31 Oliver Twist - Read By Stephanie Poppins

Hello.

Welcome to Sleep Stories with Steph,

Your go-to romantic podcast that guarantees you a calm and entertaining transition into a great night's sleep.

Come with me as we immerse ourselves in a romantic journey to a time long since forgotten.

But before we begin,

Let's take a moment to focus on where we are now.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out with a long sigh.

Now close your eyes and feel yourself sink deeper into the support beneath you.

It is time to relax and fully let go.

There is nothing you need to be doing now and nowhere you need to go.

Happy listening.

Chapter 31 Involves the Critical Position How's that?

Inquired Brittles,

Opening the door a little way with a chain up and peeping out,

Shading the candle with his hand.

Open the door,

Replied a man outside.

It's the officers from Bow Street,

As was sent today.

Much comforted by this assurance,

Brittles opened the door to its full width and confronted a portly man in a greatcoat who walked in without saying anything more.

He wiped his shoes on the mat as coolly as if he lived there.

Just send somebody out to relieve my mate,

Will you,

Young man?

Said the officer.

He's in the gig and minding the prad.

Have you got a coach that you could put up in for five or ten minutes?

Brittle was replying in the affirmative and pointing out the building.

The portly man stepped back to the garden gate and helped his companion to put up the gig whilst Brittles lighted them in a state of great admiration.

This done,

They returned to the house and being shown into a parlour took off their greatcoats and hats and showed like what they were.

The man who had knocked at the door was a stout personage of middle height aged about 50 with shiny black hair,

Cropped pretty close,

Half whiskers,

A round face and sharp eyes.

The other was a red-headed bony man in top boots with a rather ill-favoured countenance and a turned up sinister looking nose.

Tell your governor Blathers and Duffs here,

Will you?

Said the stouter man,

Smoothing down his hair and laying a pair of handcuffs on the table.

Oh,

Good evening,

Master,

Can I have a word or two with you in private,

If you please?

This was addressed to Mr.

Losburn who now made his appearance.

That gentleman motioning Brittles to retire,

Bringing in the two ladies and shutting the door.

This is the lady of the house,

He said,

Motioning towards Mrs.

Mailey.

Mr.

Blathers made a bow.

Being desired to sit down,

He put his hat on the floor and taking a chair,

He motioned to Duff to do the same.

The latter gentleman,

Who did not appear quite so much accustomed to good society or quite as much in his ease in it,

Seated himself after undergoing several muscular affections of the limbs and the head of his stick into his mouth with some embarrassment.

Now,

With regard to this here robbery,

Said Blathers,

What are the circumstances?

Mr.

Losburn,

Who appeared to zealous of gaining time,

Recounted them a great length.

Blathers and Duff looked very knowing,

Meanwhile,

And occasionally exchanged a nod.

Now,

What is this about this here boy that the servants are talking on,

Said Blathers.

Nothing at all,

Replied Dr.

Losburn.

One of the frightened servants chose to take it in his head he had something to do with this attempt to break into the house.

But it's nonsense,

Sheer absurdity.

Where is the boy,

Said Blathers.

What account does he give of himself?

Where did he come from?

He didn't drop out of the clouds,

Did he?

Of course not,

Replied the doctor,

With a nervous glance,

At Mrs.

Mailey and her niece Rose.

We'd better inspect the premises first,

Rejoined Mr.

Blathers,

And examine the servants afterwards.

That's the usual way of doing business.

Lights were then procured,

And Blathers and Duff,

Brittles and Giles,

And everybody else in short,

Went into the little room at the end of the passage,

And looked out at the window.

Afterwards they went round by way of the lawn,

And looked in at the window,

And after that had a candle handed out to inspect the shutter,

And after that a lantern to trace the footsteps with,

And after that a pitchfork to poke the bushes with.

This done,

Amidst the breathless interest of all beholders,

They came in again.

Mr.

Giles and Brittles the servants were put through a melodramatic representation of their share in the previous night's adventures,

Which they performed some six times over.

Contradicting each other in not more than one important respect the first time,

And in not more than a dozen the last.

This consummation being arrived at,

Blathers and Duff cleared the room and held a long council together,

Compared with which,

For secrecy and solemnity,

A consultation of great doctors,

On the knottiest point in medicine,

Would be mere child's play.

And the old woman,

Mrs.

Mailey,

And her niece,

Rose,

Looked on with anxious faces.

Surely,

Said Rose,

The poor child's story,

Faithfully repeated to these men,

Would be sufficient to exonerate him?

I doubt it,

My dear young lady,

Said Dr.

Lossburn,

Shaking his head.

I don't think it would exonerate him either with them or with legal functionaries of a higher grade.

What is he,

After all,

They would say?

A runaway.

Judged by mere worldly considerations and probabilities,

His story is a very doubtful one.

You believe it,

Surely,

Interrupted Rose.

I believe it,

Strange as it is,

And perhaps I may be an old fool for doing so,

Rejoined the doctor.

But I don't think it's exactly the tale for a practical police officer,

Nevertheless.

Why not?

Demanded Rose.

Because,

My pretty cross-examiner,

Replied the doctor,

Viewed with their eyes,

There are many ugly points about it.

He can only prove the parts that look ill,

And none of those that look well.

Confound the fellows,

They will have the why and the wherefore,

And will take nothing for granted.

On his own showing,

You see,

This young boy has been the companion of thieves for some time past.

He's been carried to a police officer on a charge of picking a gentleman's pocket.

He's been taken away forcibly from that gentleman's house,

To a place which he cannot describe or point out,

And of the situation of which he has not the remotest idea.

He's brought down to Chertsey by men who seem to have taken a violent fancy to him,

Whether he will or no,

And is put through a window to rob a house.

And then,

Just at the very moment he's going to alarm the inmates,

And so do the very thing that would set him all to rights,

There rushes into the way a blundering dog of a half-bred butler,

And shoots him,

As if on purpose to prevent his doing any good for himself.

Don't you see all this?

I see it,

Of course,

Replied Rose,

Smiling at the doctor's impetuosity,

But I do not see anything in it to discriminate the poor child.

No,

Of course not,

Replied the doctor.

Bless the bright eyes of your sex.

They never see,

Whether for good or bad,

More than one side of any question,

And that is always the one which first presents itself to them.

Having given vent to this result of experience,

The doctor put his hands into his pockets and walked up and down the room,

With even greater rapidity than before.

The more I think of it,

He said,

The more I see it will occasion endless trouble and difficulty if we put these men in possession of the boy's real story.

I'm certain it will not be believed,

And if they can do nothing to him in the end,

I must interfere materially with your benevolent plan of rescuing him from misery.

What is to be done?

Cried Rose.

Why did they send for these people?

Why,

Indeed,

Exclaimed Mrs.

Mailey,

I would not have had them here for all the world.

All I know is,

Said Mr.

Lozbun at last,

Sitting down with a kind of desperate calmness,

We must try and carry it off with a bold face.

The boy has strong symptoms of fever upon him and is in no condition to be talked to any more.

That's one comfort.

The object is a good one,

And that must be our excuse.

We must make the best of it,

And if bad be the best,

It is no fault of ours.

Come in.

Well,

Master,

Said Blathers,

Entering the room followed by his colleague,

This weren't a put-up thing,

Was it?

And what the devil is that,

A put-up thing?

Demanded the doctor impatiently.

We call it a put-up robbery,

Ladies,

Said Blathers,

Turning to them as if he pitied their ignorance,

But had a contempt for the doctors.

When the servants is involved.

Nobody suspected them in this case,

Said Mrs.

Mailey.

Very likely not,

Ma'am,

Replied Blathers,

But they've been in it for all that.

There was two of them in it,

Continued Blathers,

And they had a boy with them,

That's plain from the state of the window,

And that's all to be said at present.

We'll see this lad you've got upstairs at once,

If you please.

Perhaps they will take something to drink first,

Mrs.

Mailey,

Said the doctor,

His face brightening as if some new thought had occurred to him.

Oh,

To be sure,

Exclaimed Rose eagerly,

You shall have it immediately,

If you will.

Why,

Thank you,

Miss,

Said Blathers,

Drawing his coat sleeve across his mouth.

It's dry work,

This sort of duty.

What shall it be?

Asked the doctor,

Following the young lady to the sideboard.

A little drop of spirits,

Master,

If it's all the same,

Replied Blathers.

It's a cold ride from London,

Ma'am,

And I always find that spirits come so warmer to the feelings.

This interesting communication was addressed to Mrs.

Mailey,

Who received it very graciously.

While it was being conveyed to her,

The doctor slipped out of the room.

Then he returned back shortly,

Saying,

Now,

If you please,

You can walk upstairs.

Closely following Mr.

Lozburn,

The two officers ascended to Oliver's bedroom.

Oliver had been dozing,

But he looked worse and was more feverish than he'd appeared yet.

Being assisted by the doctor,

He managed to sit up in bed for a minute or so and looked at the strangers without at all understanding what was going on.

This,

Said Mr.

Lozburn,

Speaking softly,

But with great vehemence notwithstanding,

This is the lad who,

Being accidentally wounded by a spring gun in some boyish trespass,

Or Mr.

Whatchacallins grounds at the back here,

Comes to the house for assistance this morning and is immediately laid hold of and maltreated by that ingenious gentleman with a candle in his hand,

Who's placed his life in considerable danger,

As I can professionally certify.

Blathers and Duff looked at the servant Mr.

Giles.

He gazed from them towards Oliver,

And from Oliver towards Mr.

Lozburn with a most ludicrous mixture of fear and perplexity.

You don't mean to deny that,

I suppose,

Said the doctor.

It was all done for the best,

Sir,

Answered Giles.

I'm sure I thought it was the boy,

Or I wouldn't have meddled with him.

I'm not of inhuman disposition,

Sir.

Thought it was what boy?

Inquired the officer.

The housebreaker's boy,

Sir.

They certainly had a boy.

Do you think so?

Inquired Blathers.

Think what?

Replied Giles.

Think it's the same boy?

I don't know.

I really don't know,

Said Mr.

Giles.

I don't think it's the boy indeed.

I'm almost certain it isn't,

You know.

It can't be.

Has this man been drinking,

Sir?

Inquired Blathers,

Turning to the doctor.

Dr.

Lozburn said nothing.

Over time,

Oliver gradually thrived and prospered under the united care of Mrs.

Mailey,

Rose,

And the kind-hearted Mr.

Lozburn.

If fervent prayers,

Gushing from hearts overcharged with gratitude,

Be heard in heaven,

And if they be not,

What prayers are?

The blessings which the orphan child called down upon them,

Sunk into their souls,

Diffusing peace and happiness.