• blood in the saloon

Chapter 4:
The Shot in the Night

It is 11:00 PM on the steamship Karnak. The boat is silent, floating quietly on the dark water. Most passengers are sleeping in their cabins.

Inside the boat’s lounge saloon, a few people are still awake. Simon Doyle sits near the table. Jackie stands across the room. She holds a glass of wine. Her face is red, and her eyes are angry. She has had too much to drink.

Two other passengers, Cornelia and Mr. Fanthorp, sit nearby. They watch nervously.

Jackie points at Simon. „You think you win, Simon!“ she shouts loudly. „You think you can forget me?“

Simon speaks calmly. „Jackie, go to bed. You are drunk. We can talk tomorrow.“

„No!“ Jackie screams. Her body trembles with rage.

She reaches into her small handbag. She pulls out her silver pistol.

Cornelia gasps. „Jackie, no! Put that away!“

Jackie does not listen. She raises the gun and aims at Simon.

BANG!

A loud gunshot fills the room. Smoke fills the air.

Simon cries out in pain. He grabs his leg. Blood spills through his trousers onto his hand. „My leg! She shot my leg!“ he groans, falling back onto a chair.

Jackie drops the pistol onto the floor. She starts crying hysterically. „What did I do? Oh no! I am sorry! I am so sorry!“

Mr. Fanthorp kicks the pistol under a sofa to keep it safe. „Cornelia, take Jackie to her cabin!“ he shouts. „Stay with her all night! Do not leave her alone!“

Cornelia holds the crying woman and leads her out of the room.

Mr. Fanthorp runs to get the ship’s doctor, Dr. Bessner. Together, they carry Simon to the doctor’s cabin. Dr. Bessner inspects the wound. „The bullet broke his bone,“ the doctor says. „Simon cannot walk. He must stay in bed.“

At 12:30 AM, Mr. Fanthorp returns to the saloon to get Jackie’s pistol. He wants to lock it away.

He kneels down and looks under the sofa.

His face turns pale. The pistol is not there.

Someone took the gun from the floor.

Key Words to Learn

1. Lounge / Saloon (noun) – A large room on a ship where passengers sit and relax.
2. Drunk (adjective) – Affected by drinking too much alcohol.
3. Gunshot (noun) – The loud sound made when a gun fires.
4. Wound (noun) – An injury to the body, especially a cut or hole in the skin.
5. Kneel (verb) – To bend your legs and rest on your knees.

Comprehension Questions

1. Where does the argument happen at 11:00 PM?
   (Answer: In the boat’s lounge saloon.)
2. What does Jackie pull out of her handbag?
   (Answer: She pulls out her silver pistol.)
3. Where does the bullet hit Simon?
   (Answer: The bullet hits him in the leg.)
4. Who takes care of Jackie after the shooting?
   (Answer: Cornelia takes Jackie to her cabin and stays with her all night.)
5. What surprise does Mr. Fanthorp find when he looks under the sofa at 12:30 AM?
   (Answer: The pistol is missing.)

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True or false

1. Cornelia and Mr. Fanthorp were sleeping when the gunshot went off.
2. Mr. Fanthorp picked up the pistol immediately and locked it in a drawer.
3. The incident took place at 11:00 PM on the steamship Karnak.
4. Dr. Bessner confirmed that the bullet broke Simon’s bone.
5. Jackie was holding a glass of wine when she stood across the room.
6. Simon reacted with anger and yelled back at Jackie before she pulled out the gun.
7. Jackie pulled the silver pistol out of her coat pocket.
8. Mr. Fanthorp kicked the pistol under the sofa to keep it safe.
9. When Mr. Fanthorp checked under the sofa at 12:30 AM, the pistol was missing.
10. Simon was shot in the arm.
11. Mr. Fanthorp told Cornelia to take Jackie to her cabin and stay with her all night.
12. Most passengers on the boat were awake and watching the argument in the lounge saloon.
13. Jackie started crying hysterically right after she dropped the pistol.
14. Cornelia gasped and urged Jackie to put the gun away.
15. Dr. Bessner said Simon could walk back to his room on his own.
16. Jackie was sober during the confrontation.

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Answer key:

1. False (They were awake, sitting nearby in the lounge saloon.)
2. False (He kicked it under a sofa to keep it safe.)
3. True
4. True
5. True
6. False (Simon spoke calmly and told her to go to bed.)
7. False (She pulled it out of her small handbag.)
8. True
9. True
10. False (He was shot in the leg.)
11. True
12. False (Most passengers were sleeping in their cabins.)
13. True
14. True
15. False (Dr. Bessner said Simon could not walk and had to stay in bed.)
16. False (She had had too much to drink and was drunk.)

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Match sentence halves:

Part A: sentence starts

1. Most of the passengers on the Karnak…
2. Inside the boat’s lounge saloon…
3. Jackie’s face was red and her eyes were angry…
4. Simon tried to calm Jackie down…
5. Jackie reached into her handbag…
6. After the gun went off, Simon cried out…
7. Immediately after firing the shot, Jackie…
8. Mr. Fanthorp kicked the pistol under the sofa…
9. Dr. Bessner examined Simon and found that…
10. When Mr. Fanthorp returned to the saloon at 12:30 AM…

Part B: sentence ends

• A. …because she had had too much to drink.
• B. …he discovered that the gun was gone.
• C. …because he grabbed his leg in severe pain.
• D. …and pulled out a silver pistol.
• E. …were sleeping quietly in their cabins.
• F. … dropped the weapon and began crying hysterically.
• G. …the bullet had broken his leg bone.
• H. …and advised her to go to bed and talk tomorrow.
• I. …a few people were still awake late at night.
• J. …to keep it safe from anyone using it again.

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Answer key

1–E | 2–I | 3–A | 4–H | 5–D | 6–C |
7–F | 8–J | 9–G | 10–B

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Multiple choice:

1. Where did Mr. Fanthorp kick the silver pistol to keep it safe?
   • A. Under a sofa
   • B. Under a chair
   • C. Under a wooden table near the entrance of the lounge saloon
2. At what time did Mr. Fanthorp return to the lounge saloon to get the gun?
   • A. 1:00 AM in the morning after talking with the ship captain
   • B. 12:30 AM
   • C. 11:30 PM
3. What was Jackie holding when she stood across the room from Simon?
   • A. A full cup of black coffee she had just poured
   • B. A glass of water
   • C. A glass of wine
4. Who ran to get Dr. Bessner after Simon was shot?
   • A. Mr. Fanthorp
   • B. Cornelia, who was standing nearby in the saloon
   • C. One of the ship crew members working on deck
5. Where were most of the passengers at 11:00 PM?
   • A. Walking around the outer deck watching the dark river water
   • B. Sleeping in their cabins
   • C. Sitting at the bar inside the boat’s lounge saloon
6. Where was Simon injured by the gunshot?
   • A. In his shoulder, right near his collarbone area
   • B. In his leg
   • C. In his arm
7. How did Simon react when Jackie confronted him initially?
   • A. He ran quickly out of the room to get help from the crew
   • B. He shouted back at her with equal anger and frustration
   • C. He spoke calmly and told her to go to bed
8. What did Jackie do immediately after she dropped the pistol on the floor?
   • A. She started crying hysterically and apologizing
   • B. She ran out of the room toward the boat deck to hide
   • C. She picked up her handbag and ran straight to her cabin
9. What shocking discovery did Mr. Fanthorp make when he looked under the sofa later that night?
   • A. The pistol was no longer there
   • B. The pistol was fully loaded with five extra bullets remaining inside
   • C. The pistol had been broken into several small metal pieces
10. What is the name of the ship where the story takes place?
    • A. The Karnak
    • B. The Queen Mary, a famous ocean liner traveling across the Atlantic
    • C. The Nile Voyager, floating quietly along the dark river water

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Answer key

1. A | 2. B | 3. C | 4. A | 5. B |
   6. B | 7. C | 8. A | 9. A | 10. A

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>>Chapter 5

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Remember how babies
learn a language:

Babies learn a language by listening.
They use their ears to hear sounds.
Their brain remembers these sounds.
Babies connect sounds with people and things.
They listen to their parents.
Then they copy the sounds they hear. They imitate words.
Slowly, babies learn to speak.

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LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN………………

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