Chapter 48 Chapter 47

Weeks passed by without any change.We've all been waiting for Wemmick's arrival, but there's no word from him.If my dealings with him had been limited to the law firm in Little Britain Street, and I hadn't been to his castle and formed a familiar personal relationship, perhaps I would have been suspicious of him long ago.But I knew his character deeply, so I never doubted him at all. My worldly affairs also began to cast a shadow, and one creditor after another pursued me to pay my debts.I just began to understand the difficulty of wanting money (and by wanting money I mean wanting cash in my wallet), and had to take some readily available jewels and convert them into cash, as a last resort.However, I have already made up my mind. In the current situation where my whereabouts are uncertain and my plan has not been completed, I will never use my benefactor's money again, otherwise it will be a fraud without conscience.I therefore took some satisfaction in asking Herbert to return the unopened purse to Provis for his own safekeeping.Of course, it is difficult for me to say whether this is real satisfaction or false satisfaction.In any case, I have not taken advantage of his generosity since he showed up in person.

As time went on, the idea that Estella was married weighed heavily on my mind.While this thing is certain, I'm still worried about being confirmed.I refrained from reading the papers, lest I should get information from them; and I begged Herbert not to mention her in my presence, since I had already confided all to him in my last interview with Estella.My hope is like a robe that has been torn in pieces and all but the last are blown with the wind, why should I keep this piece in my heart?I couldn't figure it out by asking myself.Oh, readers, why did you do such inconsistent things last year, last month, last week?

What an unfortunate life I have lived. The anxieties and worries in my heart are like continuous mountains, and the worries that dominate me are like the highest mountain, standing before my eyes all the time.However, there are no new concerns emerging.Sometimes I would rise from my bed with sudden terror lest Provis should be discovered; sometimes I would sit still late at night, waiting for Herbert's return, and always be terrified. , lest his footsteps be quicker than usual, and bring bad news, for all this worry and trouble, and such troubles, the day passed as it should.But this kind of life left me with no room for activity and endless restlessness.Constantly suspicious, I can only row on the water, swinging around, waiting and waiting, repeatedly rowing, repeatedly waiting.

Sometimes, due to changes in the tide, I have rowed a small boat to the lower reaches of the river, and the tide at the pilings around the piers of the old London Bridge suddenly formed a whirlpool, making it impossible for me to go back. I had to tie the boat to the small pier near the customs office It will be transferred back to the Shibu Wharf in the temple area later.I don't dislike it, because it's good for me, and people who live by the river will get used to both me and my boat.As for this insignificant incident, I have met acquaintances twice, so I have to tell here. One time was an afternoon in late February, at dusk, when I landed at that pier.I rowed down to Greenwich at low tide and back at high tide.The day was clear at first, but as the sun set it became misty and I had to carefully navigate the waterways and navigate between the ships on the water.On my way back and forth I saw the signal at Provis's window and knew all was well.

It was a cold evening, and I was shivering with cold, and wanted to have my supper at once, to comfort myself; After dinner, go to the theater to see a play.It is dubious to hear that Mr. Wopsle was successful.The theater where he acted was near the Riverside (now defunct, of course), so I decided to go to that theater.I know that Mr. Wopsle has done nothing to revive the play, but he is responsible for the decline of the play.The theater posters showed him playing a faithful black man, next to a little girl of noble birth, and a monkey, which was an ominous omen.Herbert had also seen him on posters as a marauding Tartar, almost ludicrous, with a face like a red brick, and a cap of absurd shape, with little bells on the sides.

The little inn in which I dined was what Herbert and I called the map-room, for every half-yard on the table-cloth was the impression of the edge of a flagon, like a map of the world, and besides, every The table knives were also marked with gravy in the style of nautical charts.To this day, under the Lord Mayor of London, almost every tavern is a map room.I dozed off over the crumbs, stared at the gas lamp, and baked myself amidst the steaming food and wine to pass the time.Finally I stood up and walked towards the theater. In the play I found a virtuous royal boatswain.He was a very distinguished man, though I thought he wore trousers that were too tight in some places and too bulky in others; His hat was pressed to his eyes; patriotic as he was, he couldn't bear to be talked about paying taxes.He had a bag of money in his pocket like a pastry wrapped in cloth.With this fortune he married a young girl dressed up in bedding, and was very happy about it.The whole population of Portsmouth (nine at last count) came down to the seashore together, rubbing and shaking hands, and sang, "Fill up everyone's wine! Fill up everyone's wine! "There's a dark-skinned fool in there, who won't do what he's told to do unless he fills up his drink; the bosun says the fellow's heart is as dark as his face; The other two fools, together, made the whole group uneasy. It turned out that the gang of sailors also had some political influence. Thanks also to a good-natured little merchant, with a white cap, black leggings, and a red nose, who got into a big clock and took with him a roasted He used the grill to eavesdrop on the conversation outside, and then he came out of the big clock and told everyone the truth, and if he couldn't refute anyone with the truth he had overheard, he just knocked the person from behind with the grill. Then Mr. Wopsle, who has never been mentioned before, enters the scene, wearing a star and the Order of the Garter, and as plenipotentiary of the Lord of the Admiralty, with power of life and death in his hands, declares , these stupid sailors should all be in jail, and the bosun was awarded a Union Jack for his devotion to his country. The bosun, unmanly for the first time in his life, grabbed the flag respectfully wiping the tears from his eyes, and then elated in an instant, addressed Mr. Wopsle, "Your Excellency," and begged him to do him the favor of taking his hand, which Mr. Wopsle held out humbly, with a peculiar dignity and solemnity, but Immediately, he was pushed to a dusty corner by the boatswain, and the rest of the people began to dance lively sailor dances. Wopsle stood in this corner and swept the audience with a dissatisfied expression. , he found me.

In the very first scene of the second program, the latest big funny Christmas fairy tale, I was sad to see Mr. Wopsle, red velvet stockings on his legs, an exaggerated face, flashing He was phosphorescent, and his hair was a red curtain; he was working thunderously in the mine, and when he saw the hoarse voice of his huge master coming back to dinner, he showed timidity and cowardice. .The good thing is that it didn't take long for his character to become someone of higher status.In the play there is a young genius in love who wins the heart of a farmer's daughter, but the ignorant farmer is insolent, opposes his daughter's marriage, puts on a flour sack, and jumps from a second-floor window. and deliberately laid himself on his daughter's lover, who was obliged to seek the help of a wizard, who was a learned man, and knew many aphorisms.The wizard stumbled onto the stage after an arduous journey from the other side of the world.The wizard was none other than Mr. Wopsle, with a tall hat on his head and an Encyclopedia of Witchcraft tucked under his arm.The wizard came to this world mainly to let people talk to him, sing to him, rush at him, dance at him, wave colorful flames at him, and he had plenty of time to deal with it.He turned his eyes intently toward where I sat, as if stupefied, and I watched him with great wonder.

Mr. Wopsle looked at me more and more wide-eyed, and there was a deep meaning in it. There seemed to be a lot of things turning in his mind, but he was confused, which baffled me too. untie.I sat there thinking, and even when he climbed on a big watch case and flew away, I still sat there, puzzled.Even after an hour, I walked out of the theater with that question in my mind.At this time, I suddenly saw him standing at the door of the theater waiting for me. "How are you?" I said, shook hands with him quickly, and turned down the street together, "I saw you standing on the stage looking at me."

"Mr. Pip, I saw you!" he answered. "Yes, of course I saw you. But there's someone else?" "Which one else?" "It's a curious thing," continued Mr. Wopsle, with an air of great disappointment. "I'll swear I saw him." The surprise was so great that I begged Mr. Wopsle to explain what he meant by it. "Would I have noticed him if you hadn't been there," said Mr. Wopsle, still looking lost, "I can't say, but I think I would have noticed the man anyway." .” I looked around involuntarily, because it has become a habit for me to look around every time I go home, not to mention his mysterious words made me shiver.

"Oh! he's not here," said Mr. Wopsle. "He went out before I stepped down. I saw him go." What he said gave me reason to doubt, even about the poor actor, that this was a trap designed to let me dive in without asking myself.So, I glanced at him and continued walking with him without saying anything. "My idea is so ridiculous, Mr. Pip, I thought he was with you, and I found out later that you didn't realize he was there, and he was sitting behind you, looking like a ghost. " The chills from earlier began to revive in me, but I decided not to say anything.Judging from his words, it is entirely possible that he was instigated by someone to seduce me, trying to connect me with Provis.Of course, I am absolutely sure that Provis never came to the theater.

"Mr Pip, I bet you'll be surprised at what I'm saying, I can see it, but it's so strange! I'll tell you, you won't believe it. Of course, if you told me, I'd I wouldn't believe it myself." "Really?" I said. "That's right, quite true. Mr. Pip, you don't forget one time you spent Christmas. You were a boy, and we were eating at Guccily's, and a troop came and said there was a pair of The handcuffs need to be repaired, remember?" "I remember it all too well." "Also, do you remember the pursuit of the two fugitives? We also joined the ranks of officers and soldiers at that time. Gu Qili carried you on his back, and I led the way, and you followed desperately to avoid falling behind?" "I remember it all." I remember it better than he did, because his last sentence was nonsense. "We were just in time to see those two fugitives in the ditch, and they were fighting together, and one of them was beaten up by the other, and there were bruises all over his face, remember?" "It's as if it's happening right in front of your eyes." "Do you remember that those officers and soldiers lit torches and put the two fugitives among them? We followed them to see what happened, and saw that the torches were shining on their faces in the dark swamp? What I want to mention in particular That's it, when the night was dark all around us, and you remember their torches were shining in the faces of the two fugitives?" "I remember," Jo said, "I remember it very well. " "Then, Mr. Pip, one of the two fugitives is sitting right behind you this evening. I saw him sitting right behind you." Instructing myself to "handle calmly," I asked him, "Which one of them did you see?" "The one with the bruises all over his face," he replied immediately. "I can swear it was him I saw! The more I think about it, the more certain it is him." "That's queer!" said I, trying to look as if I had nothing to do with it, and added, "It's queer indeed!" It is hard to exaggerate the degree to which my uneasiness grew through this conversation.My particular fear was intensified by the thought that this Compeyson was right behind me "like a ghost."For ever since my benefactor went into hiding, I have thought of Compeyson at every moment; and if there was ever a moment when I did not think of him, it was when he was closest to me.I was very cautious, but this time I didn't pay attention and lost my vigilance, as if I closed a hundred doors to avoid him, cutting off all his ways, but turned around suddenly, but he was nearby.There is no doubt that because I went to the theater, he also went to the theater.On the surface, the shadow of danger around us is still very small, but in fact the danger is always by my side, and it will be triggered at any time. I asked Mr. Wopsle a few questions about when this man walked in.He couldn't answer, saying that he saw me first, and then he saw this person sitting behind me.He didn't see him at first, and it took a while to recognize him after seeing him; at first he was a little confused, thinking that the man came with me, maybe he was a fellow from our village.I asked him again how the man was dressed, and he said it was well-dressed, but not noticeable; he thought the man was dressed in black.I asked him if there was any disfigurement on that person's face?He said no.I also don't think the man is disfigured, because I feel that although I don't notice the people sitting behind me when I meditate, I would have noticed if one of them had a disfigured face. Mr. Wopsle told me all that he could recall, and all that could be squeezed out, so I treated him to some late-night supper to refresh him from the night's performance, and then took my leave.When I got back to the temple area between twelve o'clock and one o'clock, all the doors in the temple area were closed.I went through the gate, and when I got home, I never found anyone around. Herbert had long since returned, and we sat by the fire, and had a very serious discussion.But the discussion was fruitless, and the only way to do it was to tell Wemmick everything I had discovered tonight, and to remind him that we were waiting for his advice.I thought that I should not go to the castle too often, or I might hurt him, so I wrote to him and told him.I wrote the letter before going to bed, and rushed out overnight to put it in the mailbox, and I didn't find anyone around me.Herbert and I both agree that the only thing we have to do is be careful.We are cautious enough already, but we need to be more vigilant than ever if possible.As far as I'm concerned, I don't go to the Siwan area at all, and even when I go boating, I just look at the Mill Riverside as I look at any other place.