The Greyhound
After H. Griffiths
Chapter 10
Mrs. Vincent waited and waited for Jamie. She could not understand why he
was so late. He was going to come back soon and bring Silver with him. Now it was half
past ten but Jamie did not come. “What’s the matter with him? Where can he be?”
thought Mrs. Vincent.
Jamie’s father came home at eleven o’clock. He was tired and hungry. But he forgot
everything when he saw his wife’s face.
“What has happened?” he asked.
“Oh, Charlie,” she said, “Jamie hasn’t come home yet. I don’t know where he can
be, and he was going to come home early.” Then Mrs. Vincent told him everything. “Do
you think … those boys have done something bad to our son?” she asked fearfully.
“No, I don’t think so. But where can he be? Why isn’t he at home? It’s too late
… You told him to bring the dog here …” said Mr. Vincent.
“Yes … He was so happy when I told him to bring the dog home,” added Mrs. Vincent.
“That’s why I can’t understand why he hasn’t come yet.”
“Did you ask Cora?” said Jamie’s father. “Does she know where Jamie can be or
where that cellar is?”
“Cora knows where that cellar is but she’s out,” said Mrs. Vincent. “She went to
her school friend to do her homework.”
Suddenly an idea came to Mrs. Vincent. “Oh, Charlie!” she gasped in horror. “Those
half-destroyed houses are so dangerous and the children always play near them. What if
Jamie has fallen somewhere there?”
“Everything will be all right, my dear, I’m sure,” said Mr. Vincent.
“How do you know that everything will be all right? How do you know those boys didn’t
do anything bad to Jamie? Oh, Charlie …”
“Please, don’t worry, dear. Cora can help us. I think we should call her friend,”
said Mr. Vincent.
“It’s a pity I don’t know the number but Cora said that she would come home at about
eleven,” said Jamie’s mother.
Twenty minutes later Cora came home. She told her parents everything. She told them how to
go to the cellar where Jamie kept Silver. Cora wanted to show the way to the cellar but
she had to stay at home with her little sister.
Jamie’s parents went to look for their son. It was cold and dark in the streets. It took
them almost an hour to find the cellar. When they came to it Jamie’s father went first
down the steps, his wife walked behind him.
“Cora said it was the second cellar,” said Mr. Vincent. “Yes, here we are. This must
be it.”
They found Jamie and Silver in the sand, and Mrs. Vincent gave a loud cry. First she
thought that Jamie was dead too. Mr. Vincent got down on his knees near his son. “Jamie,
Jamie,” he said. “Jamie, do you hear me?”
“Yes, I do,” answered Jamie in a whisper. “They’ve killed my dog,” he added in a
weak voice.
“They’ve killed his dog! They’ve killed Silver!” Mrs. Vincent began to cry.
“Jamie,” said Mr. Vincent. “Get up. You can’t stay here, Jamie! Let’s go home.
We’ll find them tomorrow. They’ll be punished! They’ll get what they deserve!”
“I won’t go without Silver. I can’t live without him. I won’t go …” said Jamie
and fainted.
Jamie was very ill. His life was in danger. All that time his mother sat
by his bed in the hospital. Once his mother came and told him that his father had better
work now and that he earned more money. They were going to move to a new house. There was
a room of his own for Jamie. And there was a big garden round the house with a lot of
trees in it.
Every time Jamie’s parents visited him they spoke about their new house a lot. The
doctor told them not to speak about the dog to Jamie. He did not want Jamie to think about
him. He said that it could do more harm than good. So Jamie’s parents did not mention
anything about Silver. But the two of them thought: “Why doesn’t Jamie ask about
Silver? He has never asked about him. Why?” Jamie seemed to have forgotten about what
had happened.
Really Jamie thought about Silver every day and nights. He did not play any games and he
did not play with other children in the hospital. He felt sad because Silver was not with
him. He still loved him very much. Though Jamie did not let a single tear fall he
could not think of him without pain in his heart. He remembered their first meeting and
the fun they had in summer. He remembered the walks in the park and how easy it was to
teach Silver … But he remembered it all as a dream, a wonderful dream and nothing more.
He did not want to remember him lying dead on the sand in the cellar. He liked to think of
Silver as something beautiful in the past.
Silver had been Jamie’s secret for a long time and he still was Jamie’s secret,
because he did not want to talk about Silver to anyone. Silver was only his dog. His own
dog!
Days and weeks passed, and the family went to live in their new house. Jamie was strong
enough to go home now. One morning Mrs. Vincent and Cora came to the hospital to take
Jamie home. Their new house was at the other end of London. On the way home Jamie asked a
lot of questions about the house and his room. Cora answered the questions willingly and mentioned
in passing that there was a surprise for Jamie at home. Cora and her mother looked at
each other and smiled. Cora’s eyes were shining with great excitement.
At last they came to their new place. Cora ran to the door and Jamie looked over the
house. He liked their new house. He liked the colour of the walls, the white door and the
big windows, the garden and the young green grass around the house.
“Come on in,” shouted Cora. “Come and see your room. You must see your room first.
It’s beautiful!” And she ran up the stairs.
Jamie went after her, but more slowly, because he was not very strong yet. Cora waited for
him at the door.
Very slowly Jamie came to the door of his own room and opened it. The sun shone through
the large window. He saw his books, posters, his old clothes and other things that he knew
very well.
“What are you waiting for? Come in! You haven’t seen everything yet. Come in!” said
Cora happily.
Jamie came into the room and looked around. Behind the door there was his bed. When Jamie
saw it, he froze with his mouth open. He was so surprised that he could not move for a few
minutes. On his bed there was Silver. His dog was alive! Jamie had his own dog again. He
was on cloud nine. Jamie looked at Cora who was laughing. He now knew what her secret was.
It seemed that Silver was surprised too. He looked at Jamie for a minute, and then
suddenly jumped off the bed and began to lick Jamie’s face and hands.
Jamie could say nothing. He put his arms round the dog and let him lick his face. Wasn’t
it a dream? Was not Silver dead? Those questions were on Jamie’s mind.
Cora read Jamie’s thoughts and quickly explained everything to him.
“Mum thought he was dead but he wasn’t at all. When Mum took you to the hospital, Dad
took Silver to a dog’s clinic. The vet examined him and said that Silver was sure to
recover but he had to stay there for some time. They took much care of him. We took him
home two weeks ago,” she told Jamie.
“Now he is better,” continued Cora after a short pause. “When Silver came home he
sniffed every corner of the house. He found your room and lay on your bed. Silver was
waiting for you. He knew that you would come soon. He missed you very much.”
“He looks wonderful,” said Jamie. Indeed after the clinic and good food, Silver looked
stronger and even younger. Jamie was so happy that he did not know whether to laugh or
cry.
It was not a dream. Jamie had Silver at home as he had always wanted. Silver was well.
“I’m the happiest boy in the world!” thought Jamie. He patted his dog, he put his
arms round him and Silver’s yellow eyes shone as he looked into the face of the boy he
loved very much.
So ended the story.
did not let a single tear fall не проронил ни слезинки
mentioned in passing упомянула вскользь
ACTIVITIES AND EXERCISES
I. Comprehension Task
Complete each sentence with three words.
1. Now it was ____ ____ ____ but Jamie did not come.
2. Jamie’s father came home ____ ____ ____.
3. Cora went to her school friend to ____ ____ ____.
4. Cora wanted to show the way to the cellar but she had to stay at home with ____ ____
____.
5. Mr. Vincent got down ____ ____ ____ near his son.
6. “They’ll be punished! They’ll get ____ ____ ____!”
7. And there was a big garden round the house with a ____ ____ ____ in it.
8. Jamie’s parents did not mention ____ ____ ____.
9. On ____ ____ ____ Jamie asked a lot of questions about the house and his room.
10. He was so surprised that he ____ ____ ____ for a few minutes.
Answers: 1. half past ten; 2. at eleven o’clock; 3. do her homework; 4. her little sister; 5. on his knees; 6. what they deserve; 7. lot of trees; 8. anything about Silver; 9. the way home; 10. could not move
II. Grammar
Adjective or adverb? Choose the correct word.
1. “Don’t you think … those boys have done anything bad to our
son?” she asked fearfully / fearful.
2. “He was so happy / happily when I told him to bring the dog home,”
added Mrs. Vincent.
3. “Those half-destroyed houses are so dangerous / dangerously,”
said Mrs. Vincent.
4. “We must do something before it’s too late / lately!” cried Mrs.
Vincent.
5. He felt sad / sadly because Silver was not with him.
6. He remembered the walks in the park and how easy / easily it was to
teach Silver…
7. Jamie was strong / strongly enough to go home now.
8. Cora answered the questions willingly / willing.
9. Very slowly / slow Jamie came to the door of his own room and opened it.
10. He saw his books, posters, his old clothes and other things that he new very well /
good.
Find these sentences in the text and check your answers.
Answers: 1. fearfully; 2. happy; 3. dangerous; 4. late; 5. sad; 6. easy; 7. strong; 8. willingly; 9. slowly; 10. well
III. Pronunciation Task
[w] and [v] – these two sounds are different and they differ from the Russian sound [в]. Practice saying the words below.
[w] wall, white, twenty, way, walk, worry, wait, without, why, where, what, when, work, wife, with, would, went, we, was, always, weak, window, wonderful, week
[v] ever, never, even, very, every, everything, eleven, have, love, move, voice, recover, alive, deserve, visit, Vincent, Silver
IV. Vocabulary
Use the words to join the two sentences (one line) together:
that (2) why but where and then when because as and
1. But he forgot everything. He saw his wife’s face.
2. She could not understand. He was so late.
3. She told them how to go to the cellar. Jamie kept Silver.
4. Cora wanted to show the way to the cellar. She had to stay at home with her little
sister.
5. First she thought. Jamie was dead too.
6. He did not play any games. He did not play with other children in the hospital.
7. Jamie went after her, but more slowly. He was not very strong yet.
8. He looked at Jamie for a minute. Suddenly jumped off the bed and began to lick
Jamie’s face and hands.
9. Jamie was so happy. He did not know whether to laugh or cry.
10. He patted his dog, he put his arms round him and Silver’s yellow eyes shone. He
looked into the face of the boy he loved very much.
Answers: 1. when; 2. why; 3. where; 4. but; 5. that; 6. and; 7. because; 8. and then; 9. that; 10. as
V. Speaking
What’s your opinion on the story? What do you think about its characters? Can the story be a lesson to you (in order to avoid the same bad experience)? The questions below will help you to come to a conclusion and express your opinion.
1. Did the end of the story surprise you?
2. What was your favourite part of the story? Why?
3. Who was your favourite / least favourite character? Which character do you dislike
very much? Why?
4. Who do you feel most sorry for in the story? Why?
5. Have you ever taken revenge on someone? What did you do?
6. Do you think that Hilliard and his friends could be forgiven for what they had done?
7. Day after day Jamie told his mother lies. Have you ever told a lie to get out of
trouble? What’s the biggest lie you have ever told your parents?
8. “One lie makes many”. What does this mean? Do you agree with this saying?
9. Did you enjoy the story? Do you think the story is moving?
10. If you could change a part of the story, which part would you change and why?