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thief．’
‘Why？’asked Rose．
‘He saw my shadow on the wall as I listened，and I had to escape．I didn’t see him again until last night．’
‘And what happened the n？’
‘I listened at the door again．And I heard Monks say this：“So the only proof of the boy’s identity is at the bottom of the river，and the old woman who received it is dead．”He and Fagin laughed．The n Monks said that he had all O liver’ s money safely now，but how funny it would be if the boy went to prison for stealing，after his father’s unfair will．’
‘What is all this？’asked Rose．
‘It’s the truth，lady．The n Monks said he couldn’t have O liver killed because suspicion would point to himself．Bu the ‘d try for the rest of his life to harm the boy if he could．The n Monks laughed again about the money O liver should have got from his father’s will．“My young brother O liver will n ever see that money！”he said．’
‘His brother！’exclaimed Rose．
‘Those were his words，’said Nancy，looking round uneasily，as if she still expected to see Sikes． ‘And the n hetalked about how amazed you would be if you knew who
O liver really was．
‘And this man was serious？’
‘His voice was full of anger and hatred．I know many people who do worse things，but I’d rather listen to all of the m than to this man Monks．But I must get back now，or people will wonder where I’ve been．’
‘Back！How can you go back to such a life？’asked Rose． ‘You’ve told me all this．Now I can help you by letting you stay somewhere safe．’
‘No．Perhaps it’s hard for you to believe，but the re’s one man，the most dangerous of the m all，that I can never leave．You’re the first person who’s ever spoken to me so kindly…but it’s too late．’
‘It’s never too late！’
‘It is！’cried the girl． ‘I can’t leave him now．And if I tell anyone about this man，he’ll die．’
‘But how can I find you again，when we want to investigate this mystery further？’
‘I’ll meet you secretly，if you promise not to watch or follow me，’said Nancy． ‘And if you promise just one more thing…not to do anything to hurt the man I can never leave．’
‘I promise．’
‘Every Sunday night，between eleven and twelve，I will walk on London Bridge if I am alive．Meet me the re if youwant more information．’
As Nancy said the se words，she left the room and ran down the stairs and out into the street once more．Rose was left alone，her thoughts in great confusion，as she wondered desperately what to do and who to ask for advice．
The next morning，O liver，who had been out walking，ranin to Rose’s room at the hotel．He was breathless with excitement．
‘I can’t believe what I’ve seen！Now you’ll all know that I’ve told you the truth！’he shouted．
‘I know you’ve always told us the truth…but what are you talking about？’asked Rose．
I’ve seen Mr Brown low ，the kind man who was so good tome．
‘Where？’
‘Going into a house，’said O liver，crying with joy． ‘I’ve got the address here．’
‘Quick，’said Rose． ‘Call a coach．I’ll take you there immediately．’
The idea came to Rose that perhaps Mr Brown low would advise her．She had been afraid to tell Nancy’s story to Dr Losberne，since the good doctor was very excitable and often acted with more enthusiasm than wisdom．
In less than five minutes They were in the coach on their way to the address．Rose went in first to talk to Mr Brown low alone．She was taken into his study，and polite greetings were exchanged．When They were seated again，Rose said，
‘This will surprose you very much，but you were once very kind to a dear friend of mine，and I’m sure you will be interested to hear news of him．’
‘Really？May I ask you his name？’
‘O liver Twist．’
Mr Brown low said nothing for a few seconds，but simply stared at Rose．Finally he moved his chair nearer to her and said with great feeling， ‘I once thought that he was a liar and a thief．If you have evidence to show me I was wrong，please tell me at once．’
‘I know him to be a child with a warm heart，’said Rose．
‘And despite the hardships of his life，he’s a better person than almost anyone I know．’
‘I looked for him everywhere，’said Mr Brown low ， ‘but I could never find him．I could never quite believe that he really did intend to rob me．’
Rose told him everything that had happened to O liver since the n．She finished by saying， ‘And his only sorrow，for some months，has been that he could not find you，his former friend．’
‘Thank God！’said Mr Brown low ． ‘This is great happiness to me，great happiness．But why haven’t you brought him with you，Miss May lie？’
‘He’s waiting in a coach at the door，’replied Rose．
Mr Brown low hurried out of the room，down the stairs and into the coach without another word．In a minute he had returned with O liver． ‘How well he looks！’he said． ‘New clothe s，the same sweet face，but not so pale；the same eyes，but not so sad．’
They talked with great joy for some time．The n Mr Brown low sent for Mrs Bed win，the old housekeeper．She came in quietly and waited for her orders．
‘You get blinder every day，’said Mr Brown low impatiently．
‘People’s eyes，at my time of life，don’t improve with age，’replied the old lady．
‘The n put on your glasses．’
As she searched for the m in her pocket，O liver could not wait any longer and ran into her arms．
‘Dear God！’she said． ‘It’s my innocent boy！’
‘My dear old nurse！’cried O liver．
‘I knew he would come back，’said the old lady，holding him in her arms． ‘How well he’s dressed…how well he looks again！’She laughed and cried at the same time，and could not let O liver go．
While O liver talked to Mrs Bed win，Rose asked Mr Brown low if she could speak to him privately．He led her in to another room，and the re listened，with a good deal of amaze ment，to Rose’s account of her extraordinary conversation with Nancy．Between the m，They decided that Mrs May lie and Dr Losberne should be told，and that Mr Brown low would come to the hotel that evening for a discussion．For the moment，nothing would be said to O liver himself．
That evening at the hotel O liver’s four friends met as arranged．Dr Losberne，of course，was full of immediate plans to rush round London arresting all the gang and hanging the mat once．Mr Brown low ，fortunately，was able to persuade him to abandon this wild idea．
‘The n what’s to be done？’cried the doctor impatiently．
‘First，’said Mr Brown low calmly， ‘we must discover who he inheritance that should have been his．’
‘Yes，yes，’said the doctor，nodding in agreement． ‘But how shall we achieve the se aims？’
‘We must find this man Monks，’said Mr Brown low ． ‘Nancy will not betray the man who is special to her，but she will surely agree to tell us how or where to find Monks．Then we must find a way to force Monks to talk．We must be both cautious and clever．After all，we have no proof against him，and if we cannot make him talk，this mystery will never be solved．But we’ll have to wait five days until Sunday before we can meet Nancy on London Bridge．Until the n，we can do nothing．’
12 Nancy keeps an appointment
On exactly the same night as Nancy had met Rose May lie，two people from O liver’s home town were making their way towards London．Their progress was slow，since they travelled on foot，and in addition，the girl was carrying a heavy bag on her back．The young man carried nothing．From time to time he turned to shout at the girl behind him． ‘Hurry up！What a lazy creature you are，Charlotte！I’ll come and give you a kick if you don’t move faster！’
The young man was Noah Claypole，who had made O liver’s life so miserable at Mr Sowerberry’s house．He was now taller and uglier but otherwise little changed．He and Charlotte had grown tired of the undertaking business and had set off to London to start a new life…with all the money from Mr So wer berry’s shop in their pockets�