A_Violin_and_the_Law

A Violin and the Law

David，a policeman，came to a cabin about two miles up the mountain to get Cal Richards，an armed and dangerous killer. Through a broken window，he saw an old man with a beard watching him closely．When he stepped into the cabin，he found the old man was pointing a gun at him．

He looked around the cabin and didn’t see any sign of Cal“I guess I’ll have to come again．”he said．Just then he caught sight of a violin hanging on the wall．“Who plays the violin?”he asked. For a moment there was silence. Actually Cal’s father played the violin best in the area，but he didn’t answer，with his gun still aiming at David．

David crossed the room and felt sweat on his forehead，but he took the violin from the wall as calmly as if he were a welcome visitor．He began to play the violin，one tune after another．He was playing better than he had ever played in his life．The old man stood there，attracted．The hatred in his eyes was giving way to a look of wonder．The gun was now pointed toward the f1oor．He began to beat time，tapping one foot on the dirt floor. When the final notes of the tune died away，the old man placed the gun in a corner．

“Well，stranger，”the old man said，“you play the violin excellently. Maybe you’ll stay for dinner and play some more for me.”

After they had eaten，they sat in the spring sunshine outside the cabin．They talked about violin tunes．Not a word was said about Cal Richards．

About two hours later，David stood up and said，“Sorry!I must be getting back to the town．”

The old man sat，deep in thought．At last, he said，“I like the way you talk and I like the way you play the violin. I guess you’re a decent guy.”He paused as if it were hard to go on．Then，he said in a thick voice, “I’ll have a talk with Cal．I think he might give himself up tomorrow．You be at the police station at noon! ”

The next day，as the town clock struck twelve，a bearded old man came up the street towards the police station．With him was a young fellow whose appearance told

of many days in hiding．

True or false questions.

1) The old man was poor and he stole the violin.

2) The policeman came to arrest the old man.

3) Both the old man and the policeman played the violin well.

4) The policeman forced the old man to tell him where the killer was.

5) The old man and the violin helped the policeman to arrest the killer.

Answer the following questions

1.Why did David feel sweat on his forehead when he crossed the room?

2.Was David a welcome visitor? Find a sentence from the text to support your answer.

3.Did the old man enjoy the tunes while David was playing one tune after another? How did you know?

4.What do you think of the old man’s final decision? Did he make the right decision? Why or why not?