Comprehension and Discussion Questions. 1. For what purpose had Lundy, the principal character of this story, gone to the bank this day?
1. For what purpose had Lundy, the principal character of this story, gone to the bank this day?
2. How had he lost all his money?
3. What did the fat lady leave behind her in the booth?
4. Where did Lundy go when he left for the bank?
5. Where did he finally hide the money?
6. What story did he tell the two detectives who came to visit him that evening?
7. What strange sight did he see the next morning when he visited the park?
8. Who did Lundy suspect the old balloon-seller to be?
9. What happened when Lundy finally attacked the old man and knocked him down?
10. Why did Lundy have to accompany the policeman to police headquarters?
Vocabulary and Idiom Review
A. Circle the word in parentheses which completes each sentence correctly:
1. A man whose duty it is to guard a building at night is usually called a (banker / watchman / sergeant / thief).
2. A person who is scared is (relieved/adjusted/balanced/ frightened).
3. A (pocket/headquarters/knee/booth) is part of the body.
4. A thief can also be called a (captain/robber/banker/watchman).
5. To lock something, you need a (key/money/friends/basket).
6. A good place to keep valuable things is (a pillow/a hole/ a drinking fountain/a safe-deposit box).
7. When a person nods, he moves his (hand/finger/head/leg) slightly.
8. When a person points, he uses his (finger/elbow/knee/neck).
9. A shop is a (cafeteria/small store/genuine interest/weakness).
10. At the end of your meal you eat (dessert/desert/sand/balloons).
B. Use the following expressions in sentences of your own:
1. give up something 5. put something away 9. come upon
2. wait for 6. lock up 10. be the matter with
3. kneel down 7. knock somebody down 11. find out
4. knock somebody out 8. look around 12. at all
C. A very common ending that makes nouns from adjectives is -ity.
For example: He's been active in sports the last few years; golf is an activity that he has particularly come to enjoy.
Change the following adjectives to nouns by adding -ity. Then use each of the resulting words in a sentence of your own:
1. responsible ___________ __________________________________________________________________
2. creative ___________ __________________________________________________________________
3. capable ___________ __________________________________________________________________
4. secure ___________ __________________________________________________________________
5. similar ___________ __________________________________________________________________
6. original ___________ __________________________________________________________________
7. popular ___________ __________________________________________________________________
8. false ___________ __________________________________________________________________
9. legal ___________ __________________________________________________________________
10. personal ___________ __________________________________________________________________
Better Late
By Edward Stevenson
Well, I'm certainly glad you're not seasick. When I first saw you leaning over the rail I said to myself that you must be seasick, though I couldn't see how anybody could get seasick with the water so calm the way it is today. Our room steward says that anybody that gets seasick in this kind of weather wouldn't be safe on the lake in Central Park. He's a regular comedian. . . . And that reminds me, how much do you think I ought to tip him — the room steward, I mean? I'm not a person who has a lot of money, but still I want to do the right thing as to tipping.
You see, this is the first time we've been on a boat — my wife and I, I mean. Of course we've taken a trip up the Hudson with the kids, but I guess you wouldn't mention the Hudson River Day Line in the same breath with a big ship like this, would you? The kids thought it was wonderful, though. They're grown up and married now, with kids of their own — except Judy, that is, and she hardly has had time, not having been married a year yet — but it doesn't seem more than yesterday that they were running around like wild Indians and getting into all kinds of trouble. Time certainly flies. . . .
Whew! It's getting hot, isn't it? We must be coming into the tropics from the way it feels. Ever been down here before, Mr.—I don't think you mentioned your name, did you? Arthur? Well, I'm glad to know you, Mr. Arthur. My name's Bentham. I'd like you to meet my wife some time, too. That's my wife sitting in that deck chair down at the end. She's making believe she's reading that book, but she's sound asleep. The salt air seems to make her very tired....
As I was saying, time certainly flies. Now, you take me, why, it seems only the other day that Ellen and I were getting married; and here we are grandparents of six already.
We've been married thirty-five years. It doesn't seem possible, but that's what it is, all right. Why, say, I can remember the wedding just as clearly as if it happened last week. It wasn't much of a wedding — you know, no ceremony and reception. Besides Ellen and me and the minister, there were only the minister's wife and the church janitor for witness. But I can still see the five of us standing there in the chapel, with the sun coming through a high window and falling around us and turning everything golden. I remember Ellen especially. She was so pretty and little. Lord, I felt big and awkward beside her.
Will you look at them flying fish! Aren't they the funny things?
When I look back, I think that Ellen and I must have been crazy, getting married the way we did. My goodness, I didn't have a cent to my name — it was all I could do to get together the money for the wedding ring. Engagement rings and honeymoons and all those special things were out of reach as far as we were concerned.
I felt pretty bad, taking her right from church to a $2.50-a-week furnished room. A wonderful girl like her deserved better, and I told her so. A big wedding, a reception at the Hotel Waldorf — the old Waldorf, you know — and a honeymoon at Niagara Falls was little enough for her. But she just laughed. "If I wanted such foolishness," she says, "I'd have married Mr. Astor and not Johnny Bentham." That's the way she is. I didn't mind so much not having a big church wedding, or a reception afterwards, but, gee, what's a wedding without a honeymoon? I mean, it made me feel rather low, not being able to provide even that.
You know, marrying Ellen was the making of me. I was just a shipping clerk at the time, but she made me study bookkeeping and when an opening in the company came along I stepped right into it. I'm head bookkeeper now. Of course that isn't much — there's only one other bookkeeper — but being head of anything is pretty good these days, I always say. A couple of years back when I'd been with the company thirty-five years they put on a dinner for me at Jack Dempsey's Restaurant and gave me a watch. Here it is. See what it says, "To John W. Bentham"— that's my full name —"for thirty-five years of devoted service. Atlas Paper & Supply Co." Mr. Stover, the president, made a speech. I did too — but I was too choked up to say much. You can bet that I'd never have stayed in that company long enough to get that watch if it hadn't been for Ellen.
And the kids, too, of course. When you get to be a family man you have to be a little more serious. Kit — that's short for Christopher — was the first; then Roger, Cynthia, Anthony, and Judy, the baby. Nice names, aren't they? Ellen picked them out.
They're all grown up now — fine young men and women, if I do say so myself — but there were times when you just wondered if they ever would grow up. It was just one thing after another. Sick or healthy, they had you up to your neck in bills.
Is that land over there to the left? No, I guess it's just clouds.
Well, last year our company did pretty well and they gave all the old employees a month's pay for a bonus at Christmas — first bonus we had had in years. So what did I do? Well, I figured with all the kids married and no one to take care of but ourselves that we didn't have any real need for the money, so I didn't breathe a word about it to Ellen. You see, I'd been seeing those cruise advertisements in the papers and I thought to myself that's just the thing for Ellen and me. Twelve days. Nassau and Jamaica. $125 and up. I didn't say anything till about two weeks before we were about to sail. Then I broke the news. Well you could have knocked Ellen over with a feather.
"Johnny Bentham," she says, "are you out of your mind?"
"No," I says. "And I haven't robbed a bank, either." So I told her all about the bonus.
Well, she still thought I was crazy. "Spending all that money on a little trip," she says. "Do you think we're millionaires? Johnny, I’ll never set foot on that boat."
"Now that's a fine way to feel!" I says, acting as if I were insulted. "A woman refusing to go on a honeymoon with her husband!"
Well, she just looked at me and I just looked at her, and first thing you knew she threw her arms around me and began kissing me, and what did the two of us do but end up laughing and crying like a couple of kids.
"Gee, Mama," I says. "It's better late than never, isn't it? . . ."
Say, look at those flying fish. . . .