04-01-03-三怪客泛舟记 [14]
．The dining-room was dark and silent．There was no fire，no breakfast．George was very angry with Mrs G．He decided to tell her this later，in the evening．Then he caught hold of his coat，his hat and his umbrella，and ran to the front door．lt'was locked！George said that Mrs G．was a lazy old woman．Then he unlocked the door and ran out into the street．
For a few hundred metres he ran as fast as he could．But，suddenly，he noticed that there were not many people about．He also noticed that the shops were not open．It was a very dark and foggy morning．However，it seemed very strange that they had closed the shops because of the fog．He had to go to work，so why should other people stay in bed？
George could see only three people．One of them was a policeman，one was a man who was taking vegetables to the market，and one was a taxi-driver．
George looked at his watch．It was five to nine．For a moment，he stood there without moving．He wondered if he was dreaming．He felt his wrist，and bent down and felt his legs．Then，with his watch in his hand，he went up to the policeman．
'What time is it，please？'he asked the policeman．
'What's the time？'the policeman repeated．'Well，listen．'
Just then George heard a clock…one…two…three．'But that's only three times！'George said，when it had finished．
'Well，how many times do you want？'the policeman replied．
'Why，nine，of course，'George said，and he held out his watch to the policeman．
'Do you know where you live？'the policeman asked．
George thought for a minute，and then he told the policeman the address．
'Well，I think you should go back there quietly，'the policeman continued．'And take your watch with you！'
So George went back．
At first，he thought he would go to bed again．However，he did not like the idea of having to get up again later．So he decided to go to sleep in the armchair．
But he could not get to sleep．He tried to read，but that was no good either．Finally，he put on his coat again，and he went out for a walk．
He felt very lonely and miserable．He met policemen who looked at him strangely．They followed him about．He began to feel that he really had done something wrong．He started to hide in dark corners whenever he saw a policeman．
Of course，then the policemen wanted to know what he was doing．George said，'Nothing．I'm just going for a walk．'But they did not believe him．In the end，two policemen went back to the house with him．They wanted to know if he really did live there．They watched him go in with his key．Then they stood on the opposite side of the road，and they watched the house．
When he got in，he thought，'I'll light the fire，and then I'll make some breakfast．'But he made a lot of noise，and he was afraid that Mrs Gippings would wake up．She would hear the noise and think that he was a burglar．Then she would open the window and shout，'Help！Police！'the two policemen would come and arrest George，and take him away．So he stopped trying to prepare breakfast，and he put on his coat．Then he sat in the armchair and he waited for Mrs Gippings．She came down at half past seven．
George said that，since then，he had never got up too early again…
When George had finished his story，we decided to wake up Harris．It was hard work．In the end we had to use quite a sharp piece of metal．Harris sat up suddenly then．Montmoren-cy had been asleep on Harris's chest，and he went flying across the boat．
After that，we pulled up the cover and we put our heads over the side of the boat．We looked down at the water．The night before，we had decided to get up early．We would throw off the cover and we would jump into the water，with shouts of happi-ness．Then we would enjoy a long swim．
But now that morning had come， it did not seem to be a very good idea．The water looked wet and cold．The wind felt cold，too．
'Well，who's going to go in for a swim first？'Harris said fi-nally．
Nobody hurried to be the first one．George put his head back inside the boat．Montmorency barked with horror at the idea．Harris said it would he difficult to climb back into the boat a-gain from the water．Then he went back into the boat to look for his trousers
For a few hundred metres he ran as fast as he could．But，suddenly，he noticed that there were not many people about．He also noticed that the shops were not open．It was a very dark and foggy morning．However，it seemed very strange that they had closed the shops because of the fog．He had to go to work，so why should other people stay in bed？
George could see only three people．One of them was a policeman，one was a man who was taking vegetables to the market，and one was a taxi-driver．
George looked at his watch．It was five to nine．For a moment，he stood there without moving．He wondered if he was dreaming．He felt his wrist，and bent down and felt his legs．Then，with his watch in his hand，he went up to the policeman．
'What time is it，please？'he asked the policeman．
'What's the time？'the policeman repeated．'Well，listen．'
Just then George heard a clock…one…two…three．'But that's only three times！'George said，when it had finished．
'Well，how many times do you want？'the policeman replied．
'Why，nine，of course，'George said，and he held out his watch to the policeman．
'Do you know where you live？'the policeman asked．
George thought for a minute，and then he told the policeman the address．
'Well，I think you should go back there quietly，'the policeman continued．'And take your watch with you！'
So George went back．
At first，he thought he would go to bed again．However，he did not like the idea of having to get up again later．So he decided to go to sleep in the armchair．
But he could not get to sleep．He tried to read，but that was no good either．Finally，he put on his coat again，and he went out for a walk．
He felt very lonely and miserable．He met policemen who looked at him strangely．They followed him about．He began to feel that he really had done something wrong．He started to hide in dark corners whenever he saw a policeman．
Of course，then the policemen wanted to know what he was doing．George said，'Nothing．I'm just going for a walk．'But they did not believe him．In the end，two policemen went back to the house with him．They wanted to know if he really did live there．They watched him go in with his key．Then they stood on the opposite side of the road，and they watched the house．
When he got in，he thought，'I'll light the fire，and then I'll make some breakfast．'But he made a lot of noise，and he was afraid that Mrs Gippings would wake up．She would hear the noise and think that he was a burglar．Then she would open the window and shout，'Help！Police！'the two policemen would come and arrest George，and take him away．So he stopped trying to prepare breakfast，and he put on his coat．Then he sat in the armchair and he waited for Mrs Gippings．She came down at half past seven．
George said that，since then，he had never got up too early again…
When George had finished his story，we decided to wake up Harris．It was hard work．In the end we had to use quite a sharp piece of metal．Harris sat up suddenly then．Montmoren-cy had been asleep on Harris's chest，and he went flying across the boat．
After that，we pulled up the cover and we put our heads over the side of the boat．We looked down at the water．The night before，we had decided to get up early．We would throw off the cover and we would jump into the water，with shouts of happi-ness．Then we would enjoy a long swim．
But now that morning had come， it did not seem to be a very good idea．The water looked wet and cold．The wind felt cold，too．
'Well，who's going to go in for a swim first？'Harris said fi-nally．
Nobody hurried to be the first one．George put his head back inside the boat．Montmorency barked with horror at the idea．Harris said it would he difficult to climb back into the boat a-gain from the water．Then he went back into the boat to look for his trousers