Oliver Twist

Chapter 12
The End of Story

           Two members of Fagin’s gang, Tom and Toby, were hiding in a run-down house by the river. The crowd was all around him, snarling and trying to get at him. Old Fagin was muddy and bleeding and clinging to the police as if they were his dearest friends. They swore they’d tear his heart out.Some time later, Bill Sikes arrived. He was pale and out of breath. He looked like his own ghost. Charley Bates got to the hideout shortly after that, when Charley saw Bill Sikes, he fell back. The boy and the man rolled on the ground, fighting,the other robbers stared at them, unable to move. There were voices and the clatter of many footsteps hurrying across the nearest wooden bridge. Sikes decided to go up on the roof. He thought that was his one chance to escape. If he could drop down into the muddy ditch below, he might get lost in the crowd. The night rang out with their angry shouts and screams.Sikes tied one end of the rope to the chimney,the other end he made into a noose and brought the loop over his head.Two days after Bill Sikes’s death, a pair of coaches drove to the town where Oliver was born. In one coach were Oliver, Rose, Mrs. Maylie, Mrs.Bedwin, and Dr. Losberne. In the other were Mr.Brownlow and Monks. There, in that hotel, Oliver was told the secrets of his birth. While Oliver listened, Monks confessed to Mr.Brownlow that his mother had taken two letters from his father. One letter was meant to be given to Agnes Fleming. In it, Edwin Leeford confessed that he had made up a story to explain why he could not marry her right away. He reminded her of the day he had given her the locket and the ring. He said that he hoped to engrave his name on the ring some day in the future. The second letter was Leeford’s will. It left little money to his wife and Monks for both had given him much misery. Most of the money was left to Agnes and her child. Monks confessed that he had paid Fagin to lead Oliver into a life of crime. He also admitted that his mother had burned the will and the letter. Finally, he said that he himself had destroyed the ring and the locket that the Bumbles gave him. Oliver’s tears had fallen fast as he listened to the secrets of his mother and father.The others left them alone for a while. Then came a soft knock at the door. When Harry Maylie came in, Oliver excused himself. At last the jury in Fagin’s trial returned. There was perfect silence in the court, within minutes, the crowd outside shouted joyfully upon hearing the news that Fagin would die on Monday. In return for telling the police all he knew about Fagin, Noah Claypole was set free. He and Charlotte now make a living without working too hard. What they do is take a walk every Sunday, in their best clothes. When they are in front of a public house, Charlotte pretends to faint, they became so poor they ended up their days in the very workhouse where Oliver had begun his life. Charley Bates turned his back on a life of crime.Mr. Brownlow adopted Oliver and moved to the country with him and Mrs. Bedwin, they live close to Rose and Harry. It is said that the spirit of Agnes Fleming sometimes comes to that altar. I believe it even though the spot is in a church, and she was a weak and erring woman.