The Old House
Alex and her brother, Darren, are walking to school. They go to a big school in Liverpool, near the River Mersey. School starts at half past eight. It is a quarter past eight now. They are walking across the park, near the school.
There are seats near the path in the park. A man is sitting on
one of the seats. He has a grey hat on his head. They cannot see his face.
‘Look at that man, Alex,’ Darren says. ‘What’s he doing?’
They stop behind a big tree. They watch the man. ‘He’s writing something on a piece of paper ...or is he drawing a picture?’ Alex asks.
‘Look! He’s standing up now. He’s walking out of the park... but there’s something under the seat.’ Darren points to the seat.
There is something under the seat! ‘It’s brown,’ Alex says. ‘What is it?’
There is something in the long grass under the seat. Darren looks under the seat.
‘It’s an envelope,’ he says, ‘a brown envelope.’ He picks it up and looks at it. Alex looks at the envelope, too.
There is a big, black circle on it. In the circle there are two, big, black dots and there is a short, red line under the two dots. What is it?
‘Is it a face?’ Darren asks.
‘Yes, it is,’ Alex says. It’s a woman’s face. Look. The big circle is her face, the two black dots are her eyes ... or are they sun-glasses? They’re very big. And the red line is her mouth.’
‘That’s right!’ Darren says. ‘There’s something in here, too.’
The envelope is open. Darren takes out a piece ofpaper.
‘It’s a letter,’ he says. He reads it. Alex listens.
Come to the old house in Black Hand Road at 4 o’clock.
Bring one of the gold cups.
Snake.
‘Black Hand Road? That’s near the school,’ Alex says.
‘Sh!’ Darren says. ‘Look... near the gate. That woman with black sun-glasses — she’s counting the seats and she’s coming here! Quick! Put the letter in the envelope and put the envelope under the seat.’
Alex and Darren watch the woman. She is counting the seats. She stops and picks up the brown envelope. She reads the letter, smiles, and walks out of the park.
Now it’s four o’clock. Alex and Darren are in Black Hand Road. They are behind a small wall. They are watching the street. No one is in the street. It is quiet.
‘Look, Darren! A car,’ Alex says. ‘It’s stopping near that old house...’
‘There’s a man in it. Is it the man with the grey hat? Mr. Snake? Can you see?’
‘I can’t see his face. He has a grey hat! He’s going into the house.’
The man is standing near the door of the old house. He is looking up and down the street. He goes into the house and closes the door.
‘Listen!’ Darren says. The woman is coming. Quiet now!’
‘Yes! It’s the woman with the sun-glasses!’ Alex says.
The woman stops near the wall. She looks at her watch.
Alex and Darren are behind the wall.
‘His car’s there. Good!’ the woman says.
She walks across the street to the old house. She is carrying a brown bag under her arm.
The door opens. The woman goes in. The door closes. The street is quiet.
Alex and Darren run across the street to the old house. There is a door in the wall behind the house. Darren pushes the door. It opens!
They stop and listen.
‘The man and the woman are in there. They’re talking,’ Alex says.
‘I’m going in,’ Darren says. ‘Wait here. Watch the man’s car.’
Darren opens the door and goes in.
Alex waits. She listens. The man is talking now and the woman is listening.
The man stops. The house is very quiet. Something is wrong. There is a CRASH! and a BANG!
‘Ow! Help! Help!’
It is Darren. The man has Darren!
The man shouts, ‘Look at this! A boy. What are you doing here, boy? What do you want?’
They have Darren. What can Alex do?
It is five o’clock. Alex is near one of the windows ofthe old house. She is listening and watching.She can see the man and the woman. They are inthe kitchen. The woman is giving something to theman. A gold cup. He is looking at the cup. Thewoman is smiling.
Alex can see Darren, too. He is on a chair near thedoor. He cannot move. He cannot shout. He is nothappy. He is hungry and thirsty.
The man pushes the gold cup across the table to the woman. She puts the cup in her bag.
‘It’s good. Very good,’ the man says.
‘It’s very old,’ the woman says.
‘Yes, I can see,’ the man answers. ‘It’s a Roman cup. The doctor’s Roman cup from under the floor of his house. Ha! ha!’
The man laughs.
‘How many are there?’ he asks. ‘How many can you take?’
‘There are five or six cups and eleven or twelve gold plates,’ the woman says. ‘I can take two or three of the cups…’
The man laughs.
“Two or three? No! Take the five or six cups, and take the twelve plates, too. Bring the cups and plates here at ten o’clock. I can give you five hundred for one of the cups and three hundred for one of the plates. Right?”
The woman stands up. She picks up her bag. She is going.
‘Right, Snake. Ten o’clock, here, with the cups and the plates,’ she says.
The Snake is not laughing now. He is looking at Darren.
‘What can I do with this boy?’ he asks.
The boy can stay here. He can’t move,’ the woman answers.
She walks out.
Mr. Snake stays in the kitchen. He waits. Then he stands up and puts his grey hat on his head.
You can wait here now, boy. I’m going. Don’t move and don’t shout!’
He laughs and goes out to his car.
The car goes up the street.
Alex waits and listens. The old house is quiet. She pushes the door in the wall behind the house. It opens. She goes in.
‘Darren. It’s me,’ she says.
She takes a knife from one of the drawers in the kitchen table and she cuts the ropes. Now Darren can move his arms and legs.
‘Can you walk, Darren?’
‘Yes, I can,’ Darren says. He stands up. ‘I’m hungry and thirsty,’ he says. He drinks a glass of water. ‘There’s a telephone in the sitting-room, Alex,’ he says. ‘Go and telephone the police now. Quick!’
It is ten o’clock. There is no one in the street. The house is quiet.
The police are waiting in the house and behind the wall across the street, too.
A car stops at the door of the old house.
‘It’s Mr. Snake. He’s here!’ one of the police radios says.
The man with the grey hat goes into the house. Darren is in the kitchen. He is sitting on the chair near the door. He cannot move. There is a rope round his arms and legs. And the handkerchief is round his face.
Mr. Snake looks at Darren.
‘How are you, my young friend? Happy?’
The man laughs.
The door bell rings.
He goes to open the door. It is the woman with the Roman cups and plates.
They come into the kitchen. She looks at Darren on the chair and smiles. She puts her brown bag on the table.
She opens her bag and picks up a big gold plate in her hand.
‘I have ten gold plates and five gold cups in this bag,’ she says.
She holds up the plate. The man looks at it.
The man and the woman laugh. They are happy.
CRASH! The door of the kitchen opens.
A man shouts, “Stop! Don’t move! It’s the police. Hands up!’
The man and the woman turn. Their faces are white. Their mouths are open. The plate drops on the table.
Mr. Snake is not laughing now.
Derek Strange
The Old House
Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2001
(English Today Readers – grade 3)