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sk the time．
The room he was lying in was very small and dirty．It was a different room from the one he had occupied before the Chertsey expedition，but it was in the same poor part of London．The re were so few possessions or comforts in the room that it was clear Mr Sikes had met hard times．He himself was thin and pale from illness，and was lying on the bed，wrapped in an old coat．The white dog lay on the floor next to him．
Seated by the window was Nancy，repairing Sikes’ old jacket．She，too，was thin and pale．At Sikes’ voice she raised her head from her work． ‘Not long past seven，’she said． ‘How do you feel now，Bill？’
‘As weak as water．Help me get up，will you？’
As Nancy helped him out of bed，Sikes swore and cursed a ther clumsiness．Illness had not improved his temper．
‘You would n’t speak like that if you knew how kindly I’ve nursed you the se last few days，’said Nancy． ‘So many nights，I’ve looked after you．’She sat down in a chair，exhausted．
‘Get up！’shouted Sikes． ‘What’s wrong with you？’
But Nancy was unable to get up．Her head fell back against the chair and she fainted．
Sikes swore and cursed again，but Nancy remained unconscious．
‘What’s the matter here？’asked a voice from the door，and Fagin，followed by the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates，entered the room．When They saw Nancy，They hurried to help her．Charley rubbed her hand s and the Dodger gave her a drink from the bottle he carried．Gradually，Nancy recovered her senses．
Sikes the n turned to Fagin． ‘What are you here for？’he asked roughly． ‘You haven’t been here for weeks…all the time I was ill．I haven’t two coins to rub together．Why didn’t you help me？You treat me worse than a dog！’
‘Don’t be bad…tempered，my dear，’said Fagin calmly． ‘I haven’t forgotten you，Bill．’
‘Well，what about some money，the n？I’ve done enough work for you recently…what about some money？’
‘I haven’t a single coin with me，my dear，’said Fagin．
‘The n go and get some…you’ve got lots at home．No，I don’t trust you．Nancy can go back with you to your house and fetch some money．I’ll stay here and sleep．’
After a good deal of arguing，Fagin managed to reduce the amount Sikes was demanding from five pounds to three pounds．He went back to his house with Nancy and the boys．
When They were inside，Fagin told the girl， ‘I’ll just goupstairs and fetch the cash for Bill，my dear．The re’s little money in this business，Nancy，little money and no thanks… but I’m fond of seeing The young people around me．’
Suddenly the re was a man’s voice at the front door．As soon as Nancy heard it，she sat up in her chair．
‘That’s the man I was expecting earlier，’said Fagin． ‘Don’t worry．He’ll only be ten minutes．’
The man entered the room．It was Monks．When he saw Nancy，he moved back，as if he had expected no one but Fagin．
‘It’s all right，only one of my young people，’Fagin said to him． ‘Did you see him？’
‘Yes，’answered Monks．
‘Any news？’
‘Good news，’said Monks with a smile． ‘Let me have a word with you．’He and Fagin went upstairs to talk privately．
As soon as They had left the room，Nancy took off her shoes and crept silently up the stairs to listen in the passage…as she had done once before．She was gone for a quarter of an hour，the n，like a ghost，she reappeared in the downstairs room and sat down．Immediately afterwards，the two men descended the stairs．
‘How pale you are，Nancy！’said Fagin，once Monks had left the house． ‘What have you been doing to yourself？’
‘Nothing…except waiting here for you too long，’she answered，turning her face away from him． ‘Now，where’s the money for Bill？’
With a sigh for every piece of money，Fagin put the agreed amount into her hand ．
When Nancy was out in the street again，she sat down on a door step，and for a few minutes seemed unable to move．The n she started running wildly through the streets，and when she was exhausted she stopped and burst into tears．This strange mood seemed to leave her the n，and she turned and hurried back to Sikes’ house．
At first when she returned，Sikes noticed nothing unusual about her．Fagin，with his sharp，suspicious eyes，would have noticed something at once．But as night came，the girl’s nervous excitement increased and even Sikes was alarmed by the paleness in her cheeks and the fire in her eye．
He lay in bed，drinking hot gin…and…water，and staring at her． ‘You look like a corpse that’s come back to life again．What’s the matter with you tonight？’
‘Nothing．Why are you staring at me so hard？’
‘Either you’ve caught the fever yourself，or…no，you’re not going to…you wouldn’t do that！’
‘Do what？’asked the girl．
‘The re’s not a girl alive as loyal as you．If you weren’t， I’d have cut your throat months ago．No，you must have the fever coming on，that’s it．Now，give me some of my medicine．’
Nancy quickly poured out his medicine with her back to him．He took it，and after turning restlessly for some time，heeventually fell into a deep，heavy sleep．
‘The drug’s taken effect at last，’Nancy said to herself as she rose from her position beside the bed． ‘I hope I’m not too late．’
Quickly，she put on her coat and hat，looking round fearfully as if she expected at any moment to feel Sikes’ heavy hand on her shoulder．She kissed the robber’s lips softly，then ran from the house without a sound．
She hurried in the direction of west London，pushing past people on the pavement，and running across crowded streets with out looking．
‘The woman is mad！’said the people，turning to look ather as she rushed past the m．
She came to a wealthier part of the town where the street swere quieter，and before long she had reached her destination．It was a family hotel in a quiet street near Hyde Park．The clock struck eleven as she entered．
The man at the desk looked at her and asked， ‘What do you want here？’
‘I want to see Miss May lie．’
The man looked at The young woman with strong disapproval． ‘She won’t want to see someone like you．Come on，get out．’
‘Let me see her…or two of you will have to throw me out！’said Nancy violently．
The man looked at her again，and decided it would be easierto do as she asked．He led her upstairs to Rose’s room．
Nancy entered with a brave face but with fear in her heart．
‘Please sit down and tell me why you wish to see me，’said Rose May lie，looking with some surprise at this poor，rough girl from the streets．Rose’s manner was so kind and sincere，and so unexpected，that Nancy burst into tears．
When she had recovered a little，she asked， ‘Is the door shut？’
‘Yes，’answered Rose，a little nervously． ‘But why？’
‘Because I am about to put my life，and the lives of others，in your hand s．I am the girl that kidnapped little O liver and took him back to old Fagin’s house on the night O liver was going to the bookseller．’
‘You！’said Rose．
‘Yes，it was me．I am that wicked creature you have hear dab out．I’ve no friends except thieves and robbers．I’ve lived on the streets since I was a child，cold，hungry，among people who are always drunk and fighting．And that’s where I’ll die，too．’
‘I pity you！’said Rose in a broken voice．
‘But I’ll tell you why I’m here．Do you know a man called Monks？’
‘No，’answered Rose．
‘He knows you．I heard him tell Fagin that you were at this hotel．Maybe he’s changed his name．Soon after O liver was put into your house on the night of the robbery，I listened insecret to a conversation between Monks and Fagin in the dark．And I heard Monks say that he’d seen O liver in the street，and that he knew at once O liver was the child he was looking for，although I couldn’t hear why．Monks the n agreed to pay Fagin some money if he could find O liver again，and more money if he could turn the poor boy into a thief．’
‘Why？’asked Rose．
‘He saw my shadow on the wall as I listened，and I had to