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ed．
‘This is him，Fagin，’ the Dodger said to the old man． ‘My friend O liver Twist．’
Fagin smiled and shook O liver’s hand．The n all The young gentlemen came up to him and shook both his hands very hard， especially the hand which held his few possessions。 One of the boys was particularly kind．He even put his hands in O liver’s pockets so that O liver would not have to empty the m himself when he went to bed．The boys would probably have been even more helpful， but Fagin hit the m on their heads and shoulders until They left O liver alone．
‘We’re very glad to see you，O liver，’said Fagin。 ‘I see you’re staring at the handkerchieves， my dear．Aren’t the re a lot？We’ve just taken the m all out to wash the m， that’s all！Ha！ Ha！ Ha！’
This seemed to be a joke， as the old gentleman and all his young friends gave loud shouts of laughter。 The n supper began。 O liver ate his share of the food and was the n given a glass of gin…and…water．Fagin told him to drink it fast．Immediately afterwards，O liver felt himself lifted onto one of the beds and he sank into a deep sleep．
When he woke，it was late morning．Fagin was the only other person in the room， and he was boiling coffee in a pan．When the coffee was done，he turned towards O liver and looked closely at the boy．O liver was only just awake and his eyes were half－closed， so he seemed to be still fast asleep。 Fagin the n locked the door and from a hidden hole in the floor，he took out a small box， which he placed carefully on the table． His eyes shone as he opened it and took out a gold watch covered in jewels。
‘Aah！’ he said to himself． ‘What fine men They were！Loyal to the end。 They never told the priest where the jewels were． Nor about old Fagin．Not even at the very end． And why should They？ It was already too late．It wouldn’t have stopped the rope going round their necks！’
Fagin took out at least six more watches， as well as rings and bracelets and many other valuable pieces of jewellery． He looked at the m with pleasure， the n replaced the m。 ‘What a good thing hanging is！’he murmured． ‘Dead men can never talk，or betray old friends！’
At that moment he looked up and saw O liver watching him．He closed the lid of the box with a loud crash，and picked up a bread knife from the table． ‘Why are you watching me？ What have you seen？ Tell me－quick！’
‘I couldn’t sleep any longer，sir，’said O liver， terrified。 ‘I’m very sorry．’
‘You weren’t awake an hour ago？’Fagin asked fiercely，still holding the knife。
‘I promise I was n’t， sir，’ replied O liver．
‘Don’t worry， my dear，’ Fagin said， putting down the knife and becoming once again the kind old gentleman． He laughed． ‘I only tried to frighten you，my dear。 You’re a brave boy，O liver！ And did you see any of the pretty things？’
‘Yes， sir。 ‘
‘Ah，’ said Fagin， turning rather pale． ‘They…They’re mine， O liver．All I have，in my old age．’
O liver wondered why the old man lived in such an old， dirty place，when he had so many watches， but the n he thought that it must cost Fagin a lot of money to look after the Dodger and the other boys．So he said nothing，and got up and washed．When he turned towards Fagin， the box had disappeared．
Soon the Dodger entered with a cheerful young man named Charley Bates．
‘Have you been at work this morning？’Fagin asked the Dodger．
‘Hard at work，’answered the Dodger．
‘Good boys，good boys！’said Fagin． ‘What have you got？’
‘A couple of pocket－books and some handkerchieves．’
‘Good workers， aren’t They， O liver？’ said the old man．
‘Very good，’ said O liver． The others all started laughing，though O liver saw nothing funny in his answer。 Fagin inspected the handkerchieves and told the two boys that They were extremely well made and that he was very pleased with their work。
After breakfast They played a very strange game。 The cheerful old man put a watch in his jacket pocket， with a guard…chain round his neck，and a notebook and a handkerchief in his trouser pocket．The n he went up and down the room holding a walking stick，just like the old gentlemen who walked in the streets。 Sometimes he stopped at the fireplace， and sometimes at the door， pretending to stare with great interest into shop windows．He would the n constantly look round， as if afraid of thieves， touching all his pockets in such a natural and funny way that O liver laughed until tears ran down his face．All the time， the two boys followed Fagin everywhere，and every time he turned round， They moved out of his sight so quickly that it was impossible to follow their movements。
Finally， the Dodger bumped into him accidentally from behind， and at that moment both boys took from him，very quickly， his watch， guard－chain，handkerchief，and notebook．If the old man felt a hand in any of his pockets he cried out， and the n the game began again。
Later， the boys went out again to do some more work。 When They had gone，Fagin turned to O liver． ‘Take my advice， my dear，’he said． ‘Make the m your models。 Especially the Dodger． He’ll be a great man himself， and will make you one too； if you copy him。 Is my handkerchief hanging out of my pocket； my dear？ '
'Yes； sir； 'said O liver。
'See if you can take it out； without my feeling it。 Just as you saw the m doing it when we were playing。 '
O liver held up the bottom of the pocket with one hand； as he had seen the Dodger hold it； and pulled the handkerchief lightly out of it with the other。
'Has it gone？ 'asked Fagin。
'Here it is； sir； 'said O liver； showing it in his hand。
'You're a clever boy； my dear； 'said the old gentleman； putting his hand on O liver's head。 I've never seen a quicker boy。 If you go on like this； you'll be the greatest man in London。 Now come here and I'll show you how to take the marks out of handkerchieves。 '
O liver wondered what the connection was between playing at stealing from the old gentleman's pocket and becoming a great man。 But he followed him quietly to the table and was soon deeply involved in his new study。
O liver remained in Fagin's room for many days； picking the marks and names out of the handkerchieves and sometimes playing the same game as before。 One evening two young ladies came to visit； and a very cheerful party followed。 O liver thought They were very nice； friendly girls。
The Dodger and Charley Bates went out to work every day； but sometimes came home with no handkerchieves； and Fagin would get very angry。 Once he even knocked the m both down the stairs and sent the m to bed with no dinner because They had returned with nothing。
At last； the morning came when O liver was allowed to go out to work with the two other boys The re had been no handkerchieves for him to work on for several days and the re was not very much to eat for dinner。 The three boys set out； but They walked so slowly that O liver thought They were not going to work at all。 The n suddenly the Dodger stopped and put his finger to his lips。
'What's the matter？ 'demanded O liver。
'Be quiet！ 'replied the Dodger。 'Do you see that old man outside the book shop？ He's the one。 '
O liver looked from the Dodger to Charley Bates with great surprise and confusion； but he had been told not to ask questions。 The two boys walked quickly and secretly across the road towards the old gentleman。 O liver followed behind the m； watching in silent amazement。
The old gentleman looked quite rich； he wore gold glasses； white trousers； and had an expensive walking stick under his arm。 He had picked up a book and was standing the re； reading it with great concentration—just as if he were in his own armchair at home。 O liver； his eyes wide with horror and alarm； watched as the Dodger put his hand in the old gentleman's pocket； took out a hand kerchief； and hand ed it to Charley Bates。 The n the two of the m ran round the corner as fast as They could。
Suddenly； the whole mystery of the handkerchieves； and the watches； and the jewels； and Fagin； became clear。 O liver stood for a moment in terror； blood rushing through him until he felt he was on fire。 The n； confused and frightened； he started to run。 At the same time； the old gentleman； putting his hand to his pocket and realizing his hand kerchief was missing； turned round。 He saw O liver running away； so he naturally thought O liver was the thief。 With loud cries of 'Stop thief！ '； he ran after O liver with the book still in his hand 。
The old gentleman was not the only one who started shouting。 The Dodger and Charley Bates； not wanting to attract attention to the mselves by running down the street； had stopped round the first corner。 When They realized what was happening； They also shouted' Stop thief！ 'and joined in the chase like good citizens。
The cry of 'Stop thief！ 'always causes great excitement。 Everybody in the street stopped what They were doing and began to shout the mselves。 Many joined in the chase with enthusiasm and soon the re was a big crowd running after O liver。
Finally； They caught the exhausted boy。 He fell down o