EFLshorts

Hooker put the gold back onto the shirt. He was very afraid now. He did not want to be alone in the forest with his sick friend. He was far from help and nobody knew about his trip with Evans to the island. Hooker looked at his friend. He could not carry both the gold and Evans. He began to put gold on the shirt. The gold was heavy, so he did it slowly. He lifted the last piece of gold and something hurt his finger. He looked at his hand. There was a thorn in it and there was blood on his fingers. The thorn was two centimetres in length*. It was long and thin – like a tooth.

Suddenly, Evans cried loudly and fell onto the grass.

Hooker’s mouth dropped open. He looked at the thorn in his finger. He looked at Evans. Evans’s body shook and he cried out in pain. Hooker looked at all the trees, bushes and the big white flowers. He thought about the Chinaman’s body and looked again at Evans. He remembered the map, the marks at the bottom of it and the Chinese writing. At that time, he couldn’t understand the marks. But now he understood.

The marks were the shape* of the thorns.

‘Oh, help me!’ Hooker said quietly.

`Evans!’ cried Hooker. But Evans was quiet. His eyes were open, but they did not move.

Hooker put his finger into his mouth and sucked* his finger hard. But it was too late. He felt pain in his hands, arms and neck and he couldn’t move his fingers. He sat down. The forest was silent*. He thought about Chang Li’s smiling face. He looked at Evans’s body and then looked up. A little wind moved through the trees. From one of them, a big white flower fell down and landed* on the ground in front of him.

Pain shook his body.

His death was quick.

Adaption by EFLshorts.com

GLOSSARY

length – how long something is from end to end

shape – how something looks, its appearance

sucked – pulled something into the mouth

silent – without any sound, soundless, completely quiet

landed – fell, dropped, reached the ground

‘What are you afraid of?’ Evans asked. Suddenly, he was very angry with Hooker.

‘I am going to bury* the body,’ said Hooker.

‘Leave it!’ Evans said and he put more gold onto the shirt. ‘Help me carry this; forget about the body.’

Hooker still looked at the body. ‘He is so similar to*…’

‘Don’t be stupid,’ said Evans. ‘It is not him. Now, do you want the gold or not?’

Hooker didn’t hear Evans. The face of the dead Chinaman reminded* him of Chang-Li’s. ‘But his face and his mouth… is he smiling?’ Hooker looked around the forest and up at the trees. He looked at the big white flowers. He looked back at the body. He felt cold in the warm forest, and he felt very far away from home.

‘What’s the matter with you?’ Evans asked.

Suddenly, Hooker jumped into the hole. ‘Nothing! Let’s get the treasure out of this hole and then we can go home.’

‘Good!’ said Evans. He smiled. But then he put his hand on his forehead*. ‘I don’t feel well. My arms and neck hurt.’

‘Perhaps it’s the heat,’ said Hooker.

‘Perhaps,’ said Evans. After a minute, Hooker took his hand away from his forehead. Then together the two men pulled the shirt with the gold on it out of the hole.

When the gold was out of the hole, Hooker looked at Evans. ‘Do you want to go to the boat or bury the gold on the island?’ he asked.

‘To the boat,’ said Evans.

They picked up the gold and began to walk. But the gold was very heavy.

‘Stop!’ said Evans after a few minutes. ‘I must rest*.’

They put down the gold, and Evans sat down. His face was white and sweat* ran down it. ‘It is too warm in this forest,’ he said; and then suddenly with much anger: ‘Come on, Hooker, let’s go!’ He stood up quickly. ‘Come on!’ he said again, and they began carrying the shirt with the gold in it. They carried it for another minute. But then Evans stopped and dropped the shirt again. This time, some gold fell onto the ground.

‘What is the matter?’ Hooker asked.

Evans looked but said nothing. Rivers of sweat ran silently down his face.

‘Are you okay?’ Hooker asked and went towards his friend.

‘Don’t come near me!’ Evans cried and went and stood against a tree.

Again Hooker went to help his friend.

‘Don’t touch me,’ Evans said in a quiet voice. ‘Put the gold back on the shirt.’

‘What’s the matter?’ Hooker asked, afraid.

‘Put the gold back on the shirt and let’s go,’ said Evans.

 Adapted by eflshorts.com

GLOSSARY

bury – put under the ground

similar to – alike, not different

reminded – made you think about again, helped remember

forehead – front part of the head above the eyes

rest – not work, not move, relax

sweat – liquid that helps cool our bodies

Evans and Hooker walked slowly forwards*. It was a body. It lay behind the bushes, face down in the grass. Evans bent down and looked closely at the dead man’s face. He turned him over.

‘Who is he?’ Hooker asked.

‘I don’t know….He was a Chinaman,’ Evans said.

‘How long ago did he die?’ Hooker asked.

Evans looked at the Chinaman. His face was black and purple. ‘Perhaps a month,’ said Evans. Beside the body, there was a shovel*. Evans looked to his left and saw lots of dirt* and a big hole in the ground. ‘Is the treasure near here?’ he asked himself. He looked up. ‘There are the three palm trees,’ he said quietly.

‘What?’ Hooker asked. He didn’t hear his friend. He came forward and looked at the Chinaman’s body. `Did he find the treasure?’ he wondered*. `Is it still here?’ Then he saw the hole and he ran to it. `Evans,’ he called, `come here! Come and see!’

Evans walked towards Hooker.

‘The treasure is all still here,’ said Hooker. ‘Look!’

Evans looked. Hooker was right; here was all the treasure. He jumped down into the bottom of the hole. In the dirt under his feet, he saw yellow gold bars*. He touched the pieces of gold with his fingers.

‘Ouch!’ Evans looked at his hand. A little thorn* was in his finger. He pulled out the thorn and cleaned the dirt off the gold bar. ‘Only gold is so heavy,’ he thought.

Hooker frowned*.

`What is the matter?’ Evans asked.

`I don’t know,’ said Hooker. ‘I don’t like it.’

‘What do you not like?’

‘That dead Chinaman,’ said Hooker. `Why is he alone? Why is the treasure still in the hole?’

‘He was alone,’ said Evans angrily.

`Then, why is he dead?’

‘A snake bit him or he was ill or…’ Evans stopped. ‘Oh, I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. We are rich!’ He was sick of Hooker’s anxiety. He took off his shirt and put three gold bars on top of it. `Oh!’ he suddenly cried.

Another thorn was in his finger.

Adapted by EFLshorts.com

GLOSSARY

forwards – to move ahead, to move in the direction that you are facing

shovel – a spade, a tool for digging holes

dirt – earth, soil

wondered – considered, thought about, pondered

bars – blocks (of chocolate, gold, silver…)

frowned – make a face that shows you are angry or puzzled

anxiety – nervousness, worry, fear

‘There are three palm trees in the forest,’ said Hooker. ‘When we find the three trees, we can find the treasure.’

‘Is it far?’ Evans asked. He looked at the beach.

Do you see the river?’ Hooker said and pointed* a finger. Evans said yes. ‘Somewhere near the river, deep in the forest, there are three palm trees,’ said Hooker. ‘They are next to some bushes* and the treasure is not far from there.’

Evans’s mouth was dry. He looked at the river. ‘Hurry,’ he said. ‘I am very thirsty.’

Hooker paddled* their boat quickly and soon they were at the river. They went under the trees and up the river. After a few minutes, Evans put his hand into the river and took a drink of cold, clean water. ‘Ahhh,’ he said and closed his eyes. ‘This is good water.’

Hooker smiled and drank too.

When they finished drinking, they lay inside their boat and rested.

‘I don’t want to go in the sun again,’ Hooker said. ‘I could lie here all day.’

‘We must go look for the treasure,’ said Evans.

Hooker filled a bottle with water and they started paddling down the river. Soon they arrived at the sea again. Both men got out the small boat and pulled it onto the beach.

Evans pointed at the thick trees and bushes. ‘We must go in there.’

Hooker put his hand inside the boat and lifted up a big knife. ‘We can use this knife to cut a path.’

The two men started cutting at the thick bushes. It was dark under the thousands of trees. ‘It feels cold in here after the hot sun,’ said Evans.

‘We must push through these bushes and find the river again,’ said Hooker. ‘The palm trees are near the river.’

So the men cut a path through the forest. They cut down bushes and they cut down big, white flowers in front of them. The men did not know their names. `Perhaps, we are the first people to find these flowers,’ said Hooker.

‘Perhaps,’ said Evans. ‘Let’s move on – the river can’t be far.’ He was not interested in the flowers. He only wanted the treasure.

It was hot thirsty work, but after a while they heard the noise of water.

‘The river!’ Hooker said.

‘At last,’ said Evans.

The men hurried towards the river, but Hooker stopped suddenly.

‘What is that?’ he said.

Evans looked.

There was someone or something behind the bushes.

Adaption by EFLshorts.com 

GLOSSARY

pointed – directed someone’s attention to a particular area, make sure someone looks at something

bushes – a plant, a little like a small tree perhaps

paddled – moved through water using a paddle