atches, the purses and the curious game he had learned at Fagin's. He
knew then that the Artful Dodger was a pickpocket. He was so frightened
that for a minute he lost his wits and ran off as fast as he could go.

Just then the old gentleman found his handkerchief was gone and, seeing
Oliver running away, shouted "Stop thief!" which frightened the poor boy
even more and made him run all the faster. Everybody joined the chase,
and before he had gone far a burly fellow overtook Oliver and knocked
him down.

A policeman was at hand and he was dragged, more dead than alive, to the
police court, followed by the angry old gentleman.

The moment the latter saw the boy's face, however, he could not believe
it was the face of a thief, and refused to appear against him, but the
magistrate was in a bad humor and was about to sentence Oliver to
prison, anyway, when the owner of the book-stall came hurrying in. He
had seen the theft and knew Oliver was not guilty, so the magistrate was
obliged to let him go.

But the terror and the blow he had received had been too much for
Oliver. He fell down in a faint, and the old gentleman, whose name was
Mr. Brownlow, overcome with pity, put him into a coach and drove him to
his own home, determined, if the boy had no parents, to adopt him as his
own son.

II

OLIVER'S ADVENTURES

While Oliver was resting in such good hands, very strange things were
occurring in the house of Fagin. When the Artful Dodger told him of the
arrest the Jew was full of anger. He had intended to make a clever thief
of Oliver and compel him to bring him many stolen things; now he had not
only failed in this and lost the boy's help, but he was also afraid that
Oliver would tell all about the wicked practices he had seen and show
the officers where he had lived. This he thought was likely to happen at
any time, unless he could get the boy into his power again.

Something had occurred, too, meantime, that made Fagin almost crazy with
rage at losing him. It was this: A wicked man--so wicked that he was
afraid of thunder--who went by the name of Monks, had come to him and
told him he would pay a large sum of money if he could succeed in making
Oliver a thief and so ruin his reputation and his good name.

It was plain enough that for some reason the man hated Oliver, but,
cunning as Fagin was, he would never have guessed why. For Monks was
really Oliver's older half-brother!

A little while before this story b