The Tickets
Mr. and Mrs. Waters had a rabbit farm. They lived in a big house in the country, three miles from the village of Bellstone.
One morning, Mrs. Waters was reading the paper when she saw an advert for a traveling circus.
“Look,” she said to her husband. “There is a circus coming to Bellstone tomorrow?”
“I haven’t seen a circus for years,” said Mr. Waters. “Why don’t we go to see it tomorrow?”
“All right,” said his wife.
The next day Mr. and Mrs. Waters got a nice surprise. There was a letter in the post and inside were two free tickets for the circus.
“I wonder who could have sent them?” said Mr. Waters.
“I have no idea,” said his wife.
So that night Mr. and Mrs. Waters drove into Bellstone to see the circus. Their seats were right on the front row – two of the best seats in the tent. They had a perfect view of the ring. They arrived just as the show was about to start. There was a tall man with a beard sitting next to Mr. Waters. As soon as the show started, this man got up and left.
“That’s odd,” said Mr. Waters.
“Perhaps he wasn’t feeling well,” said Mrs. Waters.
The show was great. Mr. and Mrs. Waters went home feeling very happy. But when they got home they had an awful shock. Someone had broken into their house. The place was in a terrible mess. Every room in the house had been turned inside out. The robbers had taken money and silver and jewels.
Mrs. Waters phoned for the police. Ten minutes later Inspector Hutchinson arrived. He looked round the house. Then he said to Mrs. Waters, “Did you go to the circus this evening by any chance?”
“Oh yes,” said Mrs. Waters.
“And did you sit next to a tall man with a beard, who left early?” asked the Inspector.
“Why … yes,” said Mr. Waters, “but how on earth did you know that?”
Inspector Hutchinson caught the thief who had robbed Mr. and Mrs. Waters. The thief made a statement telling the police how he had planned the robbery. Here is the beginning of his statement:
First I bought a newspaper which told me when the circus was coming to town. Next I looked around for a big house in a lonely spot not too far from town. I soon found out how many people lived at the house. Then I … |
What to do
Copy the beginning of the statement and complete it in your own words.
What to do next
How did the inspector know that Mr. and Mrs. Waters had sat next to “a tall man with a beard who left early”?
