Chapter 45 Chapter Forty-Four

(When it came time to fulfill her promise to Ruth Maylie, Nancy couldn't make it.) Miss Nancy, though well versed in the full range of cunning and deceit, could hardly conceal the effect of this step on her mind.She remembered that, whether it was the scheming old Jew or the cruel Sikes, their tricks were not mentioned to the others, but were hidden from her, and both were completely convinced that she was reliable, and they were not at all. She will be suspicious.Although these tricks are very treacherous and the planners are bold, although she hates the old Jew deeply, it is he who leads her step by step, sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of crime and misfortune, and it is difficult to extricate herself, but sometimes, even for him, Nan Hee still felt a bit mortified that her leaking would put him in the iron fist he had avoided for so long, and that it would end up in his own hands - even though he totally deserved it.

However, these are just shakes in her heart. Although she can't make a clean break with her partner for many years, she can still hold on to a goal and never change her mind because of any worries.Her concern was with Sikes, which would have been more likely to induce her to back off at the last minute, but she had received assurances that the secrecy would be kept strictly for her, and that no clue had been leaked which might lead him to justice. , for his sake, even refusing to escape from all the sin and misery that surrounded her--what else could she do?She has made up her mind. Although the inner struggles ended in this way, they still came to her again and again and left their marks on her body.Within a few days, she was pale and thin.She often ignored what was going on in front of her, or didn't participate at all in the conversation, and she used to be the loudest in these conversations.Sometimes she let out a dry laugh and made a fuss for no reason or sense.But often in an instant, she sat down listlessly again, resting her head on her hands and meditating.She tried at times to pull herself together, but this effort, even more than these symptoms, showed that she was restless, that what she was thinking was not at all the same as what her companions were counseling.

On Sunday night, the bells of a nearby church began to chime.Sikes was chatting with the old Jew, but stopped to listen.Miss Nancy, who was curled up on a low stool, also looked up and listened.eleven o'clock. "There's an hour to midnight," said Sikes, drawing up the shutter, and looking out, before resuming his seat. "It's dark and you're asking, there's really nothing to say about doing business tonight." "Ah," replied Fagin, "it's a pity, my dear Bill, that we don't have a ready deal to do." "You're right once," said Sikes sullenly. "It's a pity, I feel a little too."

Fagin sighed and shook his head dejectedly. "We'll have to make up for lost time when we get things lined up. That's all I know." "That's true, my dear," replied Fagin, daring to tap him on the shoulder. "Hearing you say that, I'm relieved." "You don't have to worry about it," cried Sikes; "come, so be it." "Ha ha ha!" laughed Fagin, as if he were pleased by this little concession. "You're like yourself tonight, Bill, and that's what you are." "What, your old wrinkled paw rests on my arm. I don't feel like myself. Take it away," said Sikes, letting go of the old Jew's hand.

"It's going to get on your nerves, Bill—it makes you feel caught, doesn't it?" said Fagin, determined not to be angry. "Makes me think the devil's got me," retorted Sikes, "and I can't find anyone with a face like yours, except your father, who's probably burning his red beard with some grizzles at the moment." , or you don't have a father at all, and come straight from the devil--I don't think it's any wonder." Fagin did not answer the compliment, but tugged at Sikes' sleeve, and pointed his finger at Nancy, who, taking advantage of the preceding conversation, put on her bonnet, and was about to leave the room.

"Hullo," said Sikes loudly, "Nancy, where's the little girl going after all the night?" "Not far." "What's that called?" asked Sikes. "Where are you going?" "As I said, it's not far." "What place do I ask?" Sikes nailed firmly. "Did you hear me?" "I don't know where," answered the girl. "You don't know I know," said Sikes, mostly out of obstinacy, not really for any reason against girl Nancy going where she set her heart on going. "Don't go anywhere. Sit down."

"I'm not well, as I told you before," answered the girl, "and I want a cool breeze." "Put your head out of the window," replied Sikes. "That's enough," said the girl, "I'm going to the street." "Then you don't want to go out." Sikes refused, rising and locking the door, drawing out the key, and pulling off her bonnet, and throwing it on top of an old chest of drawers. "That's all right," said the robber, "for now, just stay in the old place quietly, okay?" "What's the big deal about a soft hat, and you still want to keep me?" The girl's face turned pale. "What do you mean, Bill? Do you know what you're doing?"

"Do you know I'm--oh!" cried Sikes, turning to Fagin. "She's crazy, you know, or she'd never dare talk to me like that." "You're trying to drive me to a dead end," the girl murmured, pressing her hands on her chest, as if trying to suppress her anger. "You let me out, do you hear—now—immediately—" "No!" said Sikes. "Tell him to let me out, Fagin, it's better for him to let me out, do you hear?" cried Nancy, stamping her foot on the floor. "You hear me!" Sikes turned in his chair to face her. "Okay! If I hear you talking another half a minute, the dog's going to bite your neck a day to see if you can keep screaming like that. What the hell with you, bitch. What's the matter?"

"Let me out," said the girl solemnly, and sitting down on the floor by the door, said. "Bill, let me out. You don't know what you're doing, you don't, really. Just an hour—that's enough—that's enough!" "Nonsense, if the little bitch isn't completely mad, I'll cut off my limbs one by one," growled Sikes, and seized her roughly by the arm. "stand up." "Unless you let me out-unless you let me out-not up-not up!" screamed the girl.Sikes watched for a moment, seized her hand suddenly at an opportunity, and, while she struggled and wrestled, dragged her into the adjoining cabin, pushed her onto a chair, held her down, and seated herself on a bench.She struggled and begged in turn, until the clock struck twelve and she was exhausted, and then she stopped insisting on her original request.Sikes gave her a warning, and added a curse, to refrain from going out that night, and left her to recover slowly, and return to Fagin himself.

"Oh." The guy who specialized in burglary wiped the sweat off his face and said. "What a queer little bitch." "You may say so, Bill," replied Fagin thoughtfully, "you may say so." "Why does she think she's going out to-night, don't you know?" asked Sikes. "By the way, you know her better than I do. What's the matter?" "Stubbornness, I think it's a woman's stubbornness, my dear." "Yes, I suppose so," murmured Sikes, "I thought I'd got her out of it, and it's all the same detestable affection."

"It's even worse," said Fagin, still looking thoughtful, "I never thought she would do this, for a little thing." "Nor did I think," said Sikes, "I'm afraid she's got a little fever in her blood, and won't come out—eh?" "It's kind of like that."' "If she's fussing like that again, I'll bled her, without bothering the doctor," said Sikes. Fagin nodded approvingly of the therapy. "I couldn't get out of bed in those days, and she was by my side all day and night, and you, like a black wolf, kept at a distance," said Sikes. It’s too shabby, and this and that make her anxious and upset, and she’s been locked up here for so long, and she can’t sit still—huh?” "Yes, my dear," replied the old Jew in a low voice, "stop talking." As soon as he said this, Miss Nancy came out. She returned to the previous seat, her eyes were red and swollen, she swayed from side to side, her head was raised, and after a while, she suddenly burst out laughing. "Oh, she's got another trick now," cried Sikes, casting a startled look at his companion. Fagin nodded, signaling Sikes to ignore her for the time being.After a few minutes, the girl returned to her usual appearance.Fagin said, biting Sikes in the ear, that she should not be afraid of being ill, and took his hat, and bade him good night.He walked to the door of the room, stopped again, looked back, and asked if anyone would light up for him when he went downstairs, because the stairs were dark. "Show him a light, and let him down," said Sikes, who was filling his pipe. "It'll be a pity if he breaks his own neck, and let the spectators go for nothing. Take a picture of him." Bright." Nancy, holding a candle, followed the old man downstairs.In the corridor, he put a finger on his lips, approached the girl, and whispered: "Nancy, what's the matter, dear?" "What do you mean?" the girl replied in the same low voice. "There's a reason for all of this," replied Fagin, "since he"—pointing upstairs with his thin forefinger—"has been so mean to you (he's a brute, Nancy, beast plus beast), why don't you-" "Oh!" cried the girl, and Fagin stopped short, barely touching her ear, and looked into hers. "Not now," said the old Jew, "we'll talk about it later. You can make me a friend, Nancy, a sure friend. I've got a solution at hand, safe and secret. If you want revenge, it's for him." To get revenge on the things you treat like a dog--like a dog! Worse than his dog, with which he plays sometimes--you come to me. I mean, come to me Me. He hasn't been with you very long, and you and I are old friends, Nancy." "I know you well," answered the girl, without even the slightest emotion. "goodbye." Fagin wanted to shake her hand, and she drew back, said good-by again in a calm voice, nodded knowingly to his parting glance, and closed the door. Fagin walked towards his lodgings, absorbed in the insidious ideas which were passing in and out of his head.He had seen—the idea was formed slowly, and not on the scene, though it gave him evidence—that Nancy could not stand the robber's rough treatment, and was going to find another love.Her recent change of appearance, her frequent solitary outings, the fact that she had been so zealous about the gang's interests now seemed rather indifferent, and the fact that she was desperate to be out at a certain time of the night, all helped Confirming this conjecture, at least in his opinion, has become almost a sure thing.Her new acquaintance was not among his loyal followers.With such a helper as Nancy, this person could well be a very valuable cash cow, which must (so Fagin argued) be acquired without delay. There was another purpose, a more insidious one, which had to be achieved.Sikes knew too much, and the unseen hurt which his sarcasm had done to Fagin was not lessened by it.The girl must understand that, even if she could dump Sikes, she would never be immune to his furious vengeance, which would surely come out on her most recent lover--a cripple, maybe. I have to die. "Only some persuasion," thought Fagin, "will she agree to poison him? There have been women who have done it before for the same purpose, and worse than this. It deserves it." The dangerous guy is finished, I hate this guy, and someone will fill his place in the future. The girl did a murder, and I hold the handle in my hands, and I can't let me manipulate her in the future. " Fagin had just sat alone in the robber's room, and during that brief interval these things had passed through his mind.He took these matters very seriously, and before leaving, he took the opportunity to test Nancy with some intermittent hints. The girl did not show any surprise, nor did she pretend to understand him.The girl obviously understood, which can be seen from her parting eyes. She might, however, be cowed back by a plan to take Sykes' life, which was one of the chief purposes which had to be achieved. "How can I increase my influence over her?" said Fagin, thinking all the way, tiptoeing home. "How can I increase my strength?" Such a brain can really be called resourceful.Even without forcing her to tell it herself, he could set up a spy, find her new sweetheart, and threaten to tell Sikes (she was terribly afraid of him) all about it, unless she took part in his own affair. plan, and worry about her not agreeing? "I have a way," said Fagin, almost aloud, "and she dares not let me go, and it's not for her life, nor for her life. I'm absolutely sure. The solution is ready." Yes, it will be effective immediately. Anyway, you can't escape from my grasp." He turned his head, cast a vicious glance at the place where he had left the impudent fellow, made a menacing gesture, and continued on his way, busy with his bony hands, twisting the folds of his tattered coat, as if Every movement of the fingers crushes a hated foe to dust.