5 An Accident at Home

CHAPTER 5 An Accident at Home Now that I worked in the forge, I no longer went to school or to see Miss Havisham. Biddy helped me keep up with my lessons so I could teach Joe, but I missed my visits to Manor House. One day Joe and I were bent over my slate and I said, "Do you think I should visit Miss Havisham? I'd like to thank her properly." Joe said, "She might think you want something. You were paid handsomely, Pip." "Still, it's my birthday tomorrow. May I have a half holiday?" "If you think it's best, then you should go." The next day when Orlick, Joe's assistant, heard

that Joe had given me a half holiday, he wanted one, too. "I suppose, to be fair, you can both go," Joe said. My sister was standing in the garden and heard the whole conversation. "You don't deserve a half holiday, Orlick, you lazy man!" "You're not my master," Orlick sneered, "you mean, sour-faced old lady." "The names he's calling me!" my sister shouted. "Your wife is a nasty woman," Orlick yelled to Joe. "Quiet!" Joe said. "Pip, off you go before even more trouble starts." Manor House hadn't changed in the months I'd been away. But I was surprised when Sarah Pocket answered the gate instead of Estella. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I could ask you the same question," I replied. "Where's Estella?" "She's gone to school, if you must know. What's your business here?" "I've come to wish Miss Havisham well."

Sarah said, "She won't give you anything, you know." Sarah called upstairs to see if she could let me in. Minutes later, I stood in front of Miss Havisham, who said, "I hope you haven't come here thinking you're getting more presents, even though it's your birthday," she said. I must have looked surprised because she said, "Foolish boy, I know what day it is." I said, "I don't expect anything. I just wanted to thank you properly for what you've done." No sooner had I said those words than I was back on the street. On the lonely walk home, I admired a shop window in town. I thought about all of the things I would buy if I were a rich gentleman. Mr. Wopsle happened to walk by, too. Then we ran into Orlick. "The guns are going again," Orlick said. "More prisoners have escaped." As we passed the Three Jolly Bargemen, Uncle Pumblechook came running outside. "There's been some trouble at your house, Pip. Let's get over there now!"

When the four of us arrived, we found the entire village in our kitchen with Joe. The group stepped back to reveal my sister terribly hurt and not moving on the floor. Joe had called for help the moment he found her. The house was undisturbed. The only clue was the prison cuff lying next to her on the floor. We all wondered who had hurt my sister. Joe guessed the iron cuff belonged to one of the escaped convicts. Had the two prisoners we saw on the marshes so long ago escaped again? The doctor put my poor sister to bed. She had suffered a very serious hit on the head. Weeks went by before she was even able to sit up, never mind see or speak properly. Joe was so upset. Mr. Wopsle suggested Biddy could come and live with us to help around the house. Joe and I both thought this was a good idea. Biddy was kind and helped my sister a great deal.

My life fell into a routine over the next three years: I worked with Joe in the shop and visited Miss Havisham on my birthday. On Sunday afternoons Joe stayed in with my sister while Biddy and I walked through the marshes. "Biddy," I said, "I need to make a confession. More than anything I wish that I was a young gentleman." She said, "Not a blacksmith?" "That was never my choice." "Why? What's made you so unhappy?"

I confessed that I wanted to impress Estella. Biddy said that was silly. She reminded me it was ungrateful to wish for a different life when people like Joe were so kind to me. I didn't say anything, but I couldn't help wanting what I didn't have. A few days later, Joe and I were in the Three Jolly Bargemen. A man shouted, "I hear there's a blacksmith among you. Is Joe Gargery here?" "I'm here," Joe said. "Do you have an apprentice, known as Pip?" "That's me," I said. "Nice to meet you," the man said. "Perhaps we could go to your house to discuss a matter in private?" We left the Three Jolly Bargemen and were soon sitting in our parlor, looking at one another in confusion. "My name is Mr. Jaggers," the man began. "I'm a lawyer acting on behalf of someone who wishes their identity to remain a secret." The room was dark, so Mr. Jaggers shifted to see us better. "I know Pip's your apprentice," he said to Joe. "Being a blacksmith would be a good and