牛津书虫系列《雾都孤儿》Chapter14 附中英双语文本

14 The end of the mystery
The next day Oliver travelled with Mr Brown low ，Dr Losberne，Mrs May lie and Rose back to his birthplace．He had been told a little of his history，and knew that the re would be more explanations at the end of this journey．He was anxious and uncertain，wondering what he would hear．
But towards the end of the journey，he began to recognize familiar places，and in great excitement pointed the m out to Rose．The re was the path he had taken when he had run away．The re，across the fields，was the ‘baby farm’．The n，as They drove into the town，he saw the house of Mr So wer berry the undertaker，and the workhouse that had been his prison．
They stopped at the biggest hotel in the town，and went in to their rooms．During dinner Mr Brown low stayed in a separate room，and the older members of the group went in and out with serious faces．Mrs May lie came back with her eyes red from crying．All this made Rose and Oliver，who had not been told any new secrets，very nervous and uncomfortable．
At nine o’clock Dr Losberne and Mr Brown low brought Monks into the room．Oliver was very surprised；this was the same man he had bumped into once outside a pub，and seen another time with Fagin，looking in at him through the window of the country cottage．Oliver was told that Monks was his half-brother，and the boy stared at him in shock and amazement．Monks looked back at him with hatred．
‘We have the whole story here in the se papers，’said Mr Brown low ，putting the m on the table． ‘All we need now is for you to sign the m，Monks．And to tell Oliver what happened．’
Monks started hesitantly． ‘My father had arrived in Italy to collect the money he had inherited，when suddenly he fell ill．When he died，we found two papers in his desk．One was a letter to his girl；the other was a will．’
‘What was the letter？’asked Mr Brown low ．
‘It was written when he was ill，telling the girl how ashamed he was that she was pregnant．He asked her not to remember him as a bad man but as someone who had made a mistake．He reminded her of the day he’d given her the locket and ring．’
Oliver’s tears fell fast as he listened to the story of his father．
‘And what about the will？’asked Mr Brown low ．
Monks was silent．
‘The will，’continued Mr Brown low ，speaking for him， ‘was in the same spirit as the letter．He talked of the misery of his marriage to his wife，and the evil character of you，Monks，his only son，who had been brought up by your mother to hate him．He left you and your mother an annual income of $800．The rest of his property he left to his girl Agnes and to their child，if it were born alive，and if it showed itself to be of a good，kind character．The money would only go to you，Monks，as the older son，if The younger turned out to be as evil as you．’
‘My mother，’said Monks， ‘burnt this will，and never sent the letter．The girl Agnes left her home in secret，so that her pregnancy would not bring shame on her family．I swore to my mother，when she was dying，that if I ever found my half-brother，I would do him all the harm I could．He would feel my hatred like a whip on his back．I paid Fagin to trap Oliver into a life of crime．But the n he escaped，and that stupid，interfering girl Nancy talked to you．If I’d had the chance，I would have finished what I’d begun．’Monks stared at Oliver，and his lips moved in a silent curse．
‘And the locket and ring？’asked Mr Brown low ．
‘I bought the m from Mr and Mrs Bumble，who had stolen the m from the nurse，who had stolen the m from Agnes，the dead girl．I’ve already told you how I threw the m into the river．
Mr Brown low turned to Rose． ‘I have one more thing to explain，’he said to the girl．
‘I don’t know if I have the strength to hear it now，’she murmured， ‘having heard so much already．’
Mr Brown low put his hand under her arm． ‘You have a great deal of courage，dear child，’he said kindly．He turned to Monks． ‘Do you know this young lady，sir？’
‘Yes．’