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or fraud and robbery．It’s your choice．And you must decide now．At once．’
Monks hesitated and looked at the old man，but Mr Brown low ‘s expression was so serious and determined that The younger man realized it was pointless to protest． ‘I didn’t expect this treatment from my father’s oldest friend，’said Monks angrily，sitting down with a frown on his face．
‘Yes，I was your father’s oldest friend，’said Mr Brown low ． ‘And I know all about you…how your father，while still a boy，was forced by his family into an unhappy marriage with an older woman，and how you were the result of that marriage．I also know that your parents separated，hating each other by the end．’
‘Well…what’s so important about that？’
‘When They’d been separated for ten years，’said Mr Brown low ， ‘your father met another family．The re were two daughters，one nineteen years old and the other only two or three．Your father became engaged to the older daughter．At this point one of his rich relations died and left him a lot of money in his will．Your father had to travel to Italy to receive his inheritance，and while the re，he became ill and died．Your mother，who was living with you in Paris，immediately rushed to Italy when she heard the news．As your father had made no will of his own，all the relation’s money came to you and her．’
Monks listened with close attention，biting his lip and staring at the floor．
‘Before your father went to receive that money，he came to see me，’continued Mr Brown low slowly，his eyes fixed on Monks’face．
‘I never heard that before，’said Monks，looking up suddenly，a suspicious expression on his face．
‘He left me a picture of the poor girl he wanted to marry．He talked wildly about shame and guilt，and how he would give part of the money he’d inherited to his wife and to you，and use the rest to escape from England with the girl he loved．He refused to tell me any more details．’
Monks breathe d more easily，and even smiled．
‘But，’said Mr Brown low ，pulling his chair nearer to the other man， ‘by chance I was able to rescue your brother O liver from a life of misery and—’
‘What！’cried Monks．
Mr Brown low continued without a pause． ‘And when he was recovering from his sickness here in my house，I noticed how similar he looked to the girl’s face in the picture．But he was taken away before I could discover his history…as you know very well．’
‘You can’t prove anything！’said Monks．
‘I can．I heard that you were in the West Indies．I went the re to try and find you to see if you knew anything about O liver，but you’d already left．I returned to London，and was unable to find you until two hours ago．’
‘And now what？You can’t prove that O liver’s my brother．’Monks smiled unpleasantly．
‘I couldn’t before，’said Mr Brown low ，standing up． ‘But now I can．The re was a will，but your mother destroyed it．This will mentioned a child that would be born later；this was O liver，the child you met later by accident．You noticed his resemblance to your father and you became suspicious．You the n went back to his birthplace，found proof of his birth and the fact that he’s your half…brother，and destroyed that proof．’
Monks sat in silence，his eyes filled with fear．
‘Yes，’continued Mr Brown low fiercely， ‘shadows on the wall have caught your whispers with Fagin，and brought the m to my ear．For the sake of that innocent child，whom you wanted to destroy．And now murder had been done，and you are as guilty of that as if you had struck the blow yourself！’
‘No，no，’said Monks quickly． ‘I knew nothing of that．Nothing at all．’He was silent for a while，realizing how much was known about him．Hatred and fear fought inside him，but he was a coward at heart．At last，seeing no escape，he raised his head． ‘I will admit everything…in front of witnesses，if necessary．’
Mr Brown low nodded coldly． ‘I will prepare a document for you to sign．You must give O liver what is really his，and the n you can go where you please．’
At that moment Dr Losberne rushed into the room． ‘The murderer will be taken tonight！His dog’s been found．’
‘And Fagin？’asked Mr Brown low ．
‘They’re sure of him．They may have him already．’
Mr Brown low turned back to Monks． ‘Have you made up your mind？’
‘Yes，’replied Monks． ‘And you promise…it’ll remain a secret？No police，or charges of fraud against me？’
‘Yes，’said Mr Brown low ． ‘You have my promise．For now，you must remain here，locked in this room．I will come for you tomorrow evening and take you to sign a confession in front of witnesses．’
Mr Brown low the n left the room with the doctor，and They eagerly discussed the news of the hunt for the criminals． ‘My blood boils with anger，’said Mr Brown low ． ‘This poor murdered girl must be revenged．You stay here and guard Monks．I’ll go out and get the latest news．’
The two men parted，each in a fever of excitement．Down by the river Thames was a district called Rotherhithe ，one of the dirtiest and roughest places in London．The houses next to the river had no owners；They were broken down and ruined，but could be defended against attack．In an upper room of one of the se houses，were three members of Fagin’s gang．
‘When was Fagin taken，the n？’asked the man called Toby．
‘Two o’clock this afternoon．Charley and I escaped up the chimney，but Noah was caught．Bet went to see Nancy and when she saw the body，she started screaming and wouldn’t stop．She’s been taken to hospital．’
‘What’s happened to Charley Bates？’
‘He’ll come here when it’s dark．It’s too dangerous now．’
‘We’re in trouble，’said Toby． ‘Fagin’s going to hang…that’s certain．’
‘You should have seen him when he was caught，’said another robber． ‘The police carried him through the crowd while all the people jumped at him，screaming and trying to attack him．’
Suddenly Sikes’ dog ran into the room．All the robbers rushed out immediately to look for Sikes，but the re was no sign of him．They returned to the upstairs room．
‘I hope he’s not coming here，’said Toby．
‘The dog’s come a long way，’said another man． ‘Covered in mud，and tired out．’
They sat the re in silence，wondering where Sikes was．It was already dark when They heard a sudden，hurried knock at the door downstairs．
Toby went to the window to look down，the n pulled his head back in，his face pale with fear．The re was no need to tell tlec others who it was．
‘We must let him in，’said Toby，although none of the m wanted to see him．Toby went down to the door and returned，followed by sikes．White…faced，with a three…day…old beard，hollow cheeks and staring eyes，Sikes looked like a ghost．No one said a word．
‘Nothing to say to me？’Sikes asked．
The only answer was a low shout of many voices from outside in the distance，coming closer．Lights appeared．Looking out，Sikes saw a stream of people crossing the bridge towards the m．The n the re was a loud knocking on the door and more shouts from the crowd．
‘The doors are made of metal and They’re locked and chained，’said Toby．The three robbers watched Sikes nervously，as if he were a wild animal．
‘Bring a ladder！’shouted some of the crowd below．
‘Give me a rope，quick，’Sikes said to the others． ‘I’ll go the other way，climb down the back and escape over the river．Get me a rope…now！Or I’ll do three more murders！’
A minute later，Sikes appeared on the roof and the shouts from the crowd below swelled to a great roar．The n the front door was smashed down and people streamed into the house．Sikes quickly tied the rope around the chimney，the n began to tie the other end around himself，ready to lower himself to the ground behind the house．But just as he put the rope over his head，he screamed in terror and threw his arms above his head．He staggered back，slipped and fell over the edge of the roof．As he fell，the rope tightened around his neck with a horrible jerk．In a second the murderer was dead，and the re he hung�