Lesson 58
A spot of bother
What did the old lady find when she got home?
The old lady was glad to be back at the block of flats where she lived.
Her shopping had tired her and her basket had grown heavier with every step of the way home.
In the lift her thoughts were on lunch and a good rest;
but when she got out at her own floor, both were forgotten in her sudden discovery that her front door was open.
She was thinking that she must reprimand her home help the next morning for such a monstrous piece of negligence,
when she remembered that she had gone shopping after the home help had left and she knew that she had turned both keys in their locks.
She walked slowly into the hall and at once noticed that all the room doors were open,
yet following her regular practice she had shut them before going out.
Looking into the drawing room, she saw a scene of confusion over by her writing desk.
It was as clear as daylight then that burglars had forced an entry during her absence.
Her first impulse was to go round all the rooms looking for the thieves,
but then she decided that at her age it might be more prudent to have someone with her,
so she went to fetch the porter from his basement.
By this time her legs were beginning to tremble, so she sat down and accepted a cup of very strong tea, while he telephoned the police.
Then, her composure regained, she was ready to set off with the porter's assistance to search for any intruders who might still be lurking in her flat.
They went through the rooms, being careful to touch nothing,
as they did not want to hinder the police in their search for fingerprints.