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had heard some secret from her。
'Where can I find this woman？ the stranger asked quickly； showing in his pale face how important this was to him。
'I can bring her to meet you tomorrow； 'said Mr Bumble。
'All right Down by the river； at nine in the evening。 ' The man wrote the address on a piece of paper。
'And your name？ asked Mr Bumble。
'Monks； replied the stranger； 'but you don't need to remember it。 'The n he quickly left the pub。
The next evening was dark and cloudy； a storm threatened and already the first drops of rain were falling。 Mr and Mrs Bumble walked up the main street of the town； the n turned towards a group of ruined old houses next to the river。 Mr Bumble went first； carrying a dim light； and his wife followed closely behind。 At the oldest and most ruined building； They stopped and Mr Bumble took out his piece of paper。 The first distant crash of thunder shook the air； and the rain began to pour down heavily。 The n They heard Monks calling out of an upstairs window。
'Is that the man？ ' Mrs Bumble asked her husband。
'Yes。 '
'The n be careful to say as little as you can。 Don't tell him I'm your wife。 '
Monks opened a small door； saying impatiently； 'Come in！ Don't keep me waiting！ '
Mr Bumble was only brave when dealing with poor； helpless people。 He felt very uneasy about entering this dark building with an ill－tempered stranger。 However； he was equally afraid of his wife。 Nervously； he followed her through the door。
Inside； Monks stared at Mrs Bumble for some time。 'So this is the woman； is it？ '
'Yes； 'replied Mr Bumble cautiously。
As They walked upstairs； the re was a bright flash of lightning outside； followed by loud thunder。 They sat dowu at the table and Monks started immediately。
'So you were present when the old woman died； is that right？ And she told you something？ He stared at Mrs Bumble again。
'Yes； 'said Mrs Bumble。 'Something about the mother of O liver Twist。 But first； how much will you pay me for the information？ '
'If it's what I want to hear…twenty－five pounds； 'said Monks。 'But it's a lot of money for something which has been lying dead for twelve years。 'Reluctantly； he pushed the money across the table towards her； the n bent forward to listen。 The faces of the three nearly touched； as the two men leant over the table to hear what the woman had to say； and the woman leant over towards the m so that They could hear her whisper。 In the dim lamplight their faces looked pale and ghostly。
'The old woman who was the nurse died with only me in the room； 'said Mrs Bumble。
'No one else was the re？ ' asked Monks fiercely。
'No one。 '
'Good； 'said Monks。 'Go on。 '
'She spoke about a young woman who had given birth in the same bed some years before。 The child was O liver Twist。 And this nurse had robbed the child's mother。 '
'Robbed in life？ ' asked Monks。
'In death。 She stole from the body when it was hardly cold。 But the old woman fell back and died before she could tell memore．’
‘It’s a lie！’shouted Monks furiously． ‘You know more！I’ll kill you both if you don’t tell me what else she said．’
‘She said no more，’repeated Mrs Bumble calmly，showing（unlike Mr Bumble）no fear of the strange man’s violence． ‘But in her hand I found a piece of dirty paper．’
‘Which contained…？’
‘Nothing．It was only a receipt from a pawnbroker．I went to the pawnbroker and got back a little gold locket．Inside was a gold wedding ring and on the locket itself，the name
“Agnes”．’She put the locket on the table in front of Monks．
He picked it up immediately and looked at it closely，his hand s shaking． ‘Is this all？’
‘It is．And now I want to ask you a question．What do youintend to do with the locket？’
‘This．So it can never be used against me．’Monks suddenly pushed the table to one side and opened a small door in the floor．Down below rushed the river，its muddy waters swollen by the heavy rain．
‘If you threw a man’s body down the re，where would it be to morrow？’asked Monks．
‘Twelve miles down the river，and cut to pieces，’replied Mr Bumble in a shaky voice．
Monks tied the locket to a heavy weight and dropped it in to the water．In a second，it was gone．The three of the m lookedinto each other’s faces，and seemed to breathe more freely．
‘Now we have nothing more to say，’said Monks，with athreatening look at Mr Bumble． ‘And nothing to say to any one else either．Do you understand？’
‘Certainly，’said Mr Bumble，very politely．He move da way from the strange man，anxious to leave quickly．
At the door to the street，Monks turned again to Mr Bumble． ‘And if we ever meet again，we don’t know each other．Do you understand that as well？’
‘Perfectly，’said the relieved Mr Bumble，moving away into the rain and pulling his wife with him．
11 Nancy makes a visit
On the evening after the Bumbles’ little business meeting，Mr Bill Sikes，waking from a sleep，called out to ask the time．
The room he was lying in was very small and dirty．It was a different room from the one he had occupied before the Chertsey expedition，but it was in the same poor part of London．The re were so few possessions or comforts in the room that it was clear Mr Sikes had met hard times．He himself was thin and pale from illness，and was lying on the bed，wrapped in an old coat．The white dog lay on the floor next to him．
Seated by the window was Nancy，repairing Sikes’ old jacket．She，too，was thin and pale．At Sikes’ voice she raised her head from her work． ‘Not long past seven，’she said． ‘How do you feel now，Bill？’
‘As weak as water．Help me get up，will you？’
As Nancy helped him out of bed，Sikes swore and cursed a ther clumsiness．Illness had not improved his temper．
‘You would n’t speak like that if you knew how kindly I’ve nursed you the se last few days，’said Nancy． ‘So many nights，I’ve looked after you．’She sat down in a chair，exhausted．
‘Get up！’shouted Sikes． ‘What’s wrong with you？’
But Nancy was unable to get up．Her head fell back against the chair and she fainted．
Sikes swore and cursed again，but Nancy remained unconscious．
‘What’s the matter here？’asked a voice from the door，and Fagin，followed by the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates，entered the room．When They saw Nancy，They hurried to help her．Charley rubbed her hand s and the Dodger gave her a drink from the bottle he carried．Gradually，Nancy recovered her senses．
Sikes the n turned to Fagin． ‘What are you here for？’he asked roughly． ‘You haven’t been here for weeks…all the time I was ill．I haven’t two coins to rub together．Why didn’t you help me？You treat me worse than a dog！’
‘Don’t be bad…tempered，my dear，’said Fagin calmly． ‘I haven’t forgotten you，Bill．’
‘Well，what about some money，the n？I’ve done enough work for you recently…what about some money？’
‘I haven’t a single coin with me，my dear，’said Fagin．
‘The n go and get some…you’ve got lots at home．No，I don’t trust you．Nancy