02-03-亡灵岛 [2]
们没抓我，可我不得不离开那个大学。那段日子可真糟糕。
我妈妈对我很不高兴。“我拿你可怎么办呢，卡罗尔？”她说。
“对不起，”我告诉她说。
“我们回英格兰吧。”她说，“在那儿你可以找所大学上。在英格兰也许你会高兴些。”
“好吧。”我说，“我想把过去发生的事忘掉。我想把我所干的事忘掉，开始新生活，成为一个新人。”
一个月后，我们回到了英格兰。我们住在伦敦，呆在一家饭店里。起初，一切都很新奇：公共汽车是红色的，人人都说英语。时值初夏，离秋季开学还有三个月。伦敦到处都是观光客。
我们参观了所有著名的建筑物——白金汉宫、伦敦塔。而且晚上我们去餐馆和剧院。这令人感兴趣、令人激动，我开始忘掉在香港的那些令人难受的时光。
“我真为我们来到了伦敦而高兴，”我对妈妈说。
但是过了几周之后，她说：“你得找所大学上，卡罗尔。你必须继续你的学业。我也需要个工作。”
那天傍晚，我们翻看了一下报纸。
“这工作怎么样？”我说。我给妈妈看了看报上登的一条招工的消息。
招聘秘书启事
苏格兰一私人小岛上
夏季招聘秘书一名。
可与本家共享宽裕住所。
若人选合适，
工作有趣，薪金丰厚。
有意者请与格里塔·罗斯联系。电话：071……
“嗯，听起来挺有意思的。”我妈妈说，“我愿意在苏格兰的一个岛上干秘书工作。它是个很美丽的地方，卡罗尔，而且你秋季可以在那儿上大学。”
“夏季也可以在那儿过。”我说，“饭店很费钱。”
我妈妈打电话给格里塔·罗斯。
“明天来见我吧。”格里塔·罗斯告诉她，“11点请到萨沃伊饭店来。”
我和妈妈一起去了萨沃伊饭店。这个饭店既大又贵，比我们住的饭店大，并位于伦敦的中心地带。
“妈妈需要这个工作。”我想，“苏格兰的一座私人岛屿还是个生活的好地方。我如果去那儿，也许就可以把过去发生的事情忘掉。”
“22号房间。”饭店服务台的女士说，“上楼去吧。罗斯夫人现在就可以接见您。”
格里塔·罗斯正等着我们。她大约三十岁，很漂亮。她穿着一件很贵的红色连衣裙，头发很长很黑。
“这是我女儿卡罗尔，”我妈妈说。
“你好，卡罗尔。”格里塔·罗斯说。
“您好，”我说。
“卡罗尔18岁了。”我妈妈说，“如果我能得到这份工作，她可以跟着我吗？也许她能帮助做些家务活或干些园子里的活。她喜欢园艺。她正在大学学农业。”
“也许行吧。”格里塔·罗斯说，“岛上有个小农场。”
“我喜欢在农场里干活，”我说。
格里塔·罗斯看了看我母亲。“你们在香港住了多久，桑德斯夫人？”
“七年。”我妈妈说，“我丈夫去年因飞机失事去世了，所以我们回英格兰住来了。”
“住在香港之前你们呆在哪儿？”
“我们在印度住了三年。”
然后格里塔·罗斯带我妈妈进了一个房间，问了她更多的问题。我在外边等着。
“格里塔·罗斯挺好的。”我想，“我希望妈妈能得到这份工作。”
过了不一会儿门开了，我妈妈出来了。她微笑着。
格里塔·罗斯说：“请在这儿等一会儿，桑德斯夫人。我想去打个电话。”她返回房间，并关上了门。
我坐在门旁的一把椅子上，正好能听到格里塔·罗斯打电话的声音。
“我想我已经找到了一个人。”她正在说，“她有个女儿，但这个女孩可以在园子或在农场干些活儿……别担心，她们离开英格兰已有10年了……不会出事的，我告诉你……别担心。”
过了一会儿，格里塔·罗斯挂上了电话并从屋里出来了。
“你得到了这份工作，”她告诉我妈妈说。
我妈妈很高兴。“谢谢您，”她说。
我也很高兴，可现在我对那个电话感到忧虑不安。我不明白它的意思。
■ 2 The Island
We went to Scotland the next day，first by plane，then by train．Greta Ross travelled with us．
I looked out of the train window and saw fields and villages and mountains．‘Mum is right，’I thought．‘Scotland is a very beautiful place．’
‘You're going to be my husband's secretary，’Greta Ross told my mother He's a businessman，but he never leaves the island．He does all his work by telephone and letter and computer．He invests money in companies， all over the world．’
‘Do many people live on the island？’I asked．
‘Not many，'said Greta Ross．‘You'll meet them soon．’
‘Greta Ross is young，’I thought．‘Is her husband young，too？ How can a young man buy an island？Is he very rich？’
After the train， we went on Mr Ross's boat， which took us out to the island． The boatman was a young man． He had dark hair and was brown from the sun．
‘This is Tony， said Greta Ross．‘He works for Mr Ross．’
‘Hi，'said Tony．
Soon we were near the island．I could see the beaches and the cliffs． The boat slowed down．
‘There are dangerous rocks around the island，’explained Tony．‘A lot of them are under the water and you can't see them．I have to be careful．But the rocks keep other boats away，and that pleases Mr Ross．’
‘Why？’I asked．
Tony looked at Greta Ross but she wasn't listening．‘Mr Ross doesn't like visitors to the island，'tony said in a quiet voice．
Then Greta Ross looked at us and Tony said no more．
‘Why doesn't Mr Ross like visitors？’I thought．‘Has he something to hide？’
When we arrived on the island， my mother and I followed Greta up to the house．It was very big and there were trees all around it．
A woman was waiting inside the house．
‘This is Mrs Duncan，Tony's mother，'said Greta．‘She's the housekeeper and her husband is the gardener．Mrs Duncan will take you up to your rooms． I'm going to tell Mr Ross you've arrived．’
The housekeeper was a little woman with short hair． She went up the stairs，and my mother and I went after her．
My room was next to my mother's．I looked out of the win dow and saw the garden at the back of the house．A man was working in the garden，near some trees．‘Is that Mr Duncan？’I thought．I looked between the trees and saw the sea．‘It's a beautiful house and a beautiful island．’
That evening，we had dinner with Mr and Mrs Duncan and Tony．We ate in the big kitchen．
‘What happened to Mr Ross's last secretary？’asked my mother．
‘She's in hospital，'replied Mrs Duncan．‘She's going to be away all summer．’
‘Isn't Mrs Ross lonely here
我妈妈对我很不高兴。“我拿你可怎么办呢，卡罗尔？”她说。
“对不起，”我告诉她说。
“我们回英格兰吧。”她说，“在那儿你可以找所大学上。在英格兰也许你会高兴些。”
“好吧。”我说，“我想把过去发生的事忘掉。我想把我所干的事忘掉，开始新生活，成为一个新人。”
一个月后，我们回到了英格兰。我们住在伦敦，呆在一家饭店里。起初，一切都很新奇：公共汽车是红色的，人人都说英语。时值初夏，离秋季开学还有三个月。伦敦到处都是观光客。
我们参观了所有著名的建筑物——白金汉宫、伦敦塔。而且晚上我们去餐馆和剧院。这令人感兴趣、令人激动，我开始忘掉在香港的那些令人难受的时光。
“我真为我们来到了伦敦而高兴，”我对妈妈说。
但是过了几周之后，她说：“你得找所大学上，卡罗尔。你必须继续你的学业。我也需要个工作。”
那天傍晚，我们翻看了一下报纸。
“这工作怎么样？”我说。我给妈妈看了看报上登的一条招工的消息。
招聘秘书启事
苏格兰一私人小岛上
夏季招聘秘书一名。
可与本家共享宽裕住所。
若人选合适，
工作有趣，薪金丰厚。
有意者请与格里塔·罗斯联系。电话：071……
“嗯，听起来挺有意思的。”我妈妈说，“我愿意在苏格兰的一个岛上干秘书工作。它是个很美丽的地方，卡罗尔，而且你秋季可以在那儿上大学。”
“夏季也可以在那儿过。”我说，“饭店很费钱。”
我妈妈打电话给格里塔·罗斯。
“明天来见我吧。”格里塔·罗斯告诉她，“11点请到萨沃伊饭店来。”
我和妈妈一起去了萨沃伊饭店。这个饭店既大又贵，比我们住的饭店大，并位于伦敦的中心地带。
“妈妈需要这个工作。”我想，“苏格兰的一座私人岛屿还是个生活的好地方。我如果去那儿，也许就可以把过去发生的事情忘掉。”
“22号房间。”饭店服务台的女士说，“上楼去吧。罗斯夫人现在就可以接见您。”
格里塔·罗斯正等着我们。她大约三十岁，很漂亮。她穿着一件很贵的红色连衣裙，头发很长很黑。
“这是我女儿卡罗尔，”我妈妈说。
“你好，卡罗尔。”格里塔·罗斯说。
“您好，”我说。
“卡罗尔18岁了。”我妈妈说，“如果我能得到这份工作，她可以跟着我吗？也许她能帮助做些家务活或干些园子里的活。她喜欢园艺。她正在大学学农业。”
“也许行吧。”格里塔·罗斯说，“岛上有个小农场。”
“我喜欢在农场里干活，”我说。
格里塔·罗斯看了看我母亲。“你们在香港住了多久，桑德斯夫人？”
“七年。”我妈妈说，“我丈夫去年因飞机失事去世了，所以我们回英格兰住来了。”
“住在香港之前你们呆在哪儿？”
“我们在印度住了三年。”
然后格里塔·罗斯带我妈妈进了一个房间，问了她更多的问题。我在外边等着。
“格里塔·罗斯挺好的。”我想，“我希望妈妈能得到这份工作。”
过了不一会儿门开了，我妈妈出来了。她微笑着。
格里塔·罗斯说：“请在这儿等一会儿，桑德斯夫人。我想去打个电话。”她返回房间，并关上了门。
我坐在门旁的一把椅子上，正好能听到格里塔·罗斯打电话的声音。
“我想我已经找到了一个人。”她正在说，“她有个女儿，但这个女孩可以在园子或在农场干些活儿……别担心，她们离开英格兰已有10年了……不会出事的，我告诉你……别担心。”
过了一会儿，格里塔·罗斯挂上了电话并从屋里出来了。
“你得到了这份工作，”她告诉我妈妈说。
我妈妈很高兴。“谢谢您，”她说。
我也很高兴，可现在我对那个电话感到忧虑不安。我不明白它的意思。
■ 2 The Island
We went to Scotland the next day，first by plane，then by train．Greta Ross travelled with us．
I looked out of the train window and saw fields and villages and mountains．‘Mum is right，’I thought．‘Scotland is a very beautiful place．’
‘You're going to be my husband's secretary，’Greta Ross told my mother He's a businessman，but he never leaves the island．He does all his work by telephone and letter and computer．He invests money in companies， all over the world．’
‘Do many people live on the island？’I asked．
‘Not many，'said Greta Ross．‘You'll meet them soon．’
‘Greta Ross is young，’I thought．‘Is her husband young，too？ How can a young man buy an island？Is he very rich？’
After the train， we went on Mr Ross's boat， which took us out to the island． The boatman was a young man． He had dark hair and was brown from the sun．
‘This is Tony， said Greta Ross．‘He works for Mr Ross．’
‘Hi，'said Tony．
Soon we were near the island．I could see the beaches and the cliffs． The boat slowed down．
‘There are dangerous rocks around the island，’explained Tony．‘A lot of them are under the water and you can't see them．I have to be careful．But the rocks keep other boats away，and that pleases Mr Ross．’
‘Why？’I asked．
Tony looked at Greta Ross but she wasn't listening．‘Mr Ross doesn't like visitors to the island，'tony said in a quiet voice．
Then Greta Ross looked at us and Tony said no more．
‘Why doesn't Mr Ross like visitors？’I thought．‘Has he something to hide？’
When we arrived on the island， my mother and I followed Greta up to the house．It was very big and there were trees all around it．
A woman was waiting inside the house．
‘This is Mrs Duncan，Tony's mother，'said Greta．‘She's the housekeeper and her husband is the gardener．Mrs Duncan will take you up to your rooms． I'm going to tell Mr Ross you've arrived．’
The housekeeper was a little woman with short hair． She went up the stairs，and my mother and I went after her．
My room was next to my mother's．I looked out of the win dow and saw the garden at the back of the house．A man was working in the garden，near some trees．‘Is that Mr Duncan？’I thought．I looked between the trees and saw the sea．‘It's a beautiful house and a beautiful island．’
That evening，we had dinner with Mr and Mrs Duncan and Tony．We ate in the big kitchen．
‘What happened to Mr Ross's last secretary？’asked my mother．
‘She's in hospital，'replied Mrs Duncan．‘She's going to be away all summer．’
‘Isn't Mrs Ross lonely here