‘oh, yes, ‘I’ll forgive you- when I’ve finished beating the life out of you!’
‘Ha! That’s a good one,’ shouted Mrs Squeers.
Squeers had a new whip to beat Smike with. He raised it, then brought it down hard on Smike’s body. The poor boy screamed. Then, suddenly, they heard a shout: ‘Stop!’
‘Who said that?’ asked Squeers, looking round the room in great surprise.
‘I did. This mustn’t go on,’ cried Nicholas, who was now very red in the face.
‘Mustn’t?’ cried Squeers.
He took his hand from Smike’s neck, raise his whip again, and used it to hit Nicholas in the face with all his strength. Nicholas at once pulled the whip from his hand, and began to beat him. Squeers screamed for help, but Nicholas went on beating him angrily. Mrs Squeers tried to pull her husband away, and Fanny hit Nicholas from behind with her hands, but they couldn’t stop the attack. At last Nicholas left Squeers-not moving, but alive- to his wife and daughter. He couldn’t see Smike anywhere, so he hurriedly put some clothes in a bag and left the house.
He decided to go at once to London. But how?. It was far away and he had no money.