Two days 1ater there was¹ a storm² in the middle of the night．

I was hot and I couldn't sleep．Igot out of bed，went across⁴ to the windowand looked out at the night．Black cloudshur ried across the sky，and the treesmoved wildly⁵ in the wind．The rain made⁶ aloud⁷ noise on the window．

I opened my window and put my head out into the wind andthe rain．I looked at the other windowsin the house．Most of them were dark．Butone window had⁹ a light in it．‘Somebodyisn't sleeping，’I thought．‘Whichroom is that？’

There were six windows between my window and the room withthe light．

‘And there are six doorsbetween my room and the locked¹² door！’Ithought．‘That light is in the lockedroom．Somebody¹⁰'s in there！’

I put on my dressing－gownand went out of my room．The house wasdark，and at first I couldn't see verywell．I walked along¹³ the passage¹⁴ andturned the corner．

There it was， thelocked room．And there was a light underthe door！

I went nearer and heard noises．

‘Somebody's moving about inthe locked room’，I thought．‘Whois it？’

Then the light went off¹⁵ and the door opened．

I was afraid to move．

Somebody came¹⁶ out of the room， andinto the dark⁸ passage．Lightning¹⁷ suddenlylit up the house，and I saw¹⁸ who it was．

‘It's Mr Ross！’Ithought．‘What was he doing in thatroom in the middle of the night？’

I didn't move and he didn't see me． Helocked the door of the room carefully．Hedidn't put the key in his pocket，but hidit in the plant pot²¹ next to the door．

‘He's coming along here，’Ithought．‘I must get back to my room．’

And I ran²² back along the passage．

Mr Ross heard me ．‘Who'sthat？’he called．

I didn't answer，butran into my room and closed²³ the door．

He came along the passage and stopped outside my door．Thenhe walked past and went on down the stairs．

I took²⁵ off my dressing－gownand went back to bed． I was shakingbecause I was afraid．

‘Now I know how to get intothe locked room，’I thought．‘Butwhat's in there？’

There was no storm in the morning，butit was still raining．I got³ up early andworked on the farm．There were eggs fromthe chickens and I put them in boxes．Ihelped to milk the cows and then took them out to the field．

Later，I went backinto the house for breakfast．‘Did¹⁹ yousleep all right last night？’asked MrsDuncan．‘Or did the storm wake²⁷ you up？’

‘I…slept all right，’I said．Ididn't want to tell her about the light in the locked room，orabout Mr Ross．

After breakfast，Iwent back upstairs．Mr Ross was talkingon the telephone in his office．My motherwas working at her desk．I knew that MrsDuncan was in the kitchen and that Mr Duncan was working in the garden．

‘Where's Mrs Ross？’Ithought．

Then I looked out of the window and saw her with TonyDuncan．They were walking to the boat．

‘He's taking her out in theboat，’I thought．‘Perhapsshe's going³⁰ to Edinburgh．’

The boat moved away from the island and I waited until³¹ itwas out at sea．Then I opened the door ofmy room．

There was nobody³² in the passage and I ran along to thelocked room．The key was still in theplant pot and I took it out．My hand wasshaking．

Then I unlocked³³ the door．

两天后半夜里来了一场暴风雨。

我很热，睡不着。我下了床，走到窗边，望着窗外的夜色。乌云在天空中匆匆飘过，树在狂风中猛烈地摇摆。雨打在窗子上弄出了很大的响声。

我打开窗子，把头伸在风雨中。我看了看这幢房子的其他窗子。绝大部分窗子是黑的。但有一扇窗子里有灯光。“有人没睡。”我想，“那是哪个房间呢？”

我这个和亮着灯的那个房间之间隔六个窗子。

“而且我这个房间和锁着门的那个之间隔六扇门！”我思考着。“那个亮着的灯就在那个锁着的房间。那里面有人！”

我穿上晨衣，从我屋里走了出来。这座房子里很暗，起初我也看得不怎么清楚。我顺着走廊走，拐了一个弯。

那儿就是那个锁着的房间。而且门下面露出了灯光！

我走近了些，听到了动静。

“有人在这个锁着的房间里走动。”我思考着。“是谁呢？”

接着灯熄了，门开了。

我没敢动。

一个人从屋里走出来，到了黑暗的走廊里。忽然一道闪电照亮了这幢房子，我看清了这个人是谁。

“是罗斯先生！”我想。“他半夜在那个房间里干什么呢？”

我没动，他也没看见我。他小心地锁上了门。他没把钥匙放入他的衣袋里，却把它藏在门旁的花盆里。

“他正往这儿来了。”我想，“我必须回我的房间去。”

于是我就顺着走廊往回跑。

罗斯先生听见我了。“谁？”他叫喊着。

我没回答，却跑进自己的房间，关上了门。

他顺着走廊过来了，在我的门外停了下来。然后他就走过去了，往前下了楼。

我脱下晨衣，回到了床上。我因害怕而直发抖。

“现在我知道怎么进入那锁着的房间了。”我想，“但那里有什么呢？”

早晨风暴停了，但雨还在下。我很早就起了床，在农场里干活。那儿有小母鸡下的一些蛋，我把蛋放在箱子里。我帮着给奶牛挤奶，然后把它们带到了外面的田野。

后来我回房子里去吃早饭。“昨天晚上你睡得好吗？”邓肯太太问道。“还是暴风雨把你吵醒了？”

“我……睡得很好，”我说。我不想把锁着的那个房间里亮着灯的事或罗斯先生的事告诉她。

早饭后，我回到楼上。罗斯先生正在他的办公室里打电话。我妈妈正坐在她办公桌旁工作。我知道邓肯太太在厨房里而邓肯先生在园子里干活。

“罗斯夫人在哪儿呢？”我想。

接着我从窗子向外望去，并看见她和托尼•邓肯在一起。他们正向一条船走去。

“他要用船送她出岛。”我想，“她可能去爱丁堡。”

船离开了这座岛；我一直等着，直到它出海了。然后我打开了我房间的门。

走廊里没有人，我顺着路跑到那个锁着的房间前。钥匙还在花盆里，我把它拿了出来。我的手在颤抖。

然后我打开了门。