18 The Locket

CHAPTER 18 The Locket On the same night that Oliver and Bill broke into the house, Mr. Brownlow made an important discovery. The old gentleman had sent a letter to the workhouse looking for information about Oliver's past. He expected another letter in return, but he received two visitors instead. Mr. and Mrs. Bumble arrived just after dinner. It was not often that the Bumbles visited a neighborhood or house as nice as Mr. Brownlow's. Both were dressed in their

第十八章挂坠盒就在奥利弗和比尔破门而入的同一天晚上，布朗罗先生有了一个重要的发现。 老先生给济贫院写了一封信，想了解奥利弗的过去。 他期待收到另一封回信，但他却接待了两位客人。 班布尔夫妇刚吃过晚饭就来了。 班布尔一家拜访像布朗罗先生家这样漂亮的社区或房子是不常见的。 两人都穿着他们的衣服

Sunday best, hoping to impress the gentleman. Mrs. Bedwin brought them into the study where Mr. Brownlow was reading the paper. "Mr. Brownlow, sir," Mr. Bumble said. "We came from the workhouse when we heard you were looking for help." Mr. Bumble held his hat in both his hands. He was worried that his hands might start to shake. Mr. Brownlow stood up to greet them. "So, you know Oliver Twist?" he asked. "Know Oliver Twist?" Mr. Bumble said proudly. "I am the one who gave him that name! We've known him all his life." Mrs. Bumble frowned at her husband's comments. "My husband means to say that we've been taking care of him all his life. Feeding him and giving him clothes. It's a thankless task, but we do it."

希望能给这位先生留下好印象。 贝德温太太把他们带进书房，布朗罗先生正在那里看报。 “布朗罗先生，先生。”班布尔先生说。 “我们听说你在寻求帮助，就从济贫院赶来了。” 班布尔先生双手捧着帽子。 他担心自己的手会开始发抖。 布朗罗先生站起来迎接他们。 “那么，你认识雾都孤儿？”他问。 “知道雾都孤儿吗？”班布尔先生骄傲地说。 “是我给他起的这个名字！”我们认识他一辈子了。” 班布尔太太听了丈夫的话皱起了眉头。 “我丈夫的意思是说我们照顾了他一辈子。 给他吃的，给他穿的。 这是一项费力不讨好的任务，但我们还是做了。”

Mr. Brownlow saw right through Mrs. Bumble's remarks. He knew that she was not to be trusted. "And by feeding him do you mean serving watered-down gruel three times a day?" Mr. Brownlow asked. "Am I to understand that you consider dirty rags to be clothes? That forcing children to work all day in a bottle-washing factory is 'taking care of them'?" The old gentleman's voice was very harsh. "I didn't come all this way to be insulted," Mrs. Bumble said rudely. "I could leave right this minute if I wanted." "Of course you could," Mr. Brownlow said. "But I assume you have some information to sell or you wouldn't have come at all." "Well," Mr. Bumble interrupted. He tried to sound friendly to lighten the mood. "We do have something for you. If you saw it fit to pay us for our trouble and expense, we'd

布朗罗先生一眼就看穿了班布尔太太的话。 他知道她不值得信任。 “喂他，你是说每天三次给他喝稀粥吗？”布朗罗先生问。 “我能理解为你把脏破布当作衣服吗？” 强迫孩子们整天在洗瓶厂工作就是‘照顾他们’吗？”老先生的声音很刺耳。 “我大老远跑来可不是为了受侮辱的。”班布尔太太粗鲁地说。 “如果我愿意，我现在就可以走。” “你当然可以，”布朗罗先生说。 “但我猜你是有一些信息要卖，否则你根本不会来。” “嗯，”班布尔先生打断了他。 他试图用友好的语气来缓和气氛。 “我们确实有东西要给你。 如果你认为值得为我们的麻烦和开销付钱，我们会

be grateful, of course." Mr. Bumble smiled. He thought of himself as very wise, even though everyone else thought him a fool. "Let me hear this news. Then we can discuss payment," Mr. Brownlow replied. Mr. Bumble nudged his wife. She removed a piece of cloth from her pocket. "We didn't even know this existed until few weeks ago," she said. "The old woman who was at Oliver's birth gave it to me just before she died." Mrs. Bumble unwrapped the cloth.

当然，要心存感激。”班布尔先生笑了。 他认为自己很聪明，尽管别人都认为他是个傻瓜。 “让我听听这个消息。然后我们可以讨论付款问题，”布朗罗先生回答说。 班布尔先生推了推妻子。 她从口袋里拿出一块布。 她说：“直到几周前，我们才知道它的存在。” “奥利弗出生时在场的那个老妇人临死前把它给了我。” 班布尔太太把布打开。

She held up a gold locket and chain. "Seems the boy's mother wanted Oliver to have this locket. It was the only thing she owned," Mrs. Bumble said. "The old woman decided to keep it for herself, though. I guess she felt guilty about it in the end. She wanted me to give it to Oliver, but he had run away by then." "Then not long after," Mr. Bumble said, "we received a letter from you looking for information." "That is very lucky, indeed," Mr. Brownlow said quietly. "May I?" He took the locket from Mrs. Bumble. He slowly opened it up. Mr. Brownlow let out a long sigh when he saw the contents of the locket. He closed it again and shut his eyes. Mrs. Bumble interrupted this moment of silence. "And you know, it wasn't easy getting here," she said. "It's hard to leave

她举起一个金吊坠和金链子。 “似乎男孩的母亲想让奥利弗拥有这个挂坠盒。 这是她唯一拥有的东西，”班布尔太太说。 不过，老妇人还是决定把它留给自己。 我猜她最后会为此感到内疚。 她想让我把它交给奥利弗，但那时他已经跑掉了。” “没过多久，”班布尔先生说，“我们收到了你的来信，想了解一些情况。” “真是太幸运了，”布朗罗先生平静地说。 “我可以吗?”他从班布尔太太手里接过挂坠盒。 他慢慢地把它打开。布朗罗先生看到挂坠盒里的东西，长长地叹了口气。 他又关上了门，闭上了眼睛。 班布尔太太打断了这片刻的沉默。 “你知道，来到这里并不容易，”她说。 “很难离开

work. And there's the expense of the coach into London." "You will be repaid for your troubles," Mr. Brownlow said. He called Mrs. Bedwin and asked her to see the Bumbles to the door. Mr. Brownlow gave them money to pay for the coach tickets and some extra as a reward. He was so distracted that he almost forgot to say thank you. The locket's contents shed new light on the Oliver Twist mystery. Mr. Brownlow could see the pieces coming together.

工作。还要付去伦敦的马车费。” “你的麻烦会得到回报的，”布朗罗先生说。 他把贝德温太太叫来，请她送班布尔一家到门口。 布朗罗先生给了他们一些钱来支付长途车票，并给了他们一些额外的奖励。 他心烦意乱，几乎忘了说谢谢。 吊坠盒的内容为雾都孤儿之谜提供了新的线索。 布朗罗先生可以看到这些碎片拼凑在一起。