CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Magwitch's Future and Past

I woke early, even though I had only slept a little. I wanted some fresh air, so I walked downstairs and out of the building. On the way down the stairs I fell over a man hiding in a dark corner. He ran away immediately, which worried me. I thought that maybe he had followed my prisoner to the house. Was he now going to tell police?

My guest and I ate breakfast together. I tried hard not to be disgusted by his manners, but he ate noisily and greedily, like an animal. He told me his name was Abel Magwitch. After breakfast, he lit his pipe and held out his hands to me again.

"Let me have a look at you, dear boy!" he said. "A real gentleman you are, made by me! You'll have everything a London gentleman should—a carriage, horses, everything!" He threw a large thick wallet on to the table. "All that money is yours. Let me see you spend it."

"Stop!" I cried. "We must talk about your plans. How long are you planning to stay here?"

"How long?" he repeated, surprised. "I'm not going back to Australia, if that's what you mean."

"But you're not safe here."

"Dear boy, who knows I'm here? You, Jaggers and Wemmick, that's all. Anyway, I've lived with the fear of death all my life."

I knew I had to keep him out of sight at least until Herbert returned. Together I thought we could produce a better plan for the future. I rented a room for him in a house that was near ours. I thought he would be safer there. Then I bought him different clothes and took him for a haircut. But he looked just the same to me, and I was in constant fear that someone who had known him in the past would recognize him.

We spent five long days and evenings together, and the weather was particularly bad. The wind and rain beat on the windows, and made those few days seem like a year to me. My unwanted guest didn't do much. He slept, or ate, or played cards. Sometimes he would listen to me read, and then smile proudly. Not being able to sleep or eat, I was in quite bad shape. I used to watch him sleep, wondering what sort of bloody crimes were in his past, and knowing that I alone had to protect him from a horrible death.

When Herbert finally returned, I was relieved. At last I could share my terrible news with my friend. He, too, was greatly shocked to hear that my great expectations came from a prisoner I had helped in the past. When I introduced him to our guest, Herbert could not hide his dislike.

After my guest left, he said to me, "You look so pale and unwell, Handel. This must be a painful time for you."

"Herbert, I have to do something! He wants to spend even more money on me! What do I do?"

"You mean you won't accept any of his money from now on?"

"It's not possible! You know he's a criminal! What if his money is bad money? Where does it come from? And think about how much I owe him already! There's no way I can pay him back. Oh Herbert, I'm so glad to have you as a friend. I'm desperate!" Herbert kindly pretended not to notice that I was almost crying.

"My dear Handel," he said, "you could always join my company, Clarrikers, if you want to pay him back what you owe him. I'm going to be a partner there soon, you know." Poor Herbert! He did not suspect that it was the prisoner's money that was helping him become a partner.

"But another thing," added Herbert. "Being a criminal this man must have a fierce and violent character. He's been looking forward to meeting you for over half his life. If you destroy his idea, his life will be worthless and he may get himself arrested."

"He would allow himself to be arrested and hanged," I agreed. "Yes, I've thought this was possible ever since he arrived. If that happened, I'd forever feel guilty."

"You cannot destroy his dream. We must first get him out of England. Then you will explain to him that you can't, on your beliefs, accept his money anymore. I'll help you with everything. You can trust me." I gratefully shook Herbert's hand.

After breakfast the next morning we asked Magwitch to tell us about his past life.

"You promise to keep it secret, do you?" he said to us. "Well I'll make it short. In and out of prison—that's been my life. I don't remember my parents and I've no idea where I was born. I slept in fields, stole food, and sometimes I worked. I grew to be a man and it was about twenty years ago that I met Compeyson. If I ever meet him, I'd kill him now! He's the man I was fighting with the night the soldiers found me on the wetlands, Pip. He was a handsome and educated man that people wrongly took as a gentleman. I was a partner in his business, and a dirty business it was, too. We would persuade rich people to invest money, and we used stolen banknotes and wrote false statements of money. Compeyson was a clever man, but what a wicked, cold heart he had! He was never blamed and would always get the profits."

"His former partner, Arthur, was living in Compeyson's house, but he was very ill. In fact he was dying. Some years ago, he and Compeyson had got a lot of money out of a rich lady, and Arthur kept dreaming about this lady. Late one night he came to the sitting-room door, pale and shaking like he'd just seen a ghost. 'Compeyson,' he cried. 'She's there! In my room! All dressed in white and ready for our wedding! She says she wants revenge! You broke her heart, you did! And now she says I'm going to die for your wicked plans!'

"Compeyson and his wife put Arthur back to bed but at five o'clock in the morning we heard screams from his room. He died soon after that.

"I knew it was a mistake getting involved with Compeyson. We were both arrested for several crimes in the end. At the trial he lied and lied and I, being the criminal who was always in and out of prison, got fourteen years on the prison-ship. He, being the gentleman with important friends, only got seven years."

Magwitch had to breathe deeply to calm himself down. "I said to myself I'd smash his handsome face aboard the prison-ship. I was just about to when a guard came by. I escaped by diving into the river. That's how I ended up on the wetlands and in the churchyard. And then Pip, my boy, when you brought me food you told me Compeyson was on the wetlands too. So I hunted him down and smashed his face. I was just going to take him back to the prison-ship when the soldiers caught us. Again his cleverness helped him. His punishment for escaping the ship was light. But because of my past life, I was sent to Australia for life."

"Is Compeyson dead?" I asked.

"I haven't heard any more of him," he said, shaking his head. "If he's alive though, then he hopes I'm dead, that's for certain!"

Herbert passed me a note he had been writing. It said:

Arthur was the name of Miss Havisham's half-brother. Compeyson is the man who pretended to be in love with her and broke her heart.

(end of section)