Red Line 1, Coursebook

120 one hundred and twenty The ticket collector with the patch on his eye is suddenly in the cabin. The boys think it’s because they must stay with the group. But he doesn’t speak to them, he only speaks to the cat. “Oh, there you are!” he says. “Are you hungry?Well, you know I haven’t got any food for you, because I want you to catch some of those mice. I don’t want them to run around this ship. Come on, let’s go and find some mice, Blackjack.” “Excuse me …” says Paul, “is that your cat?” “Yes”, says the old man. “I got him last time this ship was in China.” “But … that was over a hundred years ago!” says Paul. “Ha, ha! Blackjack must be a very old cat!” The boys laugh, but the old man is not laughing. “How did Blackjack lose his ear?” Paul asks. “In a fight with a rat. In China. They’ve got very big, bad rats there, you know.” Just then, the funny old clock starts to chime. Ding! Ding! “Aha! It’s two o’clock, lads,” says the old man. “It’s time to lift anchor and sail! Where is all my crew?Where are the other cabin boys?” The boys think the ticket collector is a very good actor. They laugh and walk to the cabin door. But the old man is still not laughing. “Where do you think you are going?” says the old man. His eye without the patch is watching them, and the old man looks scary. “We must go and find our class, now, but thanks a lot, you were really funny and this ship is a great museum!” says Jason. The old man looks very angry. “What are you talking about? My ship is not a museum! It’s the fastest ship in the world! Come on, the river is high! Let’s lift anchor, boys! It’s time to sail!” “Sail?Where to?” the boys ask. “China, of course!” says the captain. “What kind of cabin boys are you! Must I do everything here myself?” And he runs out of the cabin. The boys are not laughing now. “W-what was all that about?” asks Paul. “H-he’s no ticket collector!” says Jason. “W-who is he then?” “He’s … Captain Moodie!” “But how, Jason? Captain Moodie lived over a hundred years ago!” 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 E A story Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv