Learning English [Level 2.3]

Download The Eyes of Montezuma .mp3 + pdf


1. The american girl
Nick Harman stood at the back of the ship and watched England slowly disappear. 'That was a really wonderful holiday,' he said quietly.
His wife, Clare, smiled. 'Two weeks of rain in Cornwall and you thought it was wonderful?!'
Nick put an arm round her and laughed. 'Well, OK, the weather was bad, but you can't have an English
August without rain.' He looked at his watch. 'When do we get to Santander?'
'Not until six o'clock this evening,' answered Clare. 'Then it's another four hours in the car to Madrid. It's going to be a long day.'
Nick looked down at the white water below them. 'It's also the last day of our holiday,' he said.
Suddenly he felt Clare's hand on his arm. 'Look,' she said and pointed to an old man on the other side of the ship. He was sitting in a red chair and reading a Spanish newspaper.
'What is it?' asked Nick.
'The Countess of Montalban has died,' replied Clare. 'It's on the front page of that man's newspaper. Isn't her grandson, Jose Duero, one of your students?'
Just then the old man stood up and put the newspaper under his arm. Quickly Nick walked across to him.
'Excuse me,' he said in Spanish. 'Could I borrow your newspaper for a few minutes?'
The man smiled. 'Yes, you can keep it, young man. But are you sure you want it? It's ten days old.'
'Yes, I'm sure,' said Nick. 'Thanks.'
Five minutes later Nick and Clare were sitting in one of the ship's lounges. There were two cups of coffee
and the Spanish newspaper on the table in front of them.
'She was ninety-four,' said Clare.
'Yes,' replied Nick. 'She was also one of the richest women in Spain. Jose told me once about a pair of her
earrings. What did he call them? Oh yes - the Eyes of Montezuma - that was it.'
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