E
Reading project
The ruby 1 in the smoke
67
The year is 1872. Sally Lockhart, 16 years old, is in the middle of a mystery 2. Her mother died in India when Sally was only a baby. Her father died three months ago when his ship sank in the South China Sea. And somebody has just sent her a strange letter from Singapore: She goes to her father’s old office to ask 3 someone about this strange message and talks to Mr Higgs. But when he hears the phrase ‘The Seven Blessings’, he falls 4 over dead. Major 5 Marchbanks reads about this in the newspaper and sends a letter to Sally right away. He tells Sally that she is in great danger 6 and that she should come to his house in Kent as soon as she can; he must give her some very important information … She watched the grey city turn into the grey country, and looked at the sea to her left. There were always five or six ships going up or down the Thames. The town of Swaleness was not very large. She decided not to take a cab7 from the station, but to save her money and walk. “Foreland House is not far away, maybe a mile,” a man told her. “Take the river path.” She went at once. The town was sad and cold, the river was brown, and the country around her was empty. The path followed the bank8 of the river, and finally she came to some trees. There was the house – the paint was old; the garden, too, was untidy9. It was a very unhappy place. She went up to the door and was ready to ring the bell when the door opened and a man came out. He put his finger to his lips10 and closed the door. He was careful not to make a sound. “Please,” he whispered11. “Not a word. Follow me, quickly …” Sally followed and he took her quickly around the side of the house and into a little verandah. He closed the door behind her, listened, and then held out12 his hand. “Miss Lockhart, I am Major Marchbanks.” She shook his hand. He was about 60, she guessed. His face was thin and his clothes were a little too big for him. His eyes were dark and fine. His voice was familiar13 in some strange way. There was something in his face that scared her, until she realized that he was scared, too: much more than she was. ruby !*ru:bi? • 2 mystery !*mIstri? • 3 (to) beware of !bI*weEEv? • 4 blessing !*blesIN? • 5 major !*meIdZE? • 6 danger !*deIndZE? • cab !kxb? • 8 bank !bxNk? • 9 untidy !0n*taIdi? • 10 lip !lIp? • 11 (to) whisper !*wIspE? • 12 (to) hold out !hEUld*aUt? • 13 familiar !fE*mIlE?
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