I. Supply a title to the story and give reasons for your choice.

II. Pick out sentences in the story illustrating the various types of if-clauses.

III. Make up 5 Russian sentences with clauses of unreal condition based on the story. Ask your comrades to translate them into English.

II

The doctor was absent much longer than either he or the ladies had anticipated. The servants ran up and down stairs perpetually; from which tokens it was justly concluded that something important

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was going on in the bed-room above. At length-he returned; and in reply to an anxious inquiry after his patient, looked very mysterious, and closed the door carefully.

"This is a very extraordinary thing, Mrs. Maylie," said the doctor, standing with his back to the door, as if to keep it shut.

"He is not in danger, I hope?" said the old lady.

"Why, that would not be an extraordinary thing, under the circumstances," replied the doctor; "though I don't think he is. Have you seen this thief?"

"No," rejoined the old lady.

"Nor heard anything about him?"

"No ... Rose wished to see the man," said Mrs. Maylie, "but I wouldn't hear of it."

"Humph!" rejoined the doctor." There is nothing very alarming in his appearance. Have you any objection to seeing him in my presence?"

"If it be necessary," replied the old lady, "certainly not."

"Then I think it is necessary," said the doctor; "at all events, I am quite sure that you would deeply regret riot having done so, if you postponed it. He is perfectly quiet and comfortable now."

"Stop," said the doctor, in a whisper, as he softly turned the handle of the bed-room door, "let me first see that he is in visiting order."

Stepping before them, he looked into the room. Motioning Mrs. May-lie and Rose to advance, he closed the door when they had entered; and gently drew back the curtains of the bed. Upon it, instead of the dogged, black-visaged ruffian they had expected to behold, there lay a mere child: worn with pain and exhaustion, and sunk into a deep sleep.

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

I. What book does the passage come from?

II. What surprised the doctor when he saw the patient?

III. What do you think happened in the house before the doctor was called in?

IV. What additional details of the story can you give?

III

He proposed that we should have scrambled eggs for breakfast. He said he would cook them. It seemed, from his account, that he was very good at doing scrambled eggs. He often did them at picnics and when out on yachts. He was quite famous for them. People who had once tasted his scrambled eggs, so we gathered from his conversation, never cared for any other food afterwards.

It made our mouths water to hear him talk about the things, and we handed him out the stove and the frying-pan and all the eggs that had not smashed and begged him to begin.

The result was not altogether the success that we had anticipated. There seemed so little to show for the business. Six eggs had gone

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into the frying-pan, and all that came out was a teaspoonful of burnt and unappetising-looking mess.

He said it was the fault of the frying-pan, and thought it would have gone better if we had had a fish-kettle and a gas-stove; and we decided not to attempt the dish again until we had those aids to housekeeping by us.

QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES

I. What book is the passage taken from?

II. Write a few disjunctive questions based on the passage and ask your comrades to respond to them.

III. What do you think of the man who did scrambled eggs?

IV. Do you remember any other episodes from the book? Retell one of them.

IV

On the following day he spent some hours with a theatrical agent of his acquaintance. In the afternoon he went to Oxford. On the day. after he drove down to the country, - it was late when he returned.

He had telephoned before he left to make an appointment with Mr. Alistair Blunt for that same evening.

it was half past nine when he reached the Gothic House.

Alistair Blunt was alone in the library when Poirot was shown.in.

He looked an eager question at his visitor as he shook hands,

He said:

"Well?"

Slowly, Poirot nodded his head.

Blunt looked at him in most incredulous appreciation.

"Have you found her?"

"Yes. Yes, I have found her."

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION