As I grew older, my time at the small school in the village came to an end. Biddy had taught me everything she knew, and I tried to teach Joe whatever I learned. We used to sit out at the old Battery on the marshes to study. I wanted to help Joe become less "common" so that Estella would not look down on him. Joe was not a good student, but he sat there peacefully with his pipe, looking very serious as he tried to learn.
One Sunday, while we were at the Battery, I said, "Joe, I think I should visit Miss Havisham."
Joe thought about this for a long time. "Why, Pip? She might think you want more money."
"I’ll tell her I don’t want anything," I said. "I just want to thank her and see how she is."
Joe warned me that it might be better to stay away. "She told me that the money was everything she would give you, Pip. She might want to be left alone." However, in the end, he agreed to give me a half-holiday the next day so I could go to town.
There was another man working at the forge now, a worker named Orlick. He was a large, strong man who was always slouching and looking grumpy. Orlick did not like me, and he certainly did not like my sister. When he heard that I was getting a half-holiday, he got very angry.
"Why does the boy get a holiday and not me?" Orlick growled.
"Don't lose your temper," Joe said calmly. But Orlick continued to complain until my sister, who had been listening at the window, ran outside.
"You fool, Joe!" she shouted. "Why are you giving holidays to lazy men like him?"
She and Orlick began to shout at each other. Orlick called her terrible names, and my sister became so furious that she began to scream and pull her own hair. Finally, Joe had to protect her. He and Orlick had a fierce fight in the forge. Joe was much stronger and quickly knocked Orlick down into the coal dust. After the fight, the forge became quiet again. Joe took my sister into the house, and later, he and Orlick shared a beer as if nothing had happened.
The next day, I went to Miss Havisham’s house. I felt very nervous as I rang the bell. Sarah Pocket opened the gate and let me in. When I saw Miss Havisham, she was sitting alone in her dark room.
"I hope you want nothing," she said when she saw me. "You will get nothing."
"I don't want anything, Miss Havisham," I said. "I only came to tell you that I am working hard as an apprentice."
She looked at me with her cold eyes. "Are you looking for Estella? She is abroad, being educated as a lady. She is more beautiful than ever, and everyone admires her. Do you feel that you have lost her?" She laughed a cruel, dry laugh and told me to leave.
I walked back through the town feeling very unhappy. Everything felt wrong—my home, my work, and my future. On the way home, I met Mr. Wopsle, and we walked together. It was a very dark, misty night. The fog was so thick that we could hardly see the road.
Suddenly, we saw a man slouching in the mist. It was Orlick.
"It’s late," I said.
"The convict guns have been firing since dark," Orlick told us. "Some prisoners have escaped from the ships. It’s a good night to run away."
As we walked toward the village, we heard the loud boom of the cannons from the prison ships. When we reached the village, we saw a crowd of people outside the Three Jolly Bargemen. Something was wrong. Mr. Wopsle ran inside to find out what had happened.
He came running back out, his face pale. "Pip! Something has happened at your house! Someone was attacked!"
We ran as fast as we could to the forge. The kitchen was full of people. Joe was there, looking shocked, and a doctor was leaning over someone on the floor. It was my sister. She had been hit on the back of the head by a terrible blow. She was unconscious on the floor, and it was clear she would never be the same again.