阅读阁【yueduge.cc】第一时间更新《雾都孤儿(中英文对照)》最新章节。
THETIMEARRIVESFORNANCYTOREDEEMHERPLEDGETOROSEMAYLIE。SHEFAILS。
Adeptasshewas,inalltheartsofcunninganddissimulation,thegirlNancycouldnotwhollyconcealtheeffectwhichtheknowledgeofthestepshehadtaken,wroughtuponhermind。SherememberedthatboththecraftyJewandthebrutalSikeshadconfidedtoherschemes,whichhadbeenhiddenfromallothers:inthefullconfidencethatshewastrustworthyandbeyondthereachoftheirsuspicion。Vileasthoseschemeswere,desperateasweretheiroriginators,andbitteraswereherfeelingstowardsFagin,whohadledher,stepbystep,deeperanddeeperdownintoanabyssofcrimeandmisery,whencewasnoescape;still,thereweretimeswhen,eventowardshim,shefeltsomerelenting,lestherdisclosureshouldbringhimwithintheirongrasphehadsolongeluded,andheshouldfallatlast--richlyashemeritedsuchafate--byherhand。
But,thesewerethemerewanderingsofamindunablewhollytodetachitselffromoldcompanionsandassociations,thoughenabledtofixitselfsteadilyononeobject,andresolvednottobeturnedasidebyanyconsideration。HerfearsforSikeswouldhavebeenmorepowerfulinducementstorecoilwhiletherewasyettime;butshehadstipulatedthathersecretshouldberigidlykept,shehaddroppednocluewhichcouldleadtohisdiscovery,shehadrefused,evenforhissake,arefugefromalltheguiltandwretchednessthatencompassesher--andwhatmorecouldshedo!Shewasresolved。
Thoughallhermentalstrugglesterminatedinthisconclusion,theyforcedthemselvesuponher,againandagain,andlefttheirtracestoo。Shegrewpaleandthin,evenwithinafewdays。Attimes,shetooknoheedofwhatwaspassingbeforeher,ornopartinconversationswhereonce,shewouldhavebeentheloudest。Atothertimes,shelaughedwithoutmerriment,andwasnoisywithoutamomentafterwards--shesatsilentanddejected,broodingwithherheaduponherhands,whiletheveryeffortbywhichsherousedherself,told,moreforciblythaneventheseindications,thatshewasillatease,andthatherthoughtswereoccupiedwithmattersverydifferentanddistantfromthoseinthecourseofdiscussionbyhercompanions。
ItwasSundaynight,andthebellofthenearestchurchstruckthehour。SikesandtheJewweretalking,buttheypausedtolisten。Thegirllookedupfromthelowseatonwhichshecrouched,andlistenedtoo。Eleven。
‘Anhourthissideofmidnight,’saidSikes,raisingtheblindtolookoutandreturningtohisseat。‘Darkandheavyitistoo。Agoodnightforbusinessthis。’
‘Ah!’repliedFagin。‘Whatapity,Bill,mydear,thatthere'snonequitereadytobedone。’
‘You'rerightforonce,’repliedSikesgruffly。‘Itisapity,forI'minthehumourtoo。’
Faginsighed,andshookhisheaddespondingly。
‘Wemustmakeupforlosttimewhenwe'vegotthingsintoagoodtrain。That'sallIknow,’saidSikes。
‘That'sthewaytotalk,mydear,’repliedFagin,venturingtopathimontheshoulder。‘Itdoesmegoodtohearyou。’
‘Doesyougood,doesit!’criedSikes。‘Well,sobeit。’
‘Ha!ha!ha!’laughedFagin,asifhewererelievedbyeventhisconcession。‘You'relikeyourselfto-night,Bill。Quitelikeyourself。’
‘Idon'tfeellikemyselfwhenyoulaythatwitheredoldclawonmyshoulder,sotakeitaway,’saidSikes,castingofftheJew'shand。
‘Itmakeyounervous,Bill,--remindsyouofbeingnabbed,doesit?’saidFagin,determinednottobeoffended。
‘Remindsmeofbeingnabbedbythedevil,’returnedSikes。‘Thereneverwasanothermanwithsuchafaceasyours,unlessitwasyourfather,andIsuppose_he_issingeinghisgrizzledredbeardbythistime,unlessyoucamestraightfromtheold’unwithoutanyfatheratallbetwixtyou;whichIshouldn'twonderat,abit。‘
Faginofferednoreplytothiscompliment:but,pullingSikesbythesleeve,pointedhisfingertowardsNancy,whohadtakenadvantageoftheforegoingconversationtoputonherbonnet,andwasnowleavingtheroom。
‘Hallo!’criedSikes。‘Nance。Where'sthegalgoingtoatthistimeofnight?’
‘Notfar。’
‘Whatanswer'sthat?’retortedSikes。‘Doyouhearme?’
‘Idon'tknowwhere,’repliedthegirl。
‘ThenIdo,’saidSikes,moreinthespiritofobstinacythanbecausehehadanyrealobjectiontothegirlgoingwhereshelisted。‘Nowhere。Sitdown。’
‘I'mnotwell。Itoldyouthatbefore,’rejoinedthegirl。‘Iwantabreathofair。’
‘Putyourheadoutofthewinder,’repliedSikes。
‘There'snotenoughthere,’saidthegirl。‘Iwantitinthestreet。’
‘Thenyouwon'thaveit,’repliedSikes。Withwhichassuranceherose,lockedthedoor,tookthekeyout,andpullingherbonnetfromherhead,flungituptothetopofanoldpress。‘There,’saidtherobber。‘Nowstopquietlywhereyouare,willyou?’
‘It'snotsuchamatterasabonnetwouldkeepme,’saidthegirlturningverypale。‘Whatdoyoumean,Bill?Doyouknowwhatyou'redoing?’
‘KnowwhatI'm--Oh!’criedSikes,turningtoFagin,‘she'soutofhersenses,youknow,orshedaren'ttalktomeinthatway。’
‘You'lldrivemeonthesomethingdesperate,’mutteredthegirlplacingbothhandsuponherbreast,asthoughtokeepdownbyforcesomeviolentoutbreak。‘Letmego,willyou,--thisminute--thisinstant。’
‘No!’saidSikes。
‘Tellhimtoletmego,Fagin。Hehadbetter。It'llbebetterforhim。Doyouhearme?’criedNancystampingherfootupontheground。
‘Hearyou!’repeatedSikesturningroundinhischairtoconfronther。‘Aye!AndifIhearyouforhalfaminutelonger,thedogshallhavesuchagriponyourthroatas'lltearsomeofthatscreamingvoiceout。Wothascomeoveryou,youjade!Wotisit?’
‘Letmego,’saidthegirlwithgreatearnestness;thensittingherselfdownonthefloor,beforethedoor,shesaid,‘Bill,letmego;youdon'tknowwhatyouaredoing。Youdon't,indeed。Foronlyonehour--do--do!’
‘Cutmylimbsoffonebyone!’criedSikes,seizingherroughlybythearm,‘IfIdon'tthinkthegal'sstarkravingmad。Getup。’
更多内容加载中...请稍候...
本站只支持手机浏览器访问,若您看到此段落,代表章节内容加载失败,请关闭浏览器的阅读模式、畅读模式、小说模式,以及关闭广告屏蔽功能,或复制网址到其他浏览器阅读!
本章未完,请点击下一章继续阅读!若浏览器显示没有新章节了,请尝试点击右上角↗️或右下角↘️的菜单,退出阅读模式即可,谢谢!