Don't Look Now (Penguin Readers, Level 2)

25 Pages·2.045 MB·English

by  Du Maurier Daphne.

Don't Look Now
He looked up and found the secondw oftian, with the whiter hair,
looking at him with strangelye mpty eyesa gain, waiting Jor her tall
Jiend to comeb ack. He did not like it. Why did she look at him
that?I t wonied him.
John and Laura are on holiday in Venice. Their daughter,
Christine, is dead and they need time - time to forget, time to
live again and be h.ppy.
But it's not going to be easy. When they see the two tall,
thin oid women again and again, they know that something is
wrong. And then the women say Christine is here, with
them, and there's something she wants to say . . .
Daphne du Maurier was born in t9o7 in London. She did not
go to school but had lessonsa t home. She wrote and sold her
first stories in 1928, and her first book, The Louing Spirit in
r93t. Jamaica lnn ca.mei n 1936. After Rebecca,i n r9j8, she
was famous. She wrote that book in Alexandria, in Egypt. But,
like many of her books, it is about people living in Cornwall
in the west of England. She loved Cornwall and lived there
for many years. She liked walking, gardening and watching
birds, and loved the sea.
After Rebecu she wrote fourteen more books. But she also
'Don't
wrote many stories. Look Now' is from a book, Not
After Midnight from rg7t.'The Birds' is another farirous story.
In her last years, Daphne du Maurier saw few people and
stayed at her home in Cornwall. She died in 1989, when she
was eighty-one.
There are many films of her books and stories. Alfred
Hitchcock's films of Rebecca( r94o) and The Birds (1963) are
famous. Don't Look Nory was also a film, tn t973.
t
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OTITER TITLES IN THE SERIES
ltuel 1 buel 4
Girl Meets Boy The Boys from Brazil Don't Look Now
The Hen and the Bull The Breathing Method
The Medal of Brigadier Gerard The Danger
Detective Work
Ituel 2
The Doll's House and Other Stories
The Birds
Dracula
Chocky
Far from the Madding Crowd
Emily DAPHNE DU MAURIER
Fareweli, My Lovely
The Fox
Glitz
The Ghost of Genny Castle
Gone with the Wind, Part 1
Grandad's Eleven
Gone with the Wind, Part 2 Levcl 2
The Lady in the Lake
The House of Stairs
Money to Burn
The Locked Room and Other
Persuasion Horror Stories Retold by Dcrek Strange
The Railway Children
The Room in the Tower and Other The Mill on the Floss SeriesE ditor: l)erek Strange
The Mosquito Coast
Ghost Stories
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Simply Suspense
Strangerso n a Train
TreasureI sland 'White
Fang
Under the Greenwood Tree
I*uel 5
kvel 3
The Baby Party and Other Stories
Black Beauty
The Body
The Black Cat and Other Stories
The Firm
The Book of Heroic Failures
The Grassi s Singing
A Catskill Eagle
Jude the Obscure
Channel Runner
The Darling Buds of May The OldJest DONATEDB Y
The Pelican Brief
Dubliners Pride and Prejudice @OB RITiSH
Earthdark Prime Suspect ss coui'{lL
Jane Eyre A Twist in the Tale
King Solomon's Mines
The Warden
Madame Doubtfire
Web
The Man with Two Shadows and
Other Ghost Stories kuel 6
More Heroic Failures The Edge
Mrs Dalloway The Long Goodbye
My Family and Other Animals Misery
Rain Man Mrs Packletide'sT iger and Other
The Reluctant Queen Stories
Sherlock Holmes and the Mystery The Moonstone
of Boscombe Pool Presumed Innocent
The Thirty-nine Steps A Tale of Two Cities
Time Bird The Thom Birds PENGUIN BOOKS
Twice Shy Wuthering Heights
-------=z=E€Ft: L
PENGUIN BOOKS To the teacher:
Publishedb y the penguin Group
Penguin Books Ltd, 27 Wrighn Lane, London Wg 5TZ, England In addition to all the language forms of Levels One, which
PenguinB ooks USA Inc.,375 Hudson Steet, New york, New york 1ml4, USA are used again at this level of the series,t he main verb forms
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia
PenguinB ooks CanadaL td, 10 Alcom Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, CanadaM 4y 3Fi2 and tensesu sed at Level Two are:
PenguinB ooks (NZ) Lrd, 182-190W airau Road, Auckland 10.N ew Zealand . common irregular forms of past simple verbs, going to (for
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Officcs: Harmondsworth, Middlescx. Eneland prediction and to state intention) and common phrasal
'Don't
Look Now'copyright @ Daphne du Maurier 1970 verbs
Published by Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1971 in the collection Not AJter Midnight
. modal verbs: will and won't (to express willingness) and
This adaptationw as publishedb y PenguinB ooks 1992
13579108642 ?nust( to expresso bligation or necessity).
Text copyright @ Derck Srrange1 9 92 Also useda re:
Illustrationsc opyright @ PiersS andford1 992
All rishts reserved o adverbs: irregular adverbs of manner, furthcr adverbs of
place and time
The moral righr ofthe adaptera nd ofthe illustratorh asb eena sserted
. prepositions: of movenlent, further prepositions and pre-
Illustrations by Piers Sandford
positiorlaip hrascso f placc and tinre
Printed in England by Clays Ltd, St lves plc o adjectives:c omparison of similars (as. . , ds)a nd of dissim-
Filmset in I l/14 pt Lasercomp Bembo
ilars (-er than, the . . -esti nf of, more and most . . . )
Exccpt in the United Statcs of America, . conjunctions: io (consequences),b ecause( reasons),b rfonl
this book is sold subject to the condition
that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise. qlierfw hen (for scquencing)
be lcnt, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated o indirect speech( statements).
without the publisher's ptior consent in any forrrr of
binding 61 6or". other rhan that in which it is
published and without a similar condition Specific attention is paid to vocabulary developnrent in the
including this condition being imposed Vocabulary Work exercisesa t the end of the book. These
on the subsequent purchaser
exercisesa re aimed at training studentst o enlarget heir vocabu-
lary systematically through intelligent reading and effective
use of a dictionary.
To the student:
i
f-
Dictionary Words:
-
. somew ords in this book are darker black than others.L ook
\t
N them up in your dictionaryo r try to understandth em without
I a dictionary first, and look them up later.
-d- -
'Don't look now,'John said to his wife, 'but there are two
old girls two tables away, looking at me all the time. I
don't like it. There's something very strange about their
trNs eyes.'
Laura, immediately interested, slowly turned her head.
- 'lw ,(l , 'Behind you,'John said.' Don't turn round quickly' They'll
,Y4A know you're looking at them.'
Laura turned round more, caught the eye of the man to
bring them some more coffee now, and then looked quickly
at the table behind her before she turned back again' She was
red in the face, excited, wanting to laugh.
'They're
not old girls,John,'she said.'They're men, dressed
up in women's clothes. Very strange, I must say!'
She must not laugh, John thought. He quickly took her
.glassa nd gave her some more wine.
'I
don't think they saw you looking,'he said,g iving her the
'Here,
glass. drink some water. You mustn't laugh. Perhaps
they're dangerous. Murderers or something, going round
Europe, changing their clothes in each place. You know,
sisters here on Torcello this morning; brothers tomorrow'
or tonight, back in Venice. Running from the police, per-
haps.'
'Murderers?'
askedL aura.
'Yes.
Murderers. But why me? Why are they looking at
me all the time? Oh no! The sister with the white hair has got
her eye on me again.'
'Don't The man brought the coffee and took away the fruit, so
roluonodk q nuoiwck. lBy.e Thihnedyy ,ollu ki nJoowh tyto sua,irte!t loo hoiksi uwgif aet. t ,hDeomn.,,t htrn Lwaaunrtain gh atdo dlamugeh tsoo dmruinckh .some of her wine, to stop herself
-" ,j r;;lii4tfl&&$,
'l
don't think they're murderers. I think they're two old
women from Australia or somewhere, in Venice on holiday
together. Called Tilly and Tiny, or something.'
Suddenly, for the first time on this holiday, she was like the
old Laura again, trying not to laugh and going red in the
face, making up stories about people sitting near them irt
restaurants, visiting old churches and looking at famous pic-
tures in different cities with him again. Suddenly she didn't
look sad and afraid any more. Perhaps,h e thought, perhaps
she's starting to get better, starting to laugh and live again.
Perhaps she will begin to forget and then we can go on
together, he thought.
'You 'that
know,' said Laura, was a very good lunch.'
Good, he thought, that's better . . . and very quietly he said
'One
to her, of them is standing up, looking at the back of
the restaurant. Do you think she'sg oing to change her clothes
or hair again?'
'Don't 'I'll
say anything,' she answered. follow her and see.
Perhaps she's got a bag out there, with all their different
clo'tChoems iinn git . Where is she now?' Joh nha d ,'* : - :-";:H iffi t;'.',T,::lii T :i:' il;
pasto ur table in a minute,'he told her.
The woman was not very unusual, when you saw her from thch oridaivs herpinLga urato '
il:t': ffi:i:'::'J'?::t;;s
near to. Tall, with a long thin nose and short hair. About t" go on living without Christine"
sixty-four or -five, he thought, with a man's shirt and a forget, to be happy ;;;' 'Thev
tt'tl;Jfit:et said'
iwhtnhehgeai.mt vey Br,,-u ltot htnwtaghot e ,bw riaontshwte eanr e llss.sa tkTimnirrgyet. i, n tSlhgikti rneong no sgtwi stbatoelsa r lcsatk.hu Hasgtehh rot haefegsrrai,eeg in nowd,o 'Ledsar efuho rarta wir ws ota wolkoao-dsf ayalonwudar L yyasoud uroan,. gY b souobut n'eiltl tt ottte"t utkrit" v* 'Oe otr tivh"' tOtse' ol'o c"Ghw''i iil"davern" e d,hnt eyh' aroe nt-u itom'lrotehec se' ttrYoid lorla yuuo gsuhtntielglr 'h' p yaoevrue-
up, ready to follow.
'I 'Don't n"li their son' but
baawcakym ofurr osImt nk 'ntt ohlwaeu tgaI'hbll,l 'e la,s ufhogelhl so.aw' idSin.hg e ttohoek t alholelo rwk hoaamtn amdnbe a tgwo hatehnned dwI oacolokrm eadet CAhnrdi sht.eirnr kye. ,.t t.*o ' CsLa^t"ty"t ttt"iht eat" tc l' w*' ta'i lsts eh"ve"e loor'yvhteth'd in Jcgoh-hi'tl hnden' a iwen'oo rtlhde' rdt oa uLgahutrear''
the back of the restaurant.
yes, but not Christine; not rhe same.N ot the beautiful limle
girl with dancing eyesa nd thick black hair, now dead.
_He looked, up and found the second woman, with the
whiter hair, looking at him with strangely empty eyes again,
waiting for her tall friend to come Ur.t . H. did not like it.
Why did she look at him like that? It worried him. He took
a cigarette and played with it in his fingers. He knew her eyes
were on him all the time. He looked at his watch. L"u.",,
taking a long ti'm!Veh,a rh'es thought. More than ten mrnutes now.
Where is she? she doing in there? Suddenly, the tall
woman walked slowly past their table, stood next to her
friend and said something ro her quietly. John could nor hear
the words. Her friend stood up urra in.y moved away to_
gether, arm in arm through the tables, out across the garden
of the hotel. Laura came out of the door ar the back and
sto'oWde tlhl,e re watching them leave, her face very white.
you took your rime . . ., he began, and stopped,
seeing her face. Something was wrong. She walked ."r.f.lty
to their table and sat down. He quickly pulled up a chair next
to her.
'What 'lVhat
happened? did she do?, he asked. ,.What is it,
Laura?T ell me. Are you ill?'
'Sfhh.e turned and looked ar him, slowly looking happier.
. isn't dead,J ohn. She,sh ere wiih us. That,s why they
Iooked at us all the time, those two sisters. They could see
Christine.'
Oh no, he thought. It,s what I was afraid of, She,sg oing
ou'tI of her head. What do I do? F{ow can I help her?
_ must tell you, love,' Laura went on. .I,m so excited, so
happy! When I went our rhere, I was washrng my hands and
suddenly the'tall woman turned to me and said, ..Don,t be
unhappy. My sister saw your little girl. She was there with 'What happenedW. hatd ids hed o?'h ea sked''W hat is it' Laura?
you at the table, between you and your husband,l aughing.,, TeIlm e'A re Youi ll?'
10
"-\.ry$ll'ry34 f!trF' 2
She said Christine wanted us to know she was here with us.
John? You don't believe me, do you? But that,s what she
said. I'm so happy. I can't tell you how happy I am. I know
she was right, that woman. Her sister can see things other
people cannot see. . . she said Christine was in that blue-and-
white dresss he wore for her birthday lasr year. Remember?'
I
What couid he say? How could he answer her? She sat
there, not crying, not excited. Quiet. Smiling at him, looking
h"ppy for the first time in days.
'Yes,
Laura. I . . .' What could he say?
'Come 'We
She stood up. on. must see the church here on
Torcello, now that we're here.'
So they left the resraurant, and walked slowly through the
market with its clothes and fruit and cheap sunglassesa, cross
the square and into the church. Inside, it was dark. colder
than in the sun in the square. They moved slowly along with
the other people, Americans and Germans and Japanese,a ll
talking to each other quietly. Then suddenly John saw them
again, the two sisters, standing together in a dark corner,
away from all the other people, looking at him again. He
wanted to get out, get away from the two strange women,
back to Venice as quickly as they could. He took Laura's arm
and began to push her in front of him, through all the people,
to the door. She did not want to leave so soon, but she
thought he was not interestedi n seeingt he church, so she said
nothing. They came out into the sun, walked down to the
water, and found their boat, waiting to take them back to
Venice again. They took their placesi n the boat and he put
'What
one arm round her. She smiled up at him. a good day!
I'll never forget it. Never. You know, love, I think I'm
starting to have a very, very good holiday.' And shel aughed.
He smiled back at her, happily. It's going to be all right, SuddentJyo hfl saw theftta gain' the two s,isterss.t'a ndingto getheirn
he thought. She's coming back ro me again. Everything will a dark cotne't o*oy f'o* all theo therp eople'
12
id'
. d*rytrr .!' " ev r$r{lll*l'w2 v'
tffi*
be the same as before between us. Venice will bring us 'What was that?' said Laura' worried and afraid'
together again, help us to start living again without Christine. 'someone with too much wine inside them' perhaps" said
We'll go out and find somewhere different for dinner this quickly' 'Come on'' But it wasn't like that' he knew'
evening, he thought, not the place we usually go to. Some- 'f"o'ihnn., *"lt.d away quickly up the street' Laura in front'
where new. b.hind. Suddenly something cau-eft his eye: someone
Their hotel was a small, comfortable place, near the Grand 't-or"htn"* from the dark door of one of the houses' climbing
Canal. The man at the front desk smiled and gave them their key. into a-r isrtm, all boat in the water next to the house' A child' a
Fanrodm g otihneg w ainlodnogw t hoef cthaeniarl r ino otmhe t lhaetey acfotuerldn osoenet. h Jeo bhona ttusrc noemd ionng Ut,.,nrin. ft ando f woantclyh edfi vhee ro' rS shiex j'u mwpeeadri ngfr oam sthhoer tf ircsota bt'o Jaot htno
the hot water in the bathroom, wanting a bath before the another and to another' acrosst he water' and then to the door
evening. Now, he thought ash e went back into the bedroom, of an old blacklooking house' through its black door' and
is the time to make love, to be together again after all these away. It took onlY a minute'
weeks. She understood,o pened her arms to him and smiled. Laura didn't see,h e thought' He was h"ppy about that' He
'The thing is, love,' she said later, doing her hair in front of heard her feet coming back down the street'
the looking-glass, 'I'm not very hungry. Shall we have a 'What are you doing? I nearly lost you''
quiet evening and eat here in the hotel?' 'SorrY,'he said'' l'm coming''
'No, no. Let's go out. Let's go and find a small, dark place He took her arm and they walked fast along the little street
where the Italians eat whcn they're in love. 'We can sit hand and came out into a small square behind a church' Not a
in hand, drinking wine togcther, waiting for rnidnight.' church he knew' They walked on across the squaie' into
They went out laughing into thc warm quiet night. 'Let's another street' down it' more and more lost' Suddenly' in
walk,' he said, 'so that you're hungry by the time we find front of them they o* it*nt' and people walking in front of
He turned and smiled
somewhere good to eat.' another beautiful church'\^nZ^t"ra'
So they walked, and soon they lost themselvesi n the small at her.
dark backstreetso f the city, away from the sounds of the 'Let's go and find your restaurant' then' That was qutte
boats and the water. The houses stood tall and dark above exciting, wasn't it?'he said'
'Ristorante' in orange lights at the
wtheerme., Lthaeuirra w tihnoduogwhst tchloesye wde.J roeh ns odmide wnhoet rken noewa r wthhee rceh uthrechy coTrnheery o fs aa wst rteheet word th" square' and soon they were inside'
of San Zaccaria, and thought there was a restaurant in a small with the people e"al'toin" g and drittkit'g' men in white shirts and
street next to the church.tThey were at the conler of another black trousersp ushing Pastc hairs' carrytng-pla:tt tf tb""1':1,:l:
dark, empty street, the same as all the others, when they ing bottles of wine, shouting back to the kitchen rn tast ltalran
heard the cry - ^ dying cry, suddenly stopped. It came from that they could not understand' They sat at a table in the corner
one of the housesw ith its windows closed. black and dead. andJohn looked about him while Laura looked at the menu'
But which one? They stopped and listened. Then he saw them, the two old sisters,t aking their places
14
+
at a table across the room. He was immediately uncomfort-
able. He wanted to leave, to get out of the place, but Laura
was happily looking at the menu, waiting for her drink to
ernve. Why were the two old women in the same restauraut?
Of all the hundreds of different restaurants in Venice, why
were they here, in this restaurant? And why did Laura want
to come to a restaurant near the church of San Zaccaria? Did
she know the two sistersa te here, and wanted to meet them
again?
Laura looked up from the menu and started to look round
the room. She saw them and gave a little cry.
'Oh
John! Look! It's those two strange sisters we met on
Torcello ttris afternoon, sitting at that table over there. They're
looking over here. I must go and talk to them for a minute. I
must tell them how h"ppy they made me today.'
Before he could stop her, she got up and, moving quickly
past the man arriving with their drinks, walked across the
room. He watched her stop by their table, smiling, then pull
up a chair and sit down with them. All right, John thought.
I'll have a good evening without you, then. And he ordered
another drink and a bottle of cold white wine to have with
his food. He watched the three women at the table acrosst he
room. Laura, listening to the taller sister talking, sometimes
asking a question. The smaller sister with white hair said
nothing, but looked quietly acrossa t his table.
What do they want to talk to Laura for? he thought,
beginning his second drink. I'm not h"ppy about it. Why are
they after my wife like this, following her, telling her things
about Christine?
His food came and he started to eat, but then he pushed the
A child' sat olipttplee gdai rnl do wf oantclyh,ef. dvh .eeor .r I st ixto, owke oanrliyn aga m sihttourtte c.oat.John bfpoalaoctdke,, asswiottaminyeg, fsdisuohdw,d nne onatly g sanaionyt i anhtg ut hanengiyrryt h taianbngley, , mnstooatrr etsi.ne gTe ihtnoeg n et haLata th uehrrea o wwwaanss
17
*,