PART 5
You are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions 31-36, choose the answer (A. B, C or 0) which you think fits best according to the text.
The Passenger
It could be for many reasons. The long hours spent idling when the wind had dropped and the sails flapped uselessly against the mast; the way the salty ocean air seemed to wake the senses up, making them razor sharp; the need to know what each sign meant, because out at sea you were no longer in charge, but at the mercy of a higher power, the elements.
It could be any or all (or none) of them, but sailors, Wright had found, had an almost supernatural awareness of what was going on around them, what tension was hanging in the air, when trouble was on its way. So when Mitch told him he had a bad feeling about Montgomery, he couldn't dismiss it as nothing - it kept nagging at him even as they weighed anchor and headed off towards Crab Island, where the best fishing grounds lay, his intimate knowledge of which allowed him to guarantee a big catch to every customer.
But you had to make money, and even if Montgomery was a suspicious customer, he was a paying one. It was an awfully quiet place, that was all. It didn't hurt to be on your guard. Not that Montgomery looked that way quite the opposite. He was a middle-aged man in fair condition, with a pot-belly that seemed to point to beer before anything else, for the rest of him was solid enough. His handshake had been strong and confident, his stride the same. The only thing Wright could see that jarred a little was the contrast between his job - bank manager, suggesting respectability, a comfortable living, no money worries - and his eyes which, though direct, looked as though he hadn't slept in weeks. Bruised with tiredness all the way around and bloodshot even now, at ten in the morning. But even bank managers could suffer from insomnia, couldn't they? Mitch evidently didn't think so, and went on grumbling in the island patois about bank managers being famous for freshwater fishing, strictly. Where were his wife and children (another strict rule for bank managers was a family in tow, according to Mitch)?
It was only a couple of days, however, and what was Wright supposed to do about it? Montgomery had chosen him, after all, paid up front in cash, and if he didn't get some money to Liz and the kids soon, then all her accusations of irresponsibility would be undeniably proved true. So, a day of fishing, a night of eating and drinking and swapping stories about the one that got away, another day's fishing and then back home. Forty-eight hours wasn't long to be on your guard, and it was two against one, after all. And maybe Mitch had just got out of bed on the wrong side.
Halfway through the first day's fishing his confidence had evaporated. Montgomery had visibly relaxed once land had gone out of sight, and any sign of being a bank manager - politeness, a good accent, any of the usual associated characteristics - had vanished, and he now looked extremely ... dangerous. It was hard to put a finger on exactly why - it was a combination of little things: a little smile playing at the corners of the mouth; a slightly different way of holding himself that said 'street fighter'; a complete indifference to the fishing (despite which he reeled in one beauty after another). He smoked and drank continuously, and seemed to be waiting for something to happen.
His attitude to Mitch had changed too, from bluff friendliness to that of a kind of overbearing master. He called him 'boy' and made jokes about his tardiness and the general laziness of what Montgomery called 'his sort' to Wright. Wright wasn't sure if he was meant to laugh along with Montgomery, but he didn't. It didn't bother Montgomery -nothing did, except sudden moves that had his eyes instantly alert and his hand twitching towards the pocket of his sports jacket, which hung heavily, all too heavily, to one side.
Maybe Wright had a bit of the sailor in him too, but he could tell Mitch was going to make a move when he came up on deck with the fifth scotch and soda. He splashed it straight in Montgomery's face and went for his gun ann. The poor, thin old man was flung easily halfway across the deck, but it allowed Wright time to get in and sink a right into (line 39) that supposedly soft belly. It failed to sink in. He hardly did more than grunt a little, then took Wright by the collar and struck him extremely professionally four or five times, with precise judgement and aim, leaving Wright lying on the deck immobile and in pain. Montgomery stood above him hardly out of breath and said evenly, 'Now that we've got that over with, Captain, I suggest you find some rope to tie your companion here with. No more tricks, now.'
(line 43) There was a mocking tone in his voice when he said 'captain' that filled Wright with helplessness. He felt as much like playing a trick at that moment as he felt like singing the lead in Rigoletto at the Royal Opera House.
31 What is Wright's reaction to Mitch's warning?
