. Разыграйте по ролям диалог в доме пожилой женщины, представленный в прочитанной главе романа. Episode 2.
At 6 p.m. Baxter is in a warm train compartment while Coke is in the field 100 miles away. The evenings get darker and colder in winter, and the wind cuts through the uniforms like a knife. Coke feels hungry. Yet, he is very tired. His arms and legs are so cold that he can hardly feel them. He is willing to find some food and warm clothing. He is looking for a warm place to come. “I have to make a move! I can’t just stay in this field and die of the cold,” he thinks.
Coke gets up and begins to walk. “Where am I? Which direction am I walking in? Am I moving towards the prison again?” he asks himself. A few minutes later, the moon comes out and Coke sees better. He stops and looks around. Suddenly he sees a small light not far away. “What can it be? It can’t be a car. It doesn’t move. It must be a house,” he says to himself. Coke begins to walk towards the light. It gets larger and larger. It is a house! He can see the form of its roof in the darkness.
Ten minutes later Coke is standing in front of the house. He is listening to any sounds. “Strange,” he thinks. “I can’t hear anything, not even the radio or television. But there must be someone inside. There is a light on!” At that very moment one thought strikes him, “This is probably the only house around for miles! The police know that I am probably around somewhere here. And they can be inside waiting for me!”
Coke doesn’t move. The wind becomes colder. His feet and hands feel like ice in the snow. “I have to take the chance! I have to! This is the only place I can find warm clothes and food!” he thinks. Coke listens for several seconds but he can’t hear anything at all. But there is smoke coming from the chimney and there is a light on in the front room. “Why is it so quiet? Are the police waiting for me in there?” he asks himself. He goes to the front door and pushes it. To his surprise it is open! He goes in very quietly.
There is a fire burning in the fireplace in the front room. The room is clean, small and very warm. There is very little furniture in it – only a table and two old-fashioned chairs. There are also some photographs on the shelf above the fire. They are yellow and old. One of them is of a young man who is dressed in World War I uniform. There are also some pictures of the same man and a woman.
Suddenly Coke feels there is somebody else in the room. He turns around quickly and immediately puts his arm into the pocket. There is a small knife there. He sees an old woman. There is a dish in her hands and a smell of meat is coming from it. The woman isn’t afraid of him. “I’m sorry,” she says and puts the dish on the table.
“I’m sorry,” the woman repeats again. “I can’t hear you as I’m deaf. People often come and knock on the door, but I don’t hear them. I’m glad to see you here”.
Coke stares at her for a second and finally finds his voice: “I… I’m sorry”. He looks down at his clothes. His prison uniform is so much dirty that it is impossible to tell what kind of uniform he wears. Suddenly an idea strikes Coke. “I’m a mechanic from the garage in town. I came to repair one lorry but got lost. And as the road was icy, I fell off my motorbike on the road”.
Coke explains to the old woman his fake story several times. She finally understands him. She offers him some water and food to eat. But he still needs to change his clothes.
“You know, your clothes are in a terrible state,” the old lady says to Coke after the meal. “My husband was just about your size. A little heavier perhaps. All his clothes are upstairs. They are no good to him. He died two years ago”. She pointed up to the above. “Go to see if any of those clothes fit you. You can bring them back later”.
“Nobody can be that lucky!” Coke thought. He went upstairs and turned on the light. He found a heavy jacket, a woolen shirt and some trousers hanging in the room.