The house on the moors - by Paul Shipton

Beth Marshall looked out of the window at the rain. 'I hate winter in London,' she said. 'lt's so cold and wet.' 'You need a holiday,' said Jim, her husband. 'We both need a holiday. Let's go away this weekend.' < 'Where can we go?' asked Beth. Jim smiled. 'Let's not decide where to go. Let's get in the car and drive!' They started their journey on Saturday morning. They drove north out of the city. Soon they were in the country. 'Look at the trees and hills. Smell the fresh air,' Beth said. 'I love the country.'

'Me too,' said Jim. They drove for many hours. They always drove on small country roads. At five o'clock it started raining. Soon it was dark. After a while, Beth asked, 'Where are we?' 'In Yorkshire/ said Jim. 'Where in Yorkshire?' asked Beth. 2 Jim looked at the map. 'Er ... I don't know,' he said. 'We're on the Yorkshire Moors. Don't worry.' But Beth was worried. It was late and they were lost. It was foggy now. It was difficult to see the road. 'We must stop for the night soon, Jim,' she said. They drove on. Jim was worried too, but he didn't say anything. At last, they saw a building. It was a small pub beside the road. The pub was called The King's Arms..: They stopped and went in. There were a few people in the pub. When Beth and Jim walked in, they all looked up. The barman said, 'Hello. We don't see many strangers in here. What can I get you to drink?' "Two beers, please,' said Beth. Then Jim asked the barman, 'Is there a hotel near here?'

'Yes, you're in luck,' said the barman. 'There's a hotel five miles down the road. The owners are very friendly.' Jim and Beth got back into the car and drove down the road. After ten minutes, they saw a sign- Aquarius Hotel. Jim said, 'You see? I said, "Don't worry!" We can stay here tonight.' 3 They parked outside the Aquarius Hotel and got out of the car. Beth looked up at the hotel. 1t was a big, dark building and there were no lights in the windows. 'Perhaps it's Dracula's house!' Jim said. He laughed. 'That's not funny! I don't like this place, whispered Beth. Jim took their cases out of the car. A man and a woman came out of the door of the hotel. They were both about thirty years old. The woman had long brown hair. The man wore glasses, and he had long hair too.

'Hi. Can we help you?' asked the woman. 'Yes. We need a room for the night,' said Jim. 'Groovy. You've cometo the right place, man,' said the man. 'Come in. I'm Cathy Slater, and this is my husband, Ray.' 'I'm Jim Marshall,' said Jim. 'And I'm Beth Marshall,' said Beth. 4 'Ray, take Jim and Beth's cases upstairs,' said Cathy. 'I'd love to help, but I can't lift things. My back hurts. You know that, baby,' said Ray. 'You're just lazy,' said Cathy. 'Never mind! I can take them myself.' Jim and Beth walked past the reception desk and followed Cathy upstairs. Cathy opened the door to room three. 'Here you are,' she said. 'I hope you like it.' 'Oh, yes,' said Beth. 'It's very nice.' 'Are you hungry?' Cathy asked. 'Yes, very hungry,' said Jim. 'Good. Dinner is at nine o'dock. Come downstairs when you're ready.'

'Look, there's a television!' said Beth. Jim sat down on the bed. 'Let's see what's on,' he said. Beth switched the television on. 'That's a terrible picture,' said Jim. 'Yes. And it's black and white,' said Beth. 'ls ita film?' 'No, it's The News, I think. No, wait - it's a programme about the Vietnam war.' They watched TV for a few minutes. Then Jim said, 'Come on. Let's go and have dinner.' 5 Ray Slater was in the dining-room downstairs. There were four plates on the table. 'Are we the only people in the hotel?' asked Jim. 'Yes, that's right, man,' said Ray. There was a record-player in the comer of the dining-room. The music was very loud. 'I remember this song,' Beth said. 'lt's by The Beatles, isn't it?' 'Yeah, man,' said Ray. 'It's number one in the charts!' 'Do you like 60s music?' asked Beth. 'Yeah, man. It's groovy. It's great,' said Ray. 'I prefer modern music. I think Madonna is great, and I like

Michael Jackson,' said Beth. 'Who are they?' asked Ray. Jim and Beth laughed. Ray noticed the watch on Beth's wrist. 'Hey, that's a great watch,' he said. 'Can I look at it?' Beth showed him the watch. 'It was a birthday present from my husband,' she said. 'Wow, it's incredible!' said Ray. 'It hasn't got any hands, only numbers!' Suddenly Cathy shouted from the kitchen, 'Ray! The dinner's ready. I want you here NOW!' Ray smiled. 'I've got to go,' he said. He went into the kitchen. 6

So where are you from? Yeah, I first met Cathy in London. I was in a rock band. 1 played guitar. Banks and computers? Wow! 7

Aftcr dinner Ray played his guitar. He looked at Beth. 'This is a song I wrote about a beautiful woman,' he said. Ray sang. His song wasn't very good, but Jim and Beth listened politely. Ray played three more songs, then Jim stood up. 'It's late, and we're tired,' he said. 'Thanks for a nice evening.' He and Beth went upstairs.

In their room, they started laughing. Jim said, 'Well, what did you think of the Slaters? ' 'They're very strange people,' Beth said. 'Did you see their clothes? My mum and dad wore clothes like that when they were young! And they listened to The Beatles too!' Jim laughed. 'Groovy, man!' he said. Suddenly they heard a noise from downstairs. 'Shhh! Listen!' Beth said. They listened to the noise for a few moments. 'lt's the Slaters,' said Jim. 'They're having an argument.' Jim and Beth heard Cathy shouting at Ray. They heard the words, 'lazy' and 'stupid song'. Then they heard a door shut. 8

Jim and Beth were both tired so they went to bed. But they didn't sleep because the room was hot. 'Jim? Are you awake?' Beth asked. 'Yes, 1 can't sleep. It's too hot in here.' Jim got up and opened the window. But now the room was very hot. Jim and Beth still didn't sleep. At last Jim got up again. 'This is stupid,' he said. 'lt's three o'clock in the mórning. I'm going downstairs to see the Slaters.' Jim went downstairs. He rang the bell on the desk and waited. Nobody came. Jim looked around. There was a corridor behind the desk and at the end of the corridor was a door. The sign on the door said PRIVATE. That's the Slaters' room, thought Jim. I'm going to wake them up. We need a different room.

Suddenly he stopped. He heard voices from behind the door. Cathy was still angry and her voice was loud. Ray was angry too. Jim waited outside the door, but the argument continued. . Jim decided to knock on the door. But suddenly he heard a terrible scream from the room. Jim was very frightened. He ran back down the corridor and up the stairs to room three. 10

The room was still very hot. 'I heard a scream,' Beth said. 'Jim, your face is white. What's wrong?' 'We're leaving,' Jim said. 'But why ...' 'We're leaving NOW!' said Jim. They packed their cases and ran downstairs. Jim left sorne money on the reception desk and they ran outside. Then they got into the car and drove away. 'Goodbye, Aquarius Hotel!' said Jim. 'I hope we never see you again!' said Beth. Jim thought about the Aquarius Hotel. He thought about the terrible scream from the Slaters' room. It started to get light and the sun came out. Jim looked at Beth. 'Come on. Let's forget about the Slaters,' he said. 'What's the time?' Beth looked at her wrist. 'My watch!' she shouted. 'I haven't got it!' Jim stopped the car and they looked for the watch, but it wasn't there. 'It's in our hotel room,' said Beth. 'We've got to go back' '1 can buy you a new watch,' said Jim, 'but we can't go back to the hotel. I don't want to talk to those people again. They were very strange.' Beth started to cry. 'I love that watch, and I don't want to lose it.' At first Jim didn't say anything. What am I afraid of? he thought. The Slaters? That terrible scream? There's nothing to be afraid of. l'm being stupid. 'OK,' he said. 'Let's go back' They turned the car around and drove back towards the hotel. lt was late in the morning when they passed The King's Arms. 'There's the pub,' said Beth. 'We're nearly there.'

They drove on for five minutes. Then ten min utes. Then twenty minutes. There was no hotel. J .. > -- - '1 don't understand,' said Jim. 'This is the right road. But where's the hotel?' 'It was dark last night,' Beth said. 'Perhaps this is a different road. Let's go back to the pub and ask the way.' 12 There were a few people in the pub again. The barman was behind the bar, but he looked different. He looked older and his hair was grey. Perhaps he's the other barman's father thought Beth. 'Helio,' said Beth. 'We're looking for the Aquarius Hotel. It's near here, isn't it?' 'People here don't talk about the Aquarius,' the barman said. 'But last night your son sent us to the Aquarius,' said Beth. '1 haven't got a son,' said the barman. 'Forget about the Aquarius Hotel and go home.' 'Why?' asked Jim. 'Something terrible happened there.' 'What happened?' asked Beth. 'Please tell us.'

And so the barman told them the story. 'Ray and Cathy Slater opened The Aquarius Hotel in 1967. It was a small hotel, but people liked it. There was only one thing wrong - Cathy did all the work, while Ray lazed around and played the guitar.' 13 'One day, in 1969, a young man and woman came to the hotel. Ray didn't carry their cases. He didn't help to cook the dinner and he was too friendly with the young woman. Cathy became very angry. She started to shout at him, but Ray just laughed. At last, she picked up a knife and killed him.' Jim and Beth looked at each other. 'But we met Ray and Cathy Slater last night,' said Beth. 'We stayed in their hotel.' 'That's impossible,' said the barman. 'There is no hotel. On that night in 1969, Cathy Slater killed her husband and then she bumed down the hotel. The young man and woman escaped, but Cathy Slater died in the fire. The police found her body next to her husband's.' 14 'But we saw the Slaters last night,' said Jim. 'Did you?' said the barman. 'Well, I don't believe in ghosts. Now, what can 1 get you to drink?' 'Er ..., nothing, thanks,' said Jim. They ran out of the pub. They got into the car and drove away from The King's Arms. Jim and Beth didn´t talk for a long time. They thought about last nigth: the pub, the hotel, the Slaters and the hot room. Then they thought about the terrible scream. It was strange, but it was true. The Slaters were ghost.

When they were near London, Jim laughed. 'I don't like the country,' he said. 'I like busy streets, lots of cars, high buildings and cinemas.' 'You're right,' said Beth. 'I like cities too. We're city people.' Jim and Beth drove home. 15 Macmillan Heinemann English Language Teachi g Between Towns Road, Oxford OX4 3PP, UK A division of Macm illan Publishers Limited Companies and representatives throughout the world ISBN O 4352m9 4 This reader is also available on cassette ISBN O 435 27805 3 © Paul Shipton 1994 Design and illustration © Macmillan Publishers Limited 1998 Heinemann is a registertrademark of Reed Educatíonal and Professional PubUshing Unúted First published 1994 All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. Designed by Sue Vaudin Illustrations by Ian Heard HEINEMANN ELT NEW WAV E READERS Series Editor: Alan C. McLean Level2 Za rgon Zoo by Paul Sllipton Double Danger by Tony Hopwood Ka reteka by Sue Leatller and Marje Brash Kate's Revenge by Pllilip Prowse Escape from Castle Czarka by Atan C. McLean The House on the Moors by Paul Sllipton Typeset by Thrcefold Design Printed in Hong Kong 2004 2003 2002 2001 13 12 11 10 9 8 7