03-02-06-诱拐 [2]
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But when my uncle called me in again，he counted thirty eight English pounds in gold into my hands．It clearly hurt him to do it，and he kept back the last two pounds，but I did not mind that．Surprised and pleased，I thanked him warmly．
‘Now，’he said，looking cleverly at me，‘ye can give me something，Davie．I'm getting old now，and I need help．’
‘Of course，sir，’I answered．‘What can I do？’
‘Well，go outside and climb the stairs at the other end of the house，where the building isn't finished yet．Go up to the room at the top，and bring down the chest that ye'll find there．It's got valuable papers in it．’
‘Can I have a light，sir？’I asked．
‘No，’he said sharply．‘No lights in my house！’ ‘Very well，sir．Are the stairs good？’
‘They're grand，’ said he．‘The stairs are grand．Out I went into the night．As I was feeling my way along the outside wall，there was a sudden flash of lightning，then darkness again．I found the stairs and started climbing．I was about fifteen metres above the ground，when there was another flash of lightning．That was lucky for me，because it showed me that the steps were uneven， and that I could easily fall to my death．‘These are the grand stairs！’I thought．‘Perhaps my uncle wants me to die！’Now I was very careful，and I felt each step with my hands before I put my foot on it．A few steps later my hand felt cold stone，and then nothing more．The stairs ended there，twenty metres above the ground．I felt cold with fear，when I thought of the danger that I had been in．Sending a stranger up those stairs in the dark was sending him straight to his death．
Angrily，I turned and felt my way down．There was a crash of thunder，and suddenly the rain came down．At the bottom of the stairs I looked towards the kitchen，and could see，in the next flash of lightning，a figure standing still in the doorway，listening． When the thunder sounded again，louder than before，he ran back inside，and I followed as softly as I could．I found him sitting in the kitchen，drinking whisky straight from the bottle，and shaking with fear．Quietly I came up behind him，and，putting my hands sud denly on his shoulders，cried，‘Ah！’
My uncle gave a kind of broken cry，and fell to the floor like a dead man．His face was a strange blue colour，and I began to think that he really was dead．At last his eyes opened，and he looked up and saw me．‘Oh man，are ye alive or a ghost？’he cried ‘Get me my medicine，Davie—it's for my heart．’I found the medicine bottle and gave him some．He soon began to look a little better． ‘Why did you lie to me？’I asked angrily．‘Why did you give me money？ And why did you try to kill me？ Answer me！’
‘I'll tell ye tomorrow，Davie，I promise．Help me to bed now，will ye？’He still looked very ill，so I could not refuse．But this time I locked his bedroom door，and went to sleep in front of the kitchen fire．
When I woke up in the morning，I felt very pleased with myself．‘He thinks he's cleverer than me，but he isn't！’I thought．When I let my uncle out of his room，I asked him again for an explanation After a while，he said，‘Davie，I have some business with a ship's captain at Queensferry．Now，we could walk over there，and when I've done my business，we could visit the lawyer，Mr Rankeillor．He'll answer all your questions．He's an honest man，and he knew your father．What do ye say to that？’
I thought for a moment．I had never seen the sea，but had always wanted to！‘It's a grand idea，’I said．
It was a morning's walk to Queensferry，Which was west of Edinburgh，but we did not say a word to each other on the way．Suddenly，at the top of a hill，we could see the Firth of Forth below us，blue and calm，with white sails on it．
‘Ye see that public house？’asked my uncle．‘Captain Hoseason's there，to do business with me．There's the ship's boat on the beach，waiting to take him to the ship．And there's the ship itself！A grand ship！’
I had to agree with him．The sailors were getting the ship ready for sailing，and I thought what an exciting adventure that would be—to sail away to a foreign country．
We walked down the hill to the public house and met the captain there．He was a tall
But when my uncle called me in again，he counted thirty eight English pounds in gold into my hands．It clearly hurt him to do it，and he kept back the last two pounds，but I did not mind that．Surprised and pleased，I thanked him warmly．
‘Now，’he said，looking cleverly at me，‘ye can give me something，Davie．I'm getting old now，and I need help．’
‘Of course，sir，’I answered．‘What can I do？’
‘Well，go outside and climb the stairs at the other end of the house，where the building isn't finished yet．Go up to the room at the top，and bring down the chest that ye'll find there．It's got valuable papers in it．’
‘Can I have a light，sir？’I asked．
‘No，’he said sharply．‘No lights in my house！’ ‘Very well，sir．Are the stairs good？’
‘They're grand，’ said he．‘The stairs are grand．Out I went into the night．As I was feeling my way along the outside wall，there was a sudden flash of lightning，then darkness again．I found the stairs and started climbing．I was about fifteen metres above the ground，when there was another flash of lightning．That was lucky for me，because it showed me that the steps were uneven， and that I could easily fall to my death．‘These are the grand stairs！’I thought．‘Perhaps my uncle wants me to die！’Now I was very careful，and I felt each step with my hands before I put my foot on it．A few steps later my hand felt cold stone，and then nothing more．The stairs ended there，twenty metres above the ground．I felt cold with fear，when I thought of the danger that I had been in．Sending a stranger up those stairs in the dark was sending him straight to his death．
Angrily，I turned and felt my way down．There was a crash of thunder，and suddenly the rain came down．At the bottom of the stairs I looked towards the kitchen，and could see，in the next flash of lightning，a figure standing still in the doorway，listening． When the thunder sounded again，louder than before，he ran back inside，and I followed as softly as I could．I found him sitting in the kitchen，drinking whisky straight from the bottle，and shaking with fear．Quietly I came up behind him，and，putting my hands sud denly on his shoulders，cried，‘Ah！’
My uncle gave a kind of broken cry，and fell to the floor like a dead man．His face was a strange blue colour，and I began to think that he really was dead．At last his eyes opened，and he looked up and saw me．‘Oh man，are ye alive or a ghost？’he cried ‘Get me my medicine，Davie—it's for my heart．’I found the medicine bottle and gave him some．He soon began to look a little better． ‘Why did you lie to me？’I asked angrily．‘Why did you give me money？ And why did you try to kill me？ Answer me！’
‘I'll tell ye tomorrow，Davie，I promise．Help me to bed now，will ye？’He still looked very ill，so I could not refuse．But this time I locked his bedroom door，and went to sleep in front of the kitchen fire．
When I woke up in the morning，I felt very pleased with myself．‘He thinks he's cleverer than me，but he isn't！’I thought．When I let my uncle out of his room，I asked him again for an explanation After a while，he said，‘Davie，I have some business with a ship's captain at Queensferry．Now，we could walk over there，and when I've done my business，we could visit the lawyer，Mr Rankeillor．He'll answer all your questions．He's an honest man，and he knew your father．What do ye say to that？’
I thought for a moment．I had never seen the sea，but had always wanted to！‘It's a grand idea，’I said．
It was a morning's walk to Queensferry，Which was west of Edinburgh，but we did not say a word to each other on the way．Suddenly，at the top of a hill，we could see the Firth of Forth below us，blue and calm，with white sails on it．
‘Ye see that public house？’asked my uncle．‘Captain Hoseason's there，to do business with me．There's the ship's boat on the beach，waiting to take him to the ship．And there's the ship itself！A grand ship！’
I had to agree with him．The sailors were getting the ship ready for sailing，and I thought what an exciting adventure that would be—to sail away to a foreign country．
We walked down the hill to the public house and met the captain there．He was a tall