Unit 32: What did you say?

1. He said his name was David.

(At a police station.)

Sergeant	Hello Mary. Who is she?
Mary	Her name's Mrs. Russell. She comes from London—29 Bridge Road, Acton. She's visiting her married daughter— that's Mrs. Peters, 16 Bramble Lane.
Sergeant	Peters? Bramble Lane? I think I know the family.
Mary	Well, Mrs. Russell was bringing some money for her daughter—two hundred pounds. She had it in her bag on the train, but when she got here, the bag was gone.
Sergeant	OK. I'll talk to her.
Mary	Oh, by the way, there was a young man with long hair on the train sitting next to Mrs. Russell. And after he got off, she couldn't find her bag.
Sergeant	A long-haired young man, eh? Ah, well. Long hair. That explains it, doesn't it? Well, tell me about this young man on the train, Mrs. Russell.
Mrs. Russell	David, you mean?
Sergeant	David?
Mrs. Russell	Yes. His name was David Masters.
Sergeant	That's what he told you?
Mrs. Russell	Yes. He said his name was David Masters, and he told me he lived in Brightsea.
Sergeant	I see.
Mrs. Russell	Well, he said he used to live in Brightsea. He lives in London now really. He's a student at the university. He told me that he took his exams last week, and he said he was going back to Brightsea for the holidays.
Sergeant	He told you all that?
Mrs. Russell	Yes.
Sergeant	So, he said he was a student at London University.
Mrs. Russell	That's right. And I'm sure he is, Sergeant. He's very nice.
Sergeant	Hmmm ... We'll see, Mrs. Russell. Excuse me a minute.
Mary	That young man ...
Sergeant	Yes. He's the one we want. He said his name was David Masters. He said he lived in Brightsea. Huh!
Mary	He does.
Sergeant	What?
Mary	He lives in Brightsea. I telephoned. The Masters family have a son, David. But he's not at home at the moment.
Sergeant	Ah! Of course he's not. He's spending that two hundred pounds.
Mary	I don't think so.

(David comes in.)

Mrs. Russell	David!
David	Hello, Mrs. Russell. Are you looking for this?
Mrs. Russell	Yes. Thank you.
Sergeant	Are you David Masters?
David	Yes.
Sergeant	And you've got Mrs. Russell's bag?
David	That's right. I've got her bag and she's got my bag.
Mrs. Russell	Have I?
David	Yes. That's mine, and this is yours. Your handbag was in it. Were you worried?
Mrs. Russell	Yes, a little.
David	It's all right now. Come on, let's go and have a cup of tea.
Mrs. Russell	All right. You see, Sergeant, I said he was a nice young man.
Mary	Goodbye, Mrs. Russell. What did you say about young men with long hair?
Sergeant	Me? I said I liked them. They're very nice. They offer people cups of tea.
Mary	Oh, that's what you said? All right. I'll get you one.
Sergeant	Thanks.
Mary	I like young men with long hair, too.

2. What do they want to know?

(The sergeant is reading a letter from France.)

Sergeant	Mary, before you go, can you read French?
Mary	Well, yes, a little.
Sergeant	I've got a letter here. It's about a summer course you can do in France. Joyce, my wife, wrote to them about it.
Mary	Let's see.
Sergeant	What do they want to know?
Mary	It says: Person taking the course—please give full name ...
Sergeant	Full name—yes.
Mary	Address and telephone number.
Sergeant	Yes.
Mary	They want to know if the person is married or single, male or female.
Sergeant	Right, I've got that.
Mary	And they want to know date and place of birth.
Sergeant	OK.
Mary	Now, what's this? Oh, yes. They want to know if you've done any courses in cooking before. Cooking! So that's the course— French cooking.
Sergeant	Yes. You see, I told my wife the other day that she was a good housewife, but not a very good cook.
Mary	You told her that? Wasn't she angry?
Sergeant	No. Not at all. She said I was right. And a few days later she wrote about this course.
Mary	So she's going to do the course during the holiday?
Sergeant	Well—no. I am.

3. He's the most dangerous man in Britain.

(Jenkins, a young policeman, is on night duty at the station.)

Constable	Sergeant ...
Sergeant	Ah, Jenkins.
Constable	Yes. Sergeant.
Sergeant	Your first night here ...
Constable	Yes.
Sergeant	Well, first things first, Jenkins.
Constable	Yes, Sergeant.
Sergeant	Sit down, Jenkins.
Constable	Yes, Sergeant.
Sergeant	That man ...
Constable	That man, Sergeant?
Sergeant	That man over there. Can you see him?
Constable	Yes, Sergeant.
Sergeant	He is the most dangerous man in Britain.
Constable	Is he?
Sergeant	Yes. His name is William Naylor, Jenkins. He was born in this town and he went to the local school around the comer. He was there from September until October 1953. But he didn't like the school, Jenkins.
Constable	No?
Sergeant	No. And there isn't a school there now. There was a fire, you see? In October 1953. A big fire, and no more school!
Constable	Oh!
Sergeant	Do you think William Naylor is married, Jenkins?
Constable	I don't know, Sergeant.
Sergeant	He was married, but his wife had an "accident". His second wife had an accident, too. And his third wife, and his fourth, and his fifth.
Constable	Good heavens!
Sergeant	He doesn't like policemen, Jenkins. He doesn't like young policemen. Young policemen who meet William Naylor don't become old policemen. Do you understand?
Constable	Yes, Sergeant.
Sergeant	So be careful.
Constable	Yes, Sergent.
Sergeant	He is the most dangerous man in Britain.

4. Keep away!

(Sergeant leaves and William Naylor comes up.)

Constable

(Frightened) Keep away! Keep away!