Money For A Motorbike

MACMILLAN

READERS

BEGINNER LEVEL

JOHN MILNE

Money For a Motorbike

MACMILLAN

It was the month of June and the weather was beautiful. Stuart left school. He was on holiday. But he was not happy. He did not have a motorbike. Stuart was seventeen years old. He left school, but he did not start work. All his mates started work immediately, but Stuart did not want to work. He wanteda long holiday and he needed a motorbike. Stuart lived in Leeds - a big city in the North of England. Leeds is a busy city - full of offices, shops and factories. It's not a good place for a holiday. Martin, a friend of Stuart's, worked in a garage. Martin had a bike for sale. It was a beauty - a Japanese Suzuki. Martin wanted £350 for the bike, but Stuart did not have £350. He didn't have anymoney. Stuart went and looked at the bike every day. It was a beauty. He wanted to buy it. 'Where can I find £ 3 5 0 ? ' Stuart asked himself.

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Stuart left the garage and walked back home. His house was in Blenheim Street, near the university. There were lots of old, empty houses in Blenheim Street. The university was one of the biggest in England. The university often bought land andbuildings. Most of the old houses in Blenheim Street belonged to the university. Some of these houses had been empty for years. Stuart often searched through them. Sometimes he found old books and gramophone records. 'One day,' he told himself, 'I'll find something valuable.'

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There was a large house at the corner of Blenheim Street. Its owner - a rich, old woman - had died a few days ago. Theuniversity bought the house immediately. Now the house was empty. There was wood across the front door and the windows were broken. Someone looked out of a window. It was a man of about twenty. He had long hair and was wearing a headband. He looked strange. He was a squatter. Squatters live in old, empty houses and they don't pay any rent. The stranger waved to Stuart. He wanted to speak to Stuart.'What does he want?' Stuart asked himself.

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Frank walked off slowly down the street. His head was bent forward and he was looking down at the pavement. He was about twenty, but he looked much older. Frank went round the corner and Stuart turned towards the house. It looked interesting. The window was low — quite near the ground. The street was empty. Stuart put one leg over thewindow sill and looked inside.

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Outside the sun was shining brightly. Inside the house it was dark. Stuart stood for a few moments and waited. Slowly the inside of the room became clearer. There was a calendar on the wall. Lots of old newspapers were lying around on the floor. There was a mattress against the far wall. It looked new. Stuart looked up and down the street. There was no onearound. He quickly climbed into the room.

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Stuart walked to the middle of the room and kicked away the old newspapers. There was nothing underneath them. There was no carpet and the floorboards were covered with dirt. Stuart took the calendar down from the wall. It was an old one — five years old. No one had changed it for five years. Then Stuart remembered. The owner of the house - theold woman — had been ill for a long time. She hadn't got out of her bed for five years. The mattress was leaning against the far wall. Stuart went over and looked at it carefully. It was a good mattress. Stuart picked up the mattress and turned it over carefully. There was some stitching along one side about ten centimetres long. Stuart held the mattress between his knees and took out a small knife.Stuart cut the stitches carefully and then put his hand in the hole. He felt a bundle of newspapers and pulled it out. He quickly unwrapped it. Inside the bundle of newspapers there were some banknotes.

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Suddenly Stuart heard a voice. It was Frank. 'Hey - Stuart - where are you?' Frank was shouting. Stuart quickly wrapped up the money inside the newspapers. He held the bundle...