Dead Mans Island AUDIOBOOK Short Story by John Escott Learn English Through Story

good morning oh and in case i don’t see

you good afternoon good evening and good

night

dead man’s island by john scott

[Music]

chapter one

coming to england

my name is carol sanders

i live in england now

but when i was younger

i lived in hong kong

my father was a businessman there

and my mother

worked as a secretary

we lived in hong kong for seven years

i was happy at school

with lots of friends

and we had a good time

i liked pop music

the rolling stones

david bowie and jake rosso were my

favorites

jake rosso was my favorite singer

he died in a car accident the year i

left school

but i listened to his pop records all

the time

i had hundreds of pictures and photos of

him on my bedroom wall

then one day in winter

when i was seventeen

things began to go wrong for me

my father went to australia on business

i loved him very much

and didn’t like him going away

home quickly

i always said to him

he was in australia for two weeks

then on the day of his journey home

an airplane from sydney crashed into the

sea

just south of hong kong

everybody on the plane died

i heard about the plane crash

on television

first

i did not think about my father

then i remembered

he was flying back from sydney

on that day

oh no

i cried

i telephoned the airport

but they did not know the names of all

the passengers then

perhaps my father didn’t get that plane

i thought

oh please

please

my mother was at work

and i called her on the telephone

she came home quickly and we went to the

airport and waited for news

later

we learned my father was on the plane

it’s not true

i shouted

but it was true

and i began to cry

i cried for weeks and weeks

i spent many days alone in my room

i was lonely and sad

and i wanted to die too

i stopped going out with my friends

i didn’t want to see other people

i stopped listening to jake rosso’s

records

and took his pictures off my bedroom

wall

i didn’t listen to music

or watch television

nothing mattered anymore

then

i stopped crying

i stopped feeling sad

and began to feel angry

why did it happen to him

i asked my mother

why do the best people die

jake rosso

my father

i

i don’t know carol

my mother said

she was unhappy too

at the time of the plane crash

i was a student at college

i enjoyed the work and college life very

much

but after my father’s death

i stopped doing my work at the college

i began to go out with some new friends

they were different from my other

friends

and my mother didn’t like them

they’re bad people carol

she told me

they do dangerous things

they’re exciting

i said

and i like them

i knew she was angry but i didn’t care

but then

i learned my new friends took drugs

and i began to take drugs too

it was wrong and stupid

i know that now

but i was unhappy and angry

the police came to the college

to arrest some of the students

they didn’t arrest me

but i had to leave the college

it was a bad time

my mother was very unhappy with me

what am i going to do with you carol

she said

i’m sorry

i told her

we’ll go back to england

she said

you can find a college there

perhaps you can be happier in england

all right

i said

i want to forget what’s happened

i want to forget what i’ve done

and begin a new life

be a new person

a month later

we came back to england

we lived in london

in a hotel

it was strange at first

with all the red buses and everybody

speaking english

it was the beginning of the summer

three months before college began in the

autumn

london was full of tourists

we looked at all the famous buildings

buckingham palace

the tower of london

and we went to restaurants and theaters

in the evenings

it was interesting and exciting

and i began to forget the bad times in

hong kong

i’m pleased we came to london

i told my mother

but after a few weeks she said

you need to find a college carol

you must go on studying

and i need a job

that evening

we looked in the newspapers

what about this

i said

i showed my mother a job in the

newspaper

secretary

for the summer months

on a small private island in scotland

live with the family in a big house

interesting work

and good pay for the right person

phone greta ross

telephone number

071

well that sounds interesting

said my mother

i’d like to work as a secretary on an

island in scotland

it’s a beautiful country carol

and you can go to college there in the

autumn

and it’s a place to live for the summer

i said

hotels are expensive

my mother telephoned greta ross

come and see me tomorrow

greta ross told her

come to the savoy hotel at 11 o’clock

i went to the savoy hotel with my mother

it was big and expensive

bigger than our hotel

and in the center of london

mum needs this job i thought

and a private island in scotland is a

nice place to live

perhaps i can forget what’s happened if

i go there

room 22

said the woman at the hotel desk

go on up

mrs ross will see you now

greta ross was waiting for us

she was about 30 years old and very

beautiful

she wore an expensive red dress

and her hair was very long and dark

this is my daughter carol

said my mother

hello carol

said greta ross

hello

i said

carol is 18 years old

said my mother

can she come with me if i get the job

perhaps she can help in the house or in

the gardens

she likes gardening

she’s studying farming at college

perhaps

said greta ross

there’s a small farm on the island

i’d like to work on the farm

i said

greta ross looked at my mother

how long did you live in hong kong mrs

sanders

seven years

answered my mother

my husband died in a plane crash last

year

so we’ve come back to live in england

where did you live before hong kong

we lived in india for three years

then greta ross took my mother into a

room and asked her more questions

i waited outside

greta ross is nice

i thought

i hope my mother gets the job

soon after the door opened and my mother

came out

she was smiling

greta ross said

please wait here for a minute mrs

sanders i want to make a phone call

she went back into the room

and closed the door

i was sitting on a chair near the door

and i could just hear greta ross’s voice

speaking on the phone

i think i’ve found someone

she was saying

she has a daughter

but the girl can work in the garden or

on the farm

don’t worry

they’ve been away from england for 10

years

it’ll be all right i tell you

don’t worry

after a few minutes

greta ross put down the phone and came

out of the room

you got the job

she told my mother

my mother was pleased

thank you

she replied

i was pleased too

but

now i was worried about that phone call

i didn’t understand it

chapter 2

the island

we went to scotland the next day

first by plane

then by train

greta ross traveled with us

i looked out of the train window

and saw fields and villages

and mountains

mom is right

i thought

scotland is a very beautiful place

you’re going to be my husband’s

secretary

greta ross told my mother

he’s a businessman

but he never leaves the island

he does all his work by telephone and

letter

and computer

he invests money in companies

all over the world

do many people live on the island

i asked

not many

said greta ross

you’ll meet them soon

greta ross is young

i thought

is her husband young too

how can a young man buy an island

is he very rich

after the train

we went on mr ross’s boat which took us

out to the island

the boatman

was a young man

he had dark hair

and was brown from the sun

this is tony

said greta ross

he works for mr ross

hi

said tony

soon we were near the island

i could see the beaches and the cliffs

the boat slowed down

there are dangerous rocks around the

island

explain tony

a lot of them are under the water and

you can’t see them

i have to be careful

but the rocks keep other boats away

and that pleases mr ross

why

i asked

tony looked at greta ross

but she wasn’t listening

mr ross doesn’t like visitors to the

island

tony said in a quiet voice

then greta ross looked at us and tony

said no more

why doesn’t mr ross like visitors

i thought

has he something to hide

when we arrived on the island

my mother and i followed greta up to the

house

it was very big and there were trees all

around it

a woman was waiting inside the house

this is mrs duncan tony’s mother

said greta

she’s the housekeeper and her husband is

the gardener

mrs duncan will take you up to your

rooms

i’m going to tell mr ross you’ve arrived

the housekeeper was a little woman with

short hair

she went up the stairs and my mother and

i went after her

my room was next to my mother’s

i looked out of the window

and saw the gardens at the back of the

house

a man was working in the garden near

some trees

is that mr duncan

i thought

i looked between the trees and saw the

sea

it’s a beautiful house

and a beautiful

island that evening

we had dinner with mr and mrs duncan and

tony

we ate in the big kitchen

what happened to mr ross’s last

secretary

ask my mother

she’s in hospital

replied mrs duncan

she’s going to be away all summer

isn’t mrs ross lonely here

i said

no

said mrs duncan

she likes painting a lot

she has a room upstairs and goes there

to paint

she’s very good

sometimes she goes to different places

on the island to paint pictures

we finished eating our meal

soon after

greta ross came into the kitchen

mr ross wants to see you and your

daughter now mrs saunders

she said

follow me please

we followed her through the house and

into a big room

this was mr ross’s office

and he was sitting behind a desk

i was surprised

he was a young man

about

he had a moustache

short dark hair

and he wore glasses

mr ross was speaking into the telephone

who does he look like

i thought

is it tony duncan

mr ross is talking to a business friend

in new york

said greta

please sit down

while we waited i looked around the

office

there were three telephones a computer

and lots of books and papers

there was another door

and i could see a smaller room

next to the office

there was a smaller desk and another

computer in there

mr ross finished speaking on the phone

then looked carefully at my mother and

me

for a few seconds he didn’t speak

and just watched us

then he said

i’m pleased to meet you

mrs saunders

i need some help with my work

my secretary is in hospital

and there’s a lot of work to do

sometimes you’ll have to work late at

night because of time differences in new

york and tokyo

is that all right

yes that’s all right

said my mother

can you use a computer

yes

good

he looked at me

is this your daughter

yes this is carol said my mother

hello

i said

greta says you like gardening

there’s a big garden here so you can

help mr duncan

and there’s a farm

dan and stella parks live in the

farmhouse and work on the farm

you can help them too

we have some animals

some sheep

a few cows and chickens

and there’s a horse called smoke

he’s gray

like his name

can you ride

yes

i said

i can ride a horse

you can ride smoke around the island if

you like

i’d like that

i said

thank you

and we grow vegetables and fruit he said

i work on the farm sometimes

i enjoy it

i smiled at him

but he didn’t smile back

carol will enjoy working on the farm

said my mother won’t you carol

yes

i said

mr ross looks sad

i thought

but how did he get all his money

and why does he hide away on an island

chapter 3

the photograph

i worked in the garden for the first two

days

the weather was hot and sunny

i liked working with mr duncan

and he was pleased with my work

you’re a good gardener

he said

i’ve always liked gardening

i said

but i’m studying at college to be a

farmer

sometimes

i saw greta ross

she likes to be alone

i thought

once or twice

i saw greta go out with her painting

things

she went up on the hills or down to the

beach

mr duncan took me to the farm and i met

dan and stella parks

they were very friendly

you can work on the farm for the next

three days

said dan parks

mr duncan says you’re a good gardener

are you a good farmer too

i smiled at him

i am

i said

he smiled back

so i worked on the farm with mr and mrs

parks

they were nice people

i helped with the cows and the chickens

and went up on the hills with mr parks

and his dog to look at the sheep

one afternoon

i went out riding

smoke was a big

lazy friendly horse

i enjoyed riding

and smoke knew his way around the island

very well

i learned new places to go to

i rode along the cliff top and then in

between some trees

when we came out of the trees

i saw the house from the other side

i tried to find the window of my room

which one was it

suddenly

i saw a face at one of the windows

the face was looking at me

it was there for just a second or two

then it moved away quickly

who was that

i thought

was it mr ross

and which room was it

i didn’t see my mother very much that

first week

she worked all day

and in the evenings

she wrote letters to south america

japan

canada and australia

sometimes she worked after i was in bed

mr ross works hard

she told me

he invests money in many companies and

countries but it’s not his money

it’s not

i was surprised by this

no

it’s his wife’s money

and she bought the island

it’s her island her house her farm

everything belongs to her

how strange

but why does mr ross always look sad

and why does he never leave the island

i asked

i don’t know

said my mother

he says he likes it here and likes

working on his farm

it’s strange

i know

sometimes

when i finished work

i walked along the beaches or the cliffs

or i went swimming in the sea

i liked swimming

greta ross often came to the beach to

swim

but mr ross never came

stay away from the rocks carol greta

ross told me

they’re very dangerous

i will

i said

sometimes i took my camera to the beach

and took photographs of some of the

boats that went by

i took photographs of the birds on the

cliffs

there were other small islands near our

island

and boats with tourists stopped at them

but no boat stopped at our island

they kept away from the dangerous rocks

tony was right

the island did not have visitors

one day

i was walking back to the house

and had my camera with me

i stopped and looked at the big house

mr duncan was working in the garden in

front of it

at first he didn’t see me

i’m going to take a photograph of the

house

i thought

the sun is in just the right place and

it will make a good picture

i looked at the building through my

camera and took the photograph

mr ross was coming out of a door

he was in my picture too

and he looked angry

that’s all right

i thought

it’s still a good photograph

but mr duncan was running across the

grass

he came quickly up to me

and said

give me your camera

he looked very worried

what’s wrong i asked in surprise

i gave him the camera

never take photographs of mr ross

he said

and then he opened the back of my camera

and took out the film

hey

what are you doing

i said you spoil my film

but he didn’t stop

sorry he said

and he put the film into his pocket

but no pictures of mr ross

he doesn’t like people to take pictures

of him

mr ross was watching us

he saw the camera

and he saw mr duncan take out the film

but he said nothing

then he turned and went back into the

house

later

i told my mother about mr duncan and the

camera

he spoiled my film

i said

i don’t understand she said

why did he do that

i don’t know

i said

but there’s something strange about mr

ross

about a week later

i finished work early one day and came

back to the house

my mother was working in her small room

next to mr ross’s office

mrs duncan was in the kitchen greta ross

was painting in her room upstairs

i went to my room

and began reading a book

i was sitting beside the window

after half an hour

i got tired of reading

i looked out at the rain

and the gray sea

and the rocks between the trees

my book isn’t very interesting

i thought

i got up

and went out of my room

i walked along the passage and turned a

corner

then i saw the door at the end of the

passage

there was a large plant in a plant pot

outside the door

where does that door go

i thought

i haven’t seen it before

i remembered the face at the window in

my first week on the island

perhaps it’s the door to that room

i thought

i walked along to the door and turned

the handle

the door didn’t move

it was locked

what are you doing

said a voice behind me

i turned round quickly

and saw greta ross

she looked angry

that room is private

she said

i’m sorry

i said

that i didn’t

stay away from there

she told me

i told my mother about the locked door

what’s behind it

i said

is it a secret

i don’t know

said my mother

it doesn’t matter

mr ross can have locked rooms if he

wants them

i think he does have secrets

i said

there’s something strange about him

something strange about this island

somebody isn’t telling us something

something important

my mother laughed

stop playing detective carol

she said

chapter 4

the locked room

two days later

there was a storm in the middle of the

night

i was hot and i couldn’t sleep

i got out of bed went across to the

window

and looked out at the night

black clouds hurried across the sky

and the trees moved wildly in the wind

the rain made a loud noise on the window

i opened my window and put my head out

into the wind and the rain

i looked at the other windows in the

house

most of them were dark

but one window

had a light in it

somebody isn’t sleeping

i thought

which room is that

there were six windows between my window

and the room with the light

and there are six doors between my room

and the locked door

i

thought that light is in the locked room

somebody’s in there

i put on my dressing gown and went out

of my room

the house was dark

and at first i couldn’t see very well

i walked along the passage and turned

the corner

there it was

the locked room

and there was a light under the door

i went nearer

and heard noises

somebody’s moving about in the locked

room

i thought

who is it

then the light went off

and the door opened

i was afraid to move

somebody came out of the room

and into the dark passage

lightning suddenly lit up the house

and i saw who it was

it’s mr ross

i thought

what was he doing in that room in the

middle of the night

i didn’t move

and he didn’t see me

he locked the door of the room carefully

he didn’t put the key in his pocket

but hid it in the plant pot next to the

door

he’s coming along here

i thought

i must get back to my room

and i ran back along the passage

mr ross heard me

who’s that

he called

i didn’t answer but ran into my room and

closed the door

he came along the passage and stopped

outside my door

then he walked past

and went on down the stairs

i took off my dressing gown and went

back to bed

i was shaking because i was afraid

now i know how to get into the locked

room i thought

but what’s in there

there was no storm in the morning

but it was still raining

i got up early and worked on the farm

there were eggs from the chickens and i

put them in boxes

i helped to milk the cows and then took

them out to the field

later i went back into the house for

breakfast

did you sleep all right last night

asked mrs duncan

or did the storm wake you up

i

slept all right

i said

i didn’t want to tell her about the

light in the locked room

or about mr ross

after breakfast

i went back upstairs

mr ross was talking on the telephone in

his office

my mother was working at her desk

i knew that mrs duncan was in the

kitchen

and that mr duncan was working in the

garden

where’s mrs ross

i thought

then i looked out of the window and saw

her with tony duncan

they were walking to the boat

he’s taking her out in the boat

i thought

perhaps she’s going to

edinburgh the boat moved away from the

island

and i waited until it was out at sea

then i opened the door of my room

there was nobody in the passage

and i ran along to the locked room

the key was still in the plant pot and i

took it out

my hand was shaking

then i unlocked the door

chapter 5

a dead man

i went into the room

and i was very surprised

the room was full of strange things

colored shirts and suits

three guitars

and there were posters and photographs

on the wall

i looked at the posters

jake rosso’s face

looked down at me

i looked at the dead jake rosso’s

picture

and i remembered all the photographs on

the walls of my room in hong kong

i could never forget that face

the face of my favorite singer

then

while i looked at his face

something strange happened

i began to see another face in the

posters

an older face

and with a mustache

but the same face

i saw the face of mr ross

no

i said it’s not true

but it was

i knew it was

mr ross is

jake rosso

no

said a voice behind me

i turned round and saw mr

he was standing in the doorway

he looked

afraid

i don’t believe you

i said

you have to believe me

i looked at the posters

who is that if it’s not you

it’s jake rosso

he was

my

brother that’s not true

i shouted

i don’t believe you

listen jake rosso was my favorite singer

i had hundreds of photos of him

i still have all his records

i loved him

do you understand

thousands of people loved him

he’s dead

mr ross said quietly

no

i shouted

you’re jake rosso

you look different now yes

you’ve got short hair

you’ve got a moustache now and you wear

glasses

but you’re

jake rosso

you were my favorite pop star

so i know

mr ross said nothing

and watched my face

he doesn’t know what to do

i thought

he knows i don’t believe him

and he’s afraid

then he said

it was you in the passage last night

wasn’t it

yes

i answered

he looked angry

i was wrong to give your mother a job

he said

i thought it was okay because you came

from hong kong

and i needed help with my work

i needed a good secretary

does your other secretary know who you

are

i asked

do the other people on the island know

mr ross didn’t answer

but walked across to the window he was

thinking

what’s he going to do

i thought

then he turned around

okay you’re right i

i am jake rosso

i knew it

he looked worried and unhappy

can you keep a secret

a very important secret

i thought for a minute then i said

yes

i can keep a secret

then he told me

the other people on this island are my

family

your family

i said

yes

my real name is james duncan

and mr and mrs duncan are my father and

mother

tony is my younger brother

and his wife lisa is my secretary

it’s she who’s in hospital

and dan and stella parks

i asked

my mother’s sister and her husband he

said

but

what are you doing here on this island

i don’t understand

i’ll tell you

he said

he sat down on a chair and took a guitar

in his hands

but he didn’t play it

you were right

i was a famous pop star

i was very rich

and i had a beautiful wife but things

went wrong

how

i took drugs

he said

i drank a lot of alcohol

i got drunk and crushed cars

i did stupid terrible things

i knew it was wrong

but i couldn’t stop doing it

i was

crazy for a time

i can understand that

i told him

i’ve taken drugs too

he looks surprised

you have

yes

i said

after my father died

i was very unhappy

and things went wrong for me too

but go on with your story

he went on

one night

i was driving my car

i was drunk

and

and i hit somebody

a young girl

she died

i killed her

oh no

yes

he said

she was 15 years old

i wanted to die too

the money didn’t matter anymore

nothing mattered anymore

what did you do after the accident

i asked

i drove on in the car

i didn’t stop and i didn’t tell the

police

i had killed someone

and i was afraid

he looked afraid now

he put the guitar down and went on with

his story

so i made a plan

jake rosso had to die too

it was the best thing to do

and so i

killed him

you’re still alive

my family know i’m alive

but no other people know

he looked at me

but now you know

how did you do it

i asked

i told my family about my plan

and i told greto my wife

at first they didn’t like it

but after a long time

they said okay

then i faked the car crash

faked it

yes he said

i put some of my things in the car a

guitar and some clothes

then i pushed my car over a cliff and

burned it

the police found the burn car and

thought i was dead

everybody thought i was killed in the

car crash

but you faked the crash

i said

yes

what did you do then

my family hid me away for months

i tried to change into a different

person

shorter hair

a moustache

quiet suits

all my money went to greta

and she changed her name to ross

i told her to buy this island

now i invest her money

in the money that was mine

and now i’m james ross

what about jake russo

i asked

jake rosso took drugs he said

jake rosso got drunk and crashed cars

he killed a young girl

so he had to die

i can never forget the girl

i think about her every day

and that’s why you always look so sad

i thought

i looked around the room

why’d you keep a room like this

why’d you keep the guitars the posters

and photographs

james ross did not speak for a minute

then he said

i need to remember my old life

and what jake rosso was like

i’m never going to sing again

and i’m never going to take drugs

but i need this room

to remember

i looked at the posters and the

photographs

and i looked at his sad face

i’m not going to say anything

i won’t tell my mother

i won’t tell anybody

james ross looked at me

i think you understand

he

said i do

i said

i’ve done bad things

i want to forget them too

i needed to get away to hide too

that’s why we came to england to begin a

new life

yes

i understand

he took my hand

and we walked out of the room and closed

the

door i never went into the room again

and i didn’t tell anybody

my mother and i left the island at the

end of the summer

soon after i went to college

my life is better now

i work on a farm in england

and my mother works in an office

my mother doesn’t worry about me because

i’m happier

now i haven’t been back to the island

but i know there’s a

dead man living there

[Music]

you