Page:Oliver Twist (1838) vol. 2.djvu/127

Rh man besides. If they shot him dead, I was not the cause; do you hear me? Fire this infernal den!—what's that?"

"What!" cried the Jew, grasping the coward round the body with both arms as he sprung to his feet. "Where?"

"Yonder!" replied the man, glaring at the opposite wall. "The shadow—I saw the shadow of a woman in a cloak and bonnet pass along the wainscot like a breath!"

The Jew released his hold, and they rushed tumultuously from the room. The candle, wasted by the draught, was standing where it had been placed, and showed them the empty staircase, and their own white faces. They listened intently, but a profound silence reigned throughout the house.

"It's your fancy," said the Jew, taking up the light, and turning to his companion.

"I'll swear I saw it!" replied Monks, trembling violently. "It was bending forward when I saw it first, and when I spoke it darted away."

The Jew glanced contemptuously at the pale