Page:Oliver Twist (1838) vol. 1.djvu/216

194 arter him—oh, my eye!" The vivid imagination of Master Bates presented the scene before him in too strong colours. As he arrived at this apostrophe, he again rolled upon the doorstep, and laughed louder than before. "What'll Fagin say?" inquired the Dodger, taking advantage of the next interval of breathlessness on the part of his friend to propound the question. "What!" repeated Charley Bates. "Ah, what?" said the Dodger. "Why, what should he say?" inquired Charley, stopping rather suddenly in his merriment, for the Dodger's manner was impressive; "what should he say?" Mr. Dawkins whistled for a couple of minutes, and then, taking off his hat, scratched his head and nodded thrice. "What do you mean?" said Charley. "Toor rul lol loo, gammon and spinnage, the frog he wouldn't, and high cockolorum," said the Dodger, with a slight sneer on his intellectual countenance. This was explanatory, but not satisfactory.