Ex. II, p. 220

FRAMTON'S VISIT TO THE COUNTRY

1. "I suggest you (should) go to the country and stay at Mrs. Sappleton's for a while. They are a very nice family. I had a wonderful time there last summer," Mrs. Nattel said to her younger brother, a very nervous young man. Framton agreed, though he did not at all feel like going to the country.

2. It so happened that when he arrived, Mrs. Sappleton was busy in the kitchen and he was met (welcomed) by Vera, her niece, a very resolute young.person. Vera was 15 years old and she was fond of making up unusual stories which often scared her aunt's acquaintances.

3. Framton took to the girl at once, but when she started telling him about the tragic death of her aunt's husband, and her younger brother and their spaniel, he was sorry that he had allowed himself to be talked into going to stay with the family. His anxiety gave way to horror when Vera came out with all the details of the tragic story (went into details).

4. "They went there at their own risk," Vera continued. "You know, last summer it often rained and it was dangerous to go hunting in the local marshes here. No matter how hard my aunt tried to persuade them to give up the idea of going out shooting that day, they wouldn't hear of it. They kept saying that they knew the way very well and there was no risk of getting stuck in the marshes... But... they did not come back..."

Vera gave a heavy sigh. "If they had taken my aunt's advice nothing of the kind would have happened. It is exactly a year today since the tragic event and my aunt still expects them to come back..." Vera was so carried away by her story that she did not see that Mr. Nuttel was on the point of fainting.

6. Suddenly a dog began to bark in the garden and to his horror Framton caught a glimpse of two figures among the trees. At the same moment Mrs. Sappleton came into the room. "Good afternoon, Mr. Nuttel! I'm very glad to see you," she said, cheerfully, holding out her hand. Then she glanced towards the window. "Well, that's'fine, dinner's ready and our men are returning from their day's shooting." A cold shiver ran down Mr. Nuttel's spine. He gave a startled cry and rushed out of the room. "What's happened to him?" exclaimed Mrs. Sappleton in astonishment. "Vera, what did you tell him? He looked so scared. You've got to draw the line, and stop telling hair-raising stories. Nothing good will come of it. People will stop coming to see us... Vera answered as if nothing had happened that it was not her fault. "Our spaniel must have frightened him. Mr. Nuttel told me that he was mortally afraid of dogs..."

Unit Eleven

Дата добавления: 2014-12-27