按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
The two men parted，each in a fever of excitement．Down by the river Thames was a district called Rotherhithe ，one of the dirtiest and roughest places in London．The houses next to the river had no owners；They were broken down and ruined，but could be defended against attack．In an upper room of one of the se houses，were three members of Fagin’s gang．
‘When was Fagin taken，the n？’asked the man called Toby．
‘Two o’clock this afternoon．Charley and I escaped up the chimney，but Noah was caught．Bet went to see Nancy and when she saw the body，she started screaming and wouldn’t stop．She’s been taken to hospital．’
‘What’s happened to Charley Bates？’
‘He’ll come here when it’s dark．It’s too dangerous now．’
‘We’re in trouble，’said Toby． ‘Fagin’s going to hang…that’s certain．’
‘You should have seen him when he was caught，’said another robber． ‘The police carried him through the crowd while all the people jumped at him，screaming and trying to attack him．’
Suddenly Sikes’ dog ran into the room．All the robbers rushed out immediately to look for Sikes，but the re was no sign of him．They returned to the upstairs room．
‘I hope he’s not coming here，’said Toby．
‘The dog’s come a long way，’said another man． ‘Covered in mud，and tired out．’
They sat the re in silence，wondering where Sikes was．It was already dark when They heard a sudden，hurried knock at the door downstairs．
Toby went to the window to look down，the n pulled his head back in，his face pale with fear．The re was no need to tell tlec others who it was．
‘We must let him in，’said Toby，although none of the m wanted to see him．Toby went down to the door and returned，followed by sikes．White…faced，with a three…day…old beard，hollow cheeks and staring eyes，Sikes looked like a ghost．No one said a word．
‘Nothing to say to me？’Sikes asked．
The only answer was a low shout of many voices from outside in the distance，coming closer．Lights appeared．Looking out，Sikes saw a stream of people crossing the bridge towards the m．The n the re was a loud knocking on the door and more shouts from the crowd．
‘The doors are made of metal and They’re locked and chained，’said Toby．The three robbers watched Sikes nervously，as if he were a wild animal．
‘Bring a ladder！’shouted some of the crowd below．
‘Give me a rope，quick，’Sikes said to the others． ‘I’ll go the other way，climb down the back and escape over the river．Get me a rope…now！Or I’ll do three more murders！’
A minute later，Sikes appeared on the roof and the shouts from the crowd below swelled to a great roar．The n the front door was smashed down and people streamed into the house．Sikes quickly tied the rope around the chimney，the n began to tie the other end around himself，ready to lower himself to the ground behind the house．But just as he put the rope over his head，he screamed in terror and threw his arms above his head．He staggered back，slipped and fell over the edge of the roof．As he fell，the rope tightened around his neck with a horrible jerk．In a second the murderer was dead，and the re he hung，his body swinging gently from side to side．The dog，which had followed its master onto the roof，jumped down towards the lifeless body，missed，and fell dead on the stones below．
14 The end of the mystery
The next day O liver travelled with Mr Brown low ，Dr Losberne，Mrs May lie and Rose back to his birthplace．He had been told a little of his history，and knew that the re would be more explanations at the end of this journey．He was anxious and uncertain，wondering what he would hear．
But towards the end of the journey，he began to recognize familiar places，and in great excitement pointed the m out to Rose．The re was the path he had taken when he had run away．The re，across the fields，was the ‘baby farm’．The n，as They drove into the town，he saw the house of Mr So wer berry the undertaker，and the workhouse that had been his prison．
They stopped at the biggest hotel in the town，and went in to their rooms．During dinner Mr Brown low stayed in a separate room，and the older members of the group went in and out with serious faces．Mrs May lie came back with her eyes red from crying．All this made Rose and O liver，who had not been told any new secrets，very nervous and uncomfortable．
At nine o’clock Dr Losberne and Mr Brown low brought Monks into the room．O liver was very surprised；this was the same man he had bumped into once outside a pub，and seen another time with Fagin，looking in at him through the window of the country cottage．O liver was told that Monks was his half…brother，and the boy stared at him in shock and amazement．Monks looked back at him with hatred．
‘We have the whole story here in the se papers，’said Mr Brown low ，putting the m on the table． ‘All we need now is for you to sign the m，Monks．And to tell O liver what happened．’
Monks started hesitantly． ‘My father had arrived in Italy to collect the money he had inherited，when suddenly he fell ill．When he died，we found two papers in his desk．One was a letter to his girl；the other was a will．’
‘What was the letter？’asked Mr Brown low ．
‘It was written when he was ill，telling the girl how ashamed he was that she was pregnant．He asked her not to remember him as a bad man but as someone who had made a mistake．He reminded her of the day he’d given her the locket and ring．’
O liver’s tears fell fast as he listened to the story of his father．
‘And what about the will？’asked Mr Brown low ．
Monks was silent．
‘The will，’continued Mr Brown low ，speaking for him， ‘was in the same spirit as the letter．He talked of the misery of his marriage to his wife，and the evil character of you，Monks，his only son，who had been brought up by your mother to hate him．He left you and your mother an annual income of 800．The rest of his property he left to his girl Agnes and to their child，if it were born alive，and if it showed itself to be of a good，kind character．The money would only go to you，Monks，as the older son，if The younger turned out to be as evil as you．’
‘My mother，’said Monks， ‘burnt this will，and never sent the letter．The girl Agnes left her home in secret，so that her pregnancy would not bring shame on her family．I swore to my mother，when she was dying，that if I ever found my half…brother，I would do him all the harm I could．He would feel my hatred like a whip on his back．I paid Fagin to trap O liver into a life of crime．But the n he escaped，and that stupid，interfering girl Nancy talked to you．If I’d had the chance，I would have finished what I’d begun．’Monks stared at O liver，and his lips moved in a silent curse．
‘And the locket and ring？’asked Mr Brown low ．
‘I bought the m from Mr and Mrs Bumble，who had stolen the m from the nurse，who had stolen the m from Agnes，the dead girl．I’ve already told you how I threw the m into the river．
Mr Brown low turned to Rose． ‘I have one more thing to explain，’he said to the girl�