THE OPEN WIDOW

(Part III)

"The doctors agree in ordering me complete rest, an absence of mental excitement, and avoidance of anything in the nature of vio­lent physical exercise," announced Framton, who laboured under the tolerably wide-spread delusion, that total strangers and chance acquaintances are hungry for the least detail of one's ailments and infirmities, their cause and cure. "On the matter of diet they are not so much in agreement," he continued.

"No?" said Mrs Sappleton, in a voice which only replaced a yawn at the last moment. Then she suddenly brightened into alert attention - but not to what Framton was saying.

"Here they are at last!" she cried. "Just in time for tea, and don't they look as if they were muddy up to the eyes!"

Framton shivered slightly and turned towards the niece with a look intended to convey sympathetic comprehension. The child was staring out through the open window with dazed horror in her eyes. In a chill shock of nameless fear Framton swung round in his seat and looked in the same direction.

In the deepening twilight three figures were walking across the lawn towards the window; they all carried guns under their arms, and one of them was additionally burdened with a white coat hung over his shoulders. A tired brown spaniel kept close at their heels. Noiselessly they neared the house, and then a hoarse young voice chanted out of the dusk: "I said, Bertie, why do you bound?"

Framton grabbed wildly at his stick and hat; the hall-door, the gravel-drive, and the front gate were dimly noted stages in his headlong retreat. A cyclist coming along the road had to run into the hedge to avoid imminent collision.

"Here we are, my dear," said the bearer of the white mackintosh, coming in through the window; "fairly muddy, but most of it's dry. Who was that who bolted out as we came up?"

"A most extraordinary man, a Mr. Nuttel," said Mrs. Sappleton; "could only talk about bis illness, and dashed off without a word of good-bye or apology when you arrived. One would think he had seen a ghost."

"I expect it was the spaniel," said the niece calmly, "he told me he had a horror of dogs. He was once hunted into a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs, and had to spend the night in a newly dug grave with the creatures snarling and grinning and foaming just above him. Enough to make anyone lose their nerve."

Romance at short notice was her speciality.

► I. Complete the sentences:

1. Framton explained that...

a) he wanted to live in this town;

b) he was a very ill man and needed much help;

c) this house was just for him;

d) the doctors advised him complete rest.

2. What concerned diet they...

a) advised him to keep it;

b) it was necessary to eat only fruit;

c) they are not so much in agreement;

d) couldn't say anything definite.

3. Mrs Sappleton cried...

a) "Oh, see, this is my husband!"

b) "Here they are at last!"

c) "I see my husband at last!"

d) "Oh, I am so glad to see them at last!"

4. Framton shivered slightly and...

a) turned towards the niece;

b) began to look through the window;

c) went away from this house;

d) took his medicine.

5. The girl was looking through the window...

a) with her childish calm eyes;

b) with dazed horror in her eyes;

c) with a pleasant smile;

d) with tears in her eyes.

6. Framton looked through the window and saw ...

a) three figures with three guns;

b) a dog and a man;

c) a big dog and three men;

d) three men, one of them was carrying a gun.

7. Framton quickly ...

a) closed this window not to see these men;

b) ran to the other room, he was afraid;

c) ran upstairs not to see these men;

d) took his things and went away.

8. The bearer of the white mackintosh said...

a) "Open the door, my dear!"

b) "Here we are, my dear!"

c) "Are you waiting for us, my dear?"

d) "Who is at home?"

9. Mrs Sappleton explained to her husband that...

a) this man was her friend;

b) this man was a stranger to them;

c) this man was a most extraordinary man;

d) this man was their relative.

10. The girl thought that...

a) he was afraid of the men;

b) he was a little mad;

c) he was afraid of the dog;

d) he was in a hurry.

► II. Underline the wrong statements:

1) Framton spoke about his sister and her letter of introduction. 2) He explained that she was a very sick woman. 3) He wanted Mrs Sappleton to write her a letter. 4) Suddenly Mrs Sappleton said that she saw her husband and two brothers. 5) Framton looked through the window but saw only one dog. 6) He was afraid and decided to run away. 7) Mrs Sappleton's husband saw Framton when he was running away. 8) The girl explained that Framton was afraid of everything, he was mad. 9) She said that he told her that he was afraid of dogs. 10) One time his friend sent him to a cemetery somewhere on the banks of the Ganges by a pack of pariah dogs. 11) That's made him mad.

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 759