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j Cha-rles.)ickens
Oliver Twist
OLIVER TWIST was the son of a poor
lady "who was found lying in tho
street one day In a village near
Xondon, almost starved and very ill. She
had walked a long way, for .her shoes
were worn to pieces, hut where she came
from or where she was going nobody
knew. As she had no money, they took
her to the poorhouse, where she died next i
day without even telling her name, leav
ing hehlnd her only a gold locket, which
was around her neck, and'a baby.
The locket fell into the hands of the
matron of the poorhouse, who was named
Mrs. Bumble. It contained the dead
mother's wedding ring, and, as Mrs. Bum
ble was a dishonest woman, she hid both
locket and ring. Intending some time to
Bell them.
The baby was left with no one to care
for It to grow up at the poorhouse with
the other wretched orphan children, who
wore calico dresses all alike and had lit
tle to eat and many whippings.
Mr. Bumble was a pompous, self-important
bully who browbeat every one weaker
than himself and scolded and cuffed the
paupers to his heart's content. It was he
who named the baby "Oliver Twist." He
used to name all the babies as they came
along, by the letters of the alphabet.
The one before Oliver was named Swub
ble: then came Oliver with a T; the next
would be Unwin, the next Vilkins, and so
on down to Z. Then he would beg'in the
alphabet all over again.
Little Oliver, the baby, grew without
any idea of who he was. When he was a
year old he was sent to the "poor farm,"
where an old woman took care of orphan
children for a very small sum apiece each
week. This money, which was paid by
the town, was hardly enough to buy them
food, but nevertheless the old woman
took good care to save the bigger share
for herself.
He lived here till he was a pale, hand
some boy of 9 years, and then he was
taken to the workhouse, where, with
many other boyB of his own age or
older, he had to work hard all day picking
oakum.
The boys had nothing hut thin gruel for
their meals, with an onion twice a week
and half a roll on Sundays. They ate in
a great stone hall, in one end of which
stood the big copper of gruel which Mr.
Bumble ladled out. Each boy got only
one helping, and the "bowls never needed
washing, because, when the meal was
through, thore'was not a drop of gruel
Jeft in them. After each meal they all
sat staring at the copper and sucking
their fingers, but nobody dared ask for
more.
One day they felt"so terribly hungry
that one of the biggest boys said that
unless he got another helping of gruel he
was afraid he would have to eat the boy
who slept next him. The little "boys all
believed this and they cast lots to ee who
should ask for more, and it fell to Oliver
Twist.
So that night after supper, though he
iras dreadfully frightened, Oliver rose and
vent up to the end of the room and said
lo Mr. Bumble, "Please, sir, I want some
more."
Mr. Bumble was so surprised he turned
pale. "What!" he gasped.
"Please, sir," said Oliver again, "I want
come more."
Mr. Bumble picked up the ladle and
jtruck Oliver on the head with it; then he
pounced on him and shook him. When
pe was tired shaking him, he dragged
mm away and shut him up In a dark
room, where he stayed a whole week, and
tvas only taken out once a day to- be
Khipped. Then, to make an-example of
him, a. notice was pasted on the gate of
the workhouse offering a reward to any
body who would take poor Oliver away
tnd do what he liked with him.
The first one who came by was a
ciiddle-aged chimney sweep, who
ivanted a "boy to climb up the inside
pf chimneys and clean out the soot.
JThis" was a dangerous thing- to do, for
sometimes the boys who did it got
burned or choked with tho smoke,
and when Oliver found what they
were going to do with him and looked
tt the man's cruel face, he burst out
crying, so that a kind-hearted Magis
trate -interfered and would not let the
chimney sweep have him.
Mr. Bumble finally gave him to the
village undertaker, and there he had
to mind the shop and do all the chores.
He slept under tho counter among
,'piles of empty coffins. The under
taker's wife beat him often, and
'whenever he was not at work he bad
to- attend funerals, which was by
no means amusing, so that he found
i life no better than it had been at the
workhouse. The undertaker had an ap
prentice, too, who kicked him when
ever he got near enough.
All this wretchedness Oliver bore as
well as he could, without complain
ing. But one day the cowardly appren
tice began to say unkind things of
Oliver's vdead mother, and this he could
not stand. His anger made him strong
er even than his tormentor, who was
more than a head taller and much
older than Oliver, and he sprang upon
-him, caught him by the throat and,
after shaking him till his teeth rattled,
knocked liim flat on the floor.
The big bully screamed for help and
cried that he was being murdered, so
that the undertaker and liis wife came
running in. Oliver told them what the
apprentice had said, but that made no
difference. Tho uncfceVrtaker sent for
Mr. Bumble, and between them they
flogged nim till lie could hardly stand
and sent him to bed without anything
to eat.
Till then Oliver had not shed a tear,
but now, alone In the dark, he felt so
miserable that he cried for a long time.
There was nothing to do, he thought
at last, but to run away. So he tied up
his fe'w belongings in a handkerchief
and, waiting till the first beam of sun
riser he unbarred the door and ran
away as fast as he could, through the
town Into the country.
He hid behind hedges whenever he
caw anybody, for fear the undertaker
or Mr. Bumble were after him, and be
Tor, long-he found a road that3ieknew
led to London. Oliver had never seen
city, but he thought where there
were so many people there would cer
tainly be something for a boy to do to
earn his living, so he trudged stoutly
on and before nightfall had walked, 20
miles. He begged a crust of bread at
a cottage and slept under a hayrick.
The next day and night he was so very
hungry and cold that when morning
came again he could scarcely walk at
all.
He sat down finally on the edge of a
village, wondering whether he was go
ing to die, when he saw coming along
the queerest-looking boy. He was
about Oliver's age, with a snub-nose,
bow-legs and little sharp eyes. His
face was very dirty' and he wore a
man's coat, whose ragged tails came
to his heels.
The- .boy saw Oliver's plight and
asked him what the matter was, mix
ing his words with such a lot of
strange slang that Oliver could hardly
understand him. When Oliver explained
that he had been walking a number of
dayp. and was very hungry the other
took him to a shop nearby and bought
him some bread and ham, and watched
him eat It with great attetnion, asking
him many questions whether "he had
any money or knew any place In Lon
'don where he could stay. Oliver an
swered no.
"Don't fret about that," said the other.
"I know a 'spectable old genelman as
lives there wot'll give you lodgings for
nothing If I lnterduce you."
Oliver did not think his new host look
ed very respectable himself, but he
thought it might be as well for him to
know the old gentleman, particularly as
he had nowhere else to go. So they set
off together.
It was night when they reached Lon
don, and it was so big and crowded that
Oliver kept close to his guide. He no
ticed, however, that the streets they
passed through, were narrow and dirty,
and the houses old and hideously filthy.
The people, too, seemed low ana
wretched.
He was just wondering If he had not
better run away when the boy pushed
open a door, drew Oliver Inside, up a
broken stairway and Into a back room.
Here, frying some sausages over a stove,
was a shrivelled old Jew in a greasy flan
nel gown. He was very ugly and his
matted red hair hung down over his vil
lainous face. In a corner stood a clothes
horse, on which hung hundreds of silk
handkerchiefs, and four or five boys, as
dirty and oddly dressed as the one who
had brought Oliver, sat about a table
smoking pipes like rough, grown men.
Oliver's guide introduced him to the
Jew, whose name was Fagln, and the
boys crowded around him. putting their
hands into his pockets, which he thought
a queer joke. Fagln grinned horribly as
he shook hands with him and told him
he was very welcome, which did not tend
to reassure him, and then the sausages
were passed around. The Jew gave Oliver
a glass of something to drink, and as soon
as he drank it he became very sleepy and
knew nothing more till the following
morning.
The next few days Oliver saw much to
wonder at. When he woke up Fagln was
sorting over a great box full of watches,
which he hid away when he saw Oliver
was looking. Every day the boy who had
brought him there (whom they called "the
Artful Dodger") came In and gave the
Jew some pocketbooks and handkerchiefs.
Oliver thought he must have made the
pocketbooks, only they did not look new.
and some seemed to have money in them.
He noticed, too, that whenever "the Art
ful Dodger" came home empty-handed
Fagln seemed angry and cuffed and kick
ed him and sent him to bed supperless;
but when he brought home a good num
ber everything was very jolly.
Whenever there was nothing else to do
the old Jew played a very curious gamo
with the boys. The way they played it
was thus: Fagin would put a snuffbox in
one pocket, a watch in another and a
handkerchief in a third; then he would
walk about the room just as any old gent
leman would walk about the street, stop
ping now and then, as if he were looking
into shop windows. All the time the boys
followed him closely, sometimes treading
on his toes or stumbling against him, and
when this happened one of them would
slip a hand Into his pocket and take out
either the watch or the snuffbox or the
handkerchief. If the Jew felt a hand In
his pocket he cried out which it was,and
then the gamo began all over again. At
last Fagln made Oliver try and see if he
could take something out of his pocket
without his knowing It, and when Oliver
succeeded he patted his head and" seemed
well pleased.
But OHver grew very tired of the dirty
room and the same game. He longer for
the open air, and begged to be allowed to
go out, so one day the Jew put him in
charge of "the Artful Dodger," and they
went upon the streets. Oliver wondering
where he was going to bo taught to make
pocketbooks.
He was -on the point of asking, when
"the Artful Dodger" signed to him to be
silent, and slunk behind an old gentleman
wno was reading a book In front of a
bookstall. You can imagine Oliver's hor
ror when he saw htm thrust his hand Into
the old gentleman's pocket, draw out a
silk handkerchief and set off at full
speed.
In an instant Oliver understood the
mystery of the handkerchiefs, the
watches, the purses and the curious game
he had learned at Fagin's. He knew then
that "the Artful Dodger" was a pick
pocket He was so frightened that for a
minute he lost his wits and ran off as fast
as he could go.
Just then the old gentleman found his
handkerchief was gone, and, seeing OH
ver running away, shouted, "Stop, thief!'
which frightened the poor boy even more.
and made him run all the faster. Every
body joined the chase, and before he had
gone far a burly fellow overtook Oliver
and knocked him down.
A policeman was at hand, and he was
dragged, more dead than alive, to the
police court, followed by the angry old
gentleman.
The moment the. latter saw the bov's
face, however, he could not believe it was
the face of a thief, and refused to appear
against him, but the Magistrate was In a
bad humor, and was about to sentence
Oliver to prison, anyway, when the, owner
of the bookstall came hurrying in. He
had seen the theft, and knew Oliver was
not guilty, s6 the Magistrate was obliged
to let him go.
But the terror and-the blow ho had re
ceived was too much for Oliver. He fell
down in a faint, and the old gentleman,
whose name was Mr. Brownlow, over
THE SUNDAY OREGON AN, POBTLAjTO, FEBBTTABY 26, 1905.
ilALLIE ERMNIE
km
come with pily, put him into a. coach and.;
drove him to his own home, determined, i
if the. boy had no parents, to adopt him
as his own son.
Oliver's Adventures.
WHILE Oliver, was resting In such
good hands, very strange things
were occurring in the house of Fagin.
When "the Artful Dodger" told the Jew
of tho arrest, he was full of anger. He
had Intended to make a clever thief of
Oliver, and make him bring him many
stolen things: now he had not only failed
In this and lost the boy's help, but he was
also afraid that Oliver would tell all about
the wicked practices he had seen and
show the officers where he had lived.
This he thought was likely to happen at
any time, and unless he could get the boy
Into his power again.
Something had occurred, too, meantime.
that made Fagin almost crazy with rage
at losing him. It was this: A wicked
man who went by the name of Monks
came to him and told him he would pay
a large sum of money If he could succeed
In making Olfver a thief, and so ruin his
reputation and his good name.
It was plain enough that for some rea
son the man hated Oliver, but cunning as
Fagin was, he would never have guessed
why. For Monks was really Oliver's older
naif-brother.
A little while before this story becraii.
Oliver's father had been obliged to go on
a trip to a foreign country, where he
died very suddenly. But before he died
he made a will, in which he left all his
fortune to be divided between the baby
Oliver and his mother. He left only a
small sum to the older son. because he
knew that he was wicked, and did not de
serve any. The will declared Oliver
should have the money only on condition
that he should never stain his name with
any act of meanness, dishonor, coward
Ice or wrong. If he did this, then half the
money was to go to the older son. The
dying man also wrote a letter to Oliver's
mother, telling her that he had made the
will, and that he was dying: but the older
son. who was with him when ho died,
found tho letter and destroyed It.
So Olivers poor mother, knowing noth
ing of all this, when his father did not
come back thought at last that he had de
serted her. and In her shame stole away
irom ner nome, poor and imy-clad, to die
finally In the poorhouse.
The older brother took the name of
Monks and hunted and hunted for them,
because he hated Oliver on his father's
will, and wanted to do him all the harm
he could. He discovered that they had
been taken Into tho poorhouse. and went
there, but this was after Oliver had run
away. He found, however, to his satis
faction, that the boy knew nothing about
his parentage or his real name, and
Monks made up his mind to prevent his
ever learning. v
There was only one person who could
Trnve told Oliver, and that one was Mrs.
Bumble. She knew because of the locket
she had kept, which had belonged to
Oliver s mother and which contained tho
dead woman's wedding ring with her
name engraved inside it. - When Mrs.
Bumble heard that a man named Monks
7
was searching for news of Oliver, she
thought it a capital chance to make some
money. She went, -therefore, to Monk's
house and sold the lockst and ring to him.
These, Monks thought, were the only
proofs in the world that could ever show
Oliver who he was, and to make it Im
possible for him ever to see them, he
dropped them through a trapdoor in his
house down into the river, where they
could never be found. .
But Monks did not give up searching for
xjlizthor of
"The Castaway9'
Hearts Courageous
Opjrleht iWM by Htllte Erelni Hit"
U. niOHTS REKBVF.O
Oliver, and at last, on the very day that
Oliver was arrested, he saw him coming
from Fagln s house with "the Artful
Dodger."'
From his wonderful resemblance to
their dead father. Monks guessed at once
that Oliver was the half-brother whose
very name he hated. So he found Fagin,
and then and there made him his offer
of money to make the boy a thief, think
ing that thus, whatever happened, he
himself would get half of their father's
fortune.
Fagin, of course, had agreed, and now
to find the boy was out of his power, made
the Jew grind his teeth with rage. t
All these things made Fagin determined
to get possession of Oliver again and to
do this he got the help of two others a
girl named Nancy and her lover, a brutal
robber named Bill Sikes. These two dis
covered that Oliver was at Mr. Brown
low's house, and lay In wait to kidnap
him if he ever came out.
The chance they waited for occurred
before' many days. Mr. Brownlow sent
Oliver" to take some money to the very
bookstall In front of which "the Artful
Dodger" had stolen the handkerchief, and
Oliver went without dreaming of any
danger.
All of a sudden a young woman in a
cap and apron screamed- out behind him
very loudly: "Oh. my dear little brother!"
and threw her arms tight around him.
"Oh, my gracious, I've found him!' she
cried. "Come home directly, you naughty
boy! For shame to treat your poor moth
er so!"
Oliver struggled, but to no purpose.
Nancy (for it was she) told the people
that crowded about them that It was her
little brother. who had run away from
home and nearly broken his mother's
heart, and that she wanted to take him
back.
Oliver insisted that he didn't know her
at all and hadn't any sisters, but just
then Bill Slkes appeared (as ho had
planned) and said the woman was telling
the truth and that Oliver was a young
rascal and a liar. The people were all
convinced at this, and when Slkes struck
Oliver and slezcd him by the collar they
said. "Serves him right!" And so Oliver
found himself dragged away from Mr.
Brownlow, to the filthy house whore
lived Fagin.
The wily old Jew was overjoyed to see
them. He smiled such a fiendish smile
that Olivet screamed for help as loud as
he could, and at this Fagln "picked up a
great jagged club to beat him..
Now. Nancy had been very wicked all
her life, but In spite of this "there was a
little good In her. She had already begun
to repent having helped steal the boy, and
now his plight touched her heart. She
seized the club and threw It Into the fire,
and so saved him the beating for that
tim6.
For many days Oliver was kept a pris
oner. He was free to wander about the
mouldy old house, but every-outer door
was locked and every window had closed
Iron shutters, and all the light came In
through small, round holes at the top.
which made the rooms gloomy and full of
shadows. Splderwebs were over all the
walls, and often the mice would go
scampering across the floor. There was
only one window to look out of, and that
was In a back garret, but It had Iron
bars and looked out only on to the house
tops. He round only one book to read; this
was a history of the lives of great crimi
nals and was full of stories of secret
thefts and murders. For the old Jew,
having tortured his mind "by loneliness
and gloom, had left this volume In his
way, hoping It would Instill into his soul
the poison that would blacken it forever,
" But' Oliver's blood ran cold as he read,
and he pushed the book away in horror.
'"SIKES POT OLIVER THROUGH THE WINDOW."
' '
D lckensjx
RIVES
and, falling on his knees, prayed that he
might be spared from such deeds and res
cued from that terrible place.
He was still on his knees when Nancy
came In and told him he"1 must get ready
at once to go on a journey with Bill Slkes.
She had been crying and her face was
bruised as though she had been beaten.
Oliver saw she was very sorry for him,
and. Indeed, she told him she would help
him if she could, but that there was no
use trying to escape now, because they
were watched all the time, and' if he
got away Sikes would certainly kill her.
Nancy took him to the house where
Sikes lived, and the next morning the lat
ter started out. making Oliver go with
him. Sikes had a loaded pistol in his
overcoat pocket, and he showed this" to
Oliver and told him if he spoke to any
"body on the road or tried to get away he
would shoot him with it.
They walked a long way out of London,
once or twice riding In carts which were
going In their direction. Whenever this
happened Sikes kept his hand In the pock
et where the pistol was. so that Oliver
was afraid to appeal for help. Late at
night they came to an old deserted man
sion In the country, and in the basement
of this, where they had kindled a fire,
they joined two other men whom Oliver
had seen more than once In Fagin's house
in London.
The journey had been cold and long and
Oliver was very hungry, but he could
scarcely cat the supper that was given
him for feariof what they intended to do
with him lh that lonenly spot- But he
was so tired he finally went fast asleep
and knew nothing more till 2 o'cock In the
morning, when Sikes woke him. roughy
and baae him come with them.
It was foggy and cold and dark out
side. Slkes and one of the others each
took one of Oliver's hands, and so they
walked a quarter of a mile to where was
a fine house with a high wall around it.
They made him climb over the wall with
them, and, pulling him along, crept to
ward the house.
It was not till now that Oliver knew
what they intended that they were go
ing to rob the house and make him help
them, so that he. loo, would be a bur
glar." His limbs began to tremble and he
sunk to hla knees, begging them to have
mercy and to let him run away and die
In the fields rather than to make him
steal. Sut Slkes drew his pistol with a
frightful oath and dragged him on.
In the back of the house was a win
dow, which was not fastened, because' It
was much too small for a man to gat
through. But Oliver was? so little that he
could do it easily. With the pletol In his
hand, Sikes put Oliver through the win
dow, gave him a lantern and bade him go
and unlock the front door for them.
Oliver had made up his mind that as
soon as ho got beyond the range of Slkes'
pistol he would scream and wake every
body In the house, but Just then there was
a sound from inrlde, and Slkes called to
him to come back.
Suddenly there was a loud shout from
the top of the stairs a flash a report
and Oliver staggered back with a terri
ble pain in his arm and with every
thing swimming before his eyes.
He heard cries and the loud ringing of
a bell, and felt Sikes drag him backward
through the window. He felt himself be
ing carried along rapidly, and then a cold
sensation crept over his heart, and he
knew no more.
How Everything Turned Out Right
for Oliver in the End.
After a long, long time Oliver came to
himself. The morning was breaking. He
tried to rise, and found that his arm was
wounded and his clothes wet with blood.
"He was so dizzy he could hardly stand,
but it was freezing cold, and he knew if
he stayed there he must die. So he stag
v Hill
gered on until he came to a road where, a
little way off. he saw a house. There, he
thought, he might get help. But when he
came closer he saw that It was the very
house the men had tried to rob that night.
Fear came over him then, and he would
have run away, but he was too weak.
He had just strength enough left to
push open the gate, totter across the
lawn and knock at the door; then he sank
In a faint on the steps.
In the house lived a lady and gentle
man Just as kind-hearted as was Mr.
Brownlow. who had rescued Oliver at the
police station, and with them lived a
beautiful girl whom they had adopted,
namea ose. xne servants, wnen niej
rnTTiA tn th rTnm murr nrA flllvpr WAS
one of the robbers, and sent at once for
policemen to take him In charge: out ahss
Rose, the moment she saw what a good
race tne Doy naa ana now mue ne
looked like a thief, made them put him
to bed and sent at once for the doctor.
When the good doctor arrived and
Gin' f"HvfT- irhn tL-ac tlll iinrnnaclous.
he thought Miss Rose was right, and
whfln fhf hnv hnH rnmf to himself
and told them" how he had suffered he
was sure of It. They were both sorry
thf nnllppmen hart heen sent for. be
cause the doctor was sure they would
not believe Olivers story, especially
:is h had hppn .arrested once before.
He would have taken him away, but
he was too sick to be moved.
So when the officers came the doctor
tqld them that the boy had been acci
dentally shot and had come to the house
for assistance, when the servants had
miatnVon him for nnfi of the burtrlars.
This was not exactly the truth, but It
seemed necessary to deceive tne police
men If Oliver was to be saved. Of
course, the servant who had fired the
pistol was not able to swear that ne
had hit anybody at all. so the officers
had to go away without arresting any
body. After this Oliver was ill for a long
time, but he was carefully nursed, es
pecially by Miss Rose, who grew as
fond of him as if she had been his sis
ter. As soon as he grew better she
wrote a letter for him to Mr. Brown
low. the old gentleman who had rescued
him from the pollco station, but, to
Oliver's grief, she found that he had
gone to the West Indies.
Thus tho time passed till Oliver was
quite well, and then Miss Rose (first
carefully instructing the servant who
Went with them not to leave him out
of his sight for a moment for fear of
his old enemies) took him with her for
a visit to Londo'n.
Meantime there had been a dreadful
scene, In Fagin's house when Bill Slkes
got back to London and told the old
Jew that the robbery had failed
and that Oliver was lost again. They
were more afraid -than ever that they
would be caught and sent to prison.
Fagln swore at Slkes. and Monks
oursed Fagln, and between them all
they determined that Oliver must either
be captured or killed.
While they were plotting afresh
Nancy, who had been feeling sorrier
and sorrier for what she had done,
overheard them, and so found out that
Monks was Oliver's half-brother and
why he so hated him; and she at length
made up her mind to save the boy from
this last and greatest danger.
So one evening, when she was alone
with Sikes, she gave n:m some lauda
num In a glass of liquor, and when he
was asleep she flipped away, found Miss
Rose and told her all about it. Bad as
Nancy was, however, she was not will
ing to betray Fagin or Bill Sikes, so she
only told her of Monks.
Rose was greatly astonished, for she
had never heard of him befdre, but she
pitied Nancy because she had tried to
help Oliver, and, of course, she herself
wanted very much to help him discover
who he was and who his parents had
been. , She thanked Nancy and begged
her to come to see her again. Nancy
was afraid to do this, because Bill Sikes
hr so closelv. but she prom
ised that on the next Sunday at mid
night she would be on a certain bridge
where Miss Rose might see ner. men
Nancy hurried back before Sikes should
.olr tin
Miss Rose was ih trouble now, for there
was no one In London with her tnen
who could help her. But tne same aner
noon, who should Oliver see at a dls
onna Ti-nivinc into his house, but Mr,
c4.t.1i- tt namp lirck In rreat joy
to tell Miss Rose, and she concluded
that the old gentleman wouia ne me
very one to aid her. She took Oliver to
the house, and. sure enough, there was
the boy's old benefactor.
vow Hnd indeed, he was to hear what
tiA vTim for the old eentleman.
when Oliver had disappeared with the
money he had given mm to iae iu mo
bookseller, had reluctantly concluded that
the boy he had befrlendea was. aner aw,
a liar and a thief. To find this was not
true was a joyful surprise.
After he had heard the whole, and when
Oliver had gone Into the garden. Miss
Rose told Mr. Brownlow of Nancy's vielt
and of the man named Monks who still
pursued the boy to do him harm.
It was fortunate that she had come to
Mr. Brownlow, for, as It happened, he
knew a great deal about Monks and his
evil life. Tears before the old gentleman
himself had been a friend of Oliver's
father, and knew all about his death in
a foreign country, and he had watched
his older son's career of shame with sor
row. The very trip he had made to the
West Indies had acquainted him with a
crime Monks had committed there from
which he had fled to England. But, while
Mr. Brownlow knew of the curious will
Oliver's father had made, what had be--come
of the baby to which the latter re
ferred., he had never known. Now. from
the -story Miss Rose told him, he was
assured that Oliver was, Ideed, this baby
half-brother of Monks.
But it was one thing to know this and
quite another to enable Oliver to prove
It, and the old gentleman was quick to
see that they must get possession of
Monks and frighten him Into confessing
the fact whose only proofs had been lost
when he threw the locket and ring Into
the river. Mr. Brownlow. for this rea
son, agreed with Miss Rose that they
should both meet Nancy on the bridge on
the coming Sunday to hear all she had
been able to find out.
They said not a word of this to Oliver,
and when Sunday night came they drove
to the spot where Nancy had promised
to meet them. She had kept her word
-and was" there before them, and Mr.
fiejiie Erminie Rives
Brownlow heard her story over agaln
from her own lips.
But some one else was there, too. hid
den behind a pillar where he could hear
everj word she said, and this listener
was a spy of Fagin's.
Nancy had cried so much and acted
strangely that the old Jew had grown
suspicious and had set some one to watch
her. And who do you suppose this spy
was? No one else but the cowardly ap
prentice who had bullied Oliver until he
ran away from the undertaker's house.
The "apprentice had finally run away. too.
had come to London and begun a wicked
life. He was too big a coward to rob
any one but little children who had been,
sent to the shop to buy something, so
Fagln had given him spying work to do,
and In this, being by nature a sneak, h
proved very successful.
The spy lay hid till he had heard an
Nancy said: then he sllppedout and ran
as fast as his legs would carry him back
to Fagin. The latter sent for Bill Slkes,
knowing him to 'be the most brutal and)
blood-thirsty ruffian of all, and the knowl
edge, as the Jew expected, turned Sike
Into a demon.
He rushed to where Nancy lived. She.
had returned and was asleep on her couch.
hut she awoke as he entered, and saw
hv Tibs fnis that h mnajit to murder her.
Through all her evil career Nancy -had!
been true to Sikes and would not have
betrayed him. But he would not listen
now, though she pleaded with him piti
fully to come with her to some foreign
country (as Miss Rose had begged her
to do), where they might both lead better
lives. Fury had made him mad. A
she clung to his knees, he seized a heavy
club and struck her down.
So poor Nancy died, with only time for
a feeble prayer to God for mercy.
Of all bad deeds that Slkes had done,
that was the worst. The sun shone
through the window and lit the room
where Nancy lay. He tried to shut it
out, but he could not. He grew suddenly
afraid. Horror came upon him. He crept
out of the room, locked the door behind
him, and plunged into the crowded- street.
He walked for miles and miles, here and
there, without purpose. Whichever way
he went he could not rid himself of that
horror. When night came he crawled
into a disused shed, but he could not
sleep. Whenever he closed his eyes he
seemed to see Napcy's eyes looking at
him. He got up and wandered on again,
desperately lonely for some one to talk to.
He heard a man telling another about
the murder as he read the account In a
newspaper, and he knew that he must
hide. He hastened then to a den he knew
In a house beside the river, dirty and
dismal and the haunt of thieves. Some
of his old companions were there, but
even they shrank from him.
He had been seen to enter the place,
however, and In a few minutes tho street
was full of people, all yelling for hla
capture. He barred the doors and wfn
dows. but they began to break down th
shatters with sledge hammers.
He ran to the roof with a rope, think
ing to let himself down on the side nextS
the river and so escape. Here he fas
tened one end of the rope to the chim
ney, and making a loop in the other end
put it over his head.
Just at that Instant he imagined he saw
Nancy's eyes again looking at hinu Ha
staggered back in terror, missed his foot
ing and fell over the edge of the roof.
He had not had time to draw the noose
down under his arms, so that it slipped tnr
around his neck, and there he hung,
dead; with a broken neck.
Meanwhile Mr. Brownlow had acted very
quickly, so that Monks had got no warn
ing. He had had men watching for tha
latter and now, having found out
all he wanted to know, he had him seized
in the street, put Into a coach and driven
to his- office, where he brought him faco
to face with Oliver.
The old gentleman told Monks he could
do one of two things: Either he could
confess before witnesses the whole Infa
mous plot he had framed against Oliver,
and so restore to him his rights and name,
or else he could refuse. In which case he
would at once be arrested and sent to
prison. Seeing that Mr. Brownlow knew
all 'about the part he had played. Monks,
to save himself, made a full confession
how he had planned to keep his half
brother from his Inheritance. And he also
confessed what no one there had guessed:
That Miss Rose, who had been adopted In
her Infancy, was really the sister of
Oliver's dead mother his aunt. Indeed.
This was the happiest of all Oliver's sur
prises that day, for he had learned to
love Miss Rose very dearly.
Monks thus bought his own freedom,
and cheap enough he probably thought
It. for before he had flnlshcfa his story,
word came that Fagln the Jew had been
captured by the police and was to ha
tried without delay for his life.
Oliver no longer had anything to fear.
and came Into possession of his true name
and his fortune. Mr. Brownlow adopted
him as his own son, and moved to the
village where Oliver had been cared for
la the family of Miss Rose", and where
they all lived happily ever afterward.
The company of thieves was broken up
with Fagin's arrest. Fagin himself was
found guilty of murder and died on the
gallows shrieking with fear. Monks sailed
for America, where he was soon detected
In crime and died in prison.
The wicked apprentice, who had really
been the cause of poor Nancy's murder,
was so . frightened at the fate of Fagln
that he reformed and became a spy for
the police, and by his aid "the Artful
Dodger," who continued to pick pockets,
soon found himself In jail.
As for Mr. and Mrs. Bumble, they, of
course, lost their positions, and sank from
bad to worse till they finally became
paupers and were sent to the very same
poorhouse where they had tortured littlo
Oliver Twist.
Origin of the Honeymoon.
New York Press.
The honeymoon used to last a month.
The accepted notion Is that It must be
spent away from home in order that the
happy pair may get thoroughly acquaint
ed without being victims of the curiosity
of relatives and friends. It is so called
from the habit of the ancient Germans
of drinking "hydromel." which Is a mix
ture of honey and water, for SO days after
marriage. Hydromel fermented contains
enough alcohol to make a man intoxi
cated In short order, so that the honey
moon really was a-royal old drunk. At
tllla. the Hun. Indulged so freely at his
wedding that he died.