Oliver's life changes (7)

 

Fagin nodded. But there was a difficulty. None of them wanted to go anywhere  near a police station . The problem was solved with the arrival of the two young ladies whom Oliver had met one veening in Fagin's house.

 

'Nancy,my dear,' Fagin said . He smiled sweetly at one of the young ladies. 'Can you go to find out what's happened to Oliver?'

 

The young lady answered cllmly, 'No, Iwon't.'

 

'You're the only one here that the police in this distriet don't know,' said Sikes. 'She'll go, Fagin.'

 

'No,' repeated Nancy.

 

'Yes, she will, Fagin.' Sikes was right . With a mixture of threats and promises, he soon persuaded Nancy to go .

 

She set off at once , and at the police station pretended to be a shy, frightened girl. 'Is my poor little brother Oliver here?' she asked the officer with the keys.

 

'He's not her,' the officer replied. 'The gentleman's got him.'

 

'The gentleman? Oh no! What gentleman?' cried nancy, very upset.

 

The policeman explained that Oliver had become ill, and the old gentleman had taken him to his house in the Pentonville district of north London . Nancy,still looking rerribly upset, left the station,and hurried back to Fagin's houes with this news . As soon as he heard it , Sikes caled his white dog, put on his hat and left without saying goodbye to anyone .

 

'We must find him,' Fagin said urgently to the rest of them . 'No one can stay here - it's too dangerous now . All of ypu  - walk around Pentonville and keep you ears open . Don't come back until you have some news of Oliver! If you can , kidnap him! We,ve got to keep him quiet before he starts talking about us to hes new fiends.'

 

With these words,he pushed them all from his room and double -locked the door behind them . Then he took out his hidden box and very carefully hid all the watches and the jewelery beneath his clothes.