Chapter 25 (第1/3页)

WHEREINTHISHISTORYREVERTSTOMR。FAGINANDCOMPANY

Whilethesethingswerepassinginthecountryworkhouse，Mr。Faginsatintheoldden--thesamefromwhichOliverhadbeenremovedbythegirl--broodingoveradull，smokyfire。Heheldapairofbellowsuponhisknee，withwhichhehadapparentlybeenendeavouringtorouseitintomorecheerfulaction；buthehadfallenintodeepthought；andwithhisarmsfoldedonthem，andhischinrestingonhisthumbs，fixedhiseyes，abstractedly，ontherustybars。

AtatablebehindhimsattheArtfulDodger，MasterCharlesBates，andMr。Chitling：allintentuponagameofwhist；theArtfultakingdummyagainstMasterBatesandMr。Chitling。Thecountenanceofthefirst-namedgentleman，peculiarlyintelligentatalltimes，acquiredgreatadditionalinterestfromhiscloseobservanceofthegame，andhisattentiveperusalofMr。Chitling'shand；uponwhich，fromtimetotime，asoccasionserved，hebestowedavarietyofearnestglances：wiselyregulatinghisownplaybytheresultofhisobservationsuponhisneighbour'scards。Itbeingacoldnight，theDodgerworehishat，as，indeed，wasoftenhiscustomwithindoors。Healsosustainedaclaypipebetweenhisteeth，whichheonlyremovedforabriefspacewhenhedeemeditnecessarytoapplyforrefreshmenttoaquartpotuponthetable，whichstoodreadyfilledwithgin-and-waterfortheaccommodationofthecompany。

MasterBateswasalsoattentivetotheplay；butbeingofamoreexcitablenaturethanhisaccomplishedfriend，itwasobservablethathemorefrequentlyappliedhimselftothegin-and-water，andmoreoverindulgedinmanyjestsandirrelevantremarks，allhighlyunbecomingascientificrubber。Indeed，theArtful，presumingupontheircloseattachment，morethanoncetookoccasiontoreasongravelywithhiscompanionupontheseimproprieties；allofwhichremonstrances，MasterBatesreceivedinextremelygoodpart；merelyrequestinghisfriendtobe‘blowed，’ortoinserthisheadinasack，orreplyingwithsomeotherneatly-turnedwitticismofasimilarkind，thehappyapplicationofwhich，excitedconsiderableadmirationinthemindofMr。Chitling。Itwasremarkablethatthelattergentlemanandhispartnerinvariablylost；andthatthecircumstance，sofarfromangeringMasterBates，appearedtoaffordhimthehighestamusement，inasmuchashelaughedmostuproariouslyattheendofeverydeal，andprotestedthathehadneverseensuchajollygameinallhisborndays。

‘That'stwodoublesandtherub，’saidMr。Chitling，withaverylongface，ashedrewhalf-a-crownfromhiswaistcoat-pocket。‘Ineverseesuchafellerasyou，Jack；youwineverything。Evenwhenwe'vegoodcards，CharleyandIcan'tmakenothingof’em。‘

Eitherthemasterorthemannerofthisremark，whichwasmadeveryruefully，delightedCharleyBatessomuch，thathisconsequentshoutoflaughterrousedtheJewfromhisreverie，andinducedhimtoinquirewhatwasthematter。

‘Matter，Fagin！’criedCharley。‘Iwishyouhadwatchedtheplay。TommyChitlinghasn'twonapoint；andIwentpartnerswithhimagainsttheArtfullanddumb。’

‘Ay，ay！’saidtheJew，withagrin，whichsufficientlydemonstratedthathewasatnolosstounderstandthereason。‘Try’emagain，Tom；try‘emagain。’

‘Nomoreofitforme，thank’ee，Fagin，‘repliedMr。Chitling；’I'vehadenough。That‘ereDodgerhassucharunofluckthatthere'snostandingagain’him。‘

‘Ha！ha！mydear，’repliedtheJew，‘youmustgetupveryearlyinthemorning，towinagainsttheDodger。’

‘Morning！’saidCharleyBates；‘youmustputyourbootsonover-night，andhaveatelescopeateacheye，andaopera-glassbetweenyourshoulders，ifyouwanttocomeoverhim。’

Mr。Dawkinsreceivedthesehandsomecomplimentswithmuchphilosophy，andofferedtocutanygentlemanincompany，forthefirstpicture-card，atashillingatatime。Nobodyacceptingthechallenge，andhispipebeingbythistimesmokedout，heproceededtoamusehimselfbysketchingaground-planofNewgateonthetablewiththepieceofchalkwhichhadservedhiminlieuofcounters；whistling，meantime，withpeculiarshrillness。

‘Howpreciousdullyouare，Tommy！’saidtheDodger，stoppingshortwhentherehadbeenalongsilence；andaddressingMr。Chitling。‘Whatdoyouthinkhe'sthinkingof，Fagin？’

‘HowshouldIknow，mydear？’repliedtheJew，lookingroundashepliedthebellows。‘Abouthislosses，maybe；orthelittleretirementinthecountrythathe'sjustleft，eh？Ha！ha！Isthatit，mydear？’

‘Notabitofit，’repliedtheDodger，stoppingthesubjectofdiscourseasMr。Chitlingwasabouttoreply。‘Whatdo_you_say，Charley？’

‘_I_shouldsay，’repliedMasterBates，withagrin，‘thathewasuncommonsweetuponBetsy。Seehowhe'sa-blushing！Oh，myeye！here'samerry-go-rounder！TommyChitling'sinlove！Oh，Fagin，Fagin！whataspree！’

ThoroughlyoverpoweredwiththenotionofMr。Chitlingbeingthevictimofthetenderpassion，MasterBatesthrewhimselfbackinhischairwithsuchviolence，thathelosthisbalance，andpitchedoveruponthefloor；where（theaccidentabatingnothingofhismerriment）helayatfulllengthuntilhislaughwasover，whenheresumedhisformerposition，andbegananotherlaugh。

‘Nevermindhim，mydear，’saidtheJew，winkingatMr。Dawkins，andgivingMasterBatesareprovingtapwiththenozzleofthebellows。‘Betsy'safinegirl。Stickuptoher，Tom。Stickuptoher。’

‘WhatImeantosay，Fagin，’repliedMr。Chitling，veryredintheface，‘is，thatthatisn'tanythingtoanybodyhere。’

‘Nomoreitis，’repliedtheJew；‘Charleywilltalk。Don'tmindhim，mydear；don'tmindhim。Betsy'safinegirl。Doasshebidsyou，Tom，andyouwillmakeyourfortune。’

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