English for Everybody - Elementary reading comprehension

Dracula

Page 36

Coming to Port

 

There were rocks in the water between the ship and the port, where many good ships had been caught in the past. Now, with the wind blowing in this direction, it was completely impossible for the schooner to get safely into the harbour.

It was now nearly the hour of high tide. The waves were very high. The schooner had all its sails up, and it was going very fast. An old sailor who was watching said, 'She must end up somewhere, even if she ends up in hell'. Then the sea-fog came again, even more than before. It seemed to cover everything like a gray blanket. The searchlight kept shining on the harbour mouth, near the East Pier, because that was where people expected that the ship would crash. Everybody waited, holding their breath.

Suddently the wind changed. Now it blew from the north-east. This wind cleared away the sea-fog. Then people saw something amazing. Between the piers was the schooner. It leapt from wave to wave as it sailed at great speed. It quickly reached the safety of the harbour, and the searchlight followed it as it came in. Everyone who saw this shuddered. There was a dead person tied to the steering wheel of the ship. The dead person's head swung horribly from side to side as the ship moved. No-one else at all could be seen on the ship.

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