggered and fell. Nearly blinded with the blood that rained down from a deep gash in her forehead she raised herself, with difficulty, on her knees, drew from her bosom a white handkerchief — Rose Maylie's own — and holding it up, in her folded hands, as high towards Heaven as her feeble strength would allow, breathed a prayer for mercy.

It was a ghastly figure to look upon. The murderer seized a heavy club and struck her down.

Of all bad deeds, committed by Bill Sikes under cover of the darkness, that was the worst and most cruel.

He whistled on the dog, and walked rapidly away.

He went on and on, unsteady of purpose, and uncertain where to go. Where could he go, that was near and not too public, to get some meat and drink? He entered a public-house. It was a good place, not far off, and out of most people's way. But when he got there, all the people he met seemed to view him with suspicion. Back he turned again, without the courage to purchase bit or drop, though he was very hungry and thirsty. He hurried away and walked till he almost dropped upon the ground; then lay down in a lane, and had a long, but uneasy sleep. He wandered on again. Suddenly, he decided to go back to London.

The dog, though. If any description of him were out, it would not be forgotten that the dog was missing, and that the dog would probably go with him. This might attract attention to him as he passed along the streets. He decided to drownthe dog, and walked on, looking about for a pond: picking up a heavy stone and tying it to his handkerchief as he went.

The animal looked up into his master's face while he was making these preparations; whether his dog's instinct helped him understand the man, or the robber's look at him was more fixed than ordinary, he kept a little farther from Sikes than usual. When his master stopped near a pool and looked round to call him, he stopped, too.

'Do you hear me? Come here!' cried Sikes.

The animal came up from the force of habit; but as Sikes stooped to attach the handkerchief to his throat, he uttered a low growl and started back.

'Come back!' said the robber.

The dog wagged his tail, but did not move. Sikes called him again.

The dog advanced, retreated, paused an instant, and ran away at his hardest speed.

The man whistled again and again, and sat down and waited in the expectation that he would return. But the dog did not appear, and at length he resumed his journey.

Helpful Words & Notes

revenge n — месть

yawn n — зевота, зевок

sparev — беречь, жалеть

repentv — раскаиваться, сожалеть

gash n — глубокая рана

drownv — топить, тонуть

Activities

Answer the questions.

1)Why did Fagin hate Nancy?

2) What was Fagin afraid of?

3) Who came to Fagin?

4) What did Sikes bring to Fagin?

5) What did Fagin say to Sikes?

6) What did the spy say to Bill Sikes?

7) Where did Sikes go when he left Fagin?

8) What did Sikes do when he came home?

9) What did Nancy ask Bill to do?

10) What did Sikes after that?

11) What did Sikes decide to do with the dog and why?

12) What did the dog do when Sikes tried to attach the handkerchief to his throat?

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