In the early hours of the night it had rained andthe iron gate that led to the gatekeepers

In the early hours of the night it had rained and

the iron gate that led to the gatekeepers' houses had

rattled loose in the wind, and it disturbed Mrs. O'

Brien's spaniel where he lay on a mat in the dark,

drafty hallway. Time again he gave a muffled 【M1】 ______

growl, padded about the hall, and scratched at the

door. His uneasiness and the noise of the wind had

awakened Mrs. O'Brien in the room above him. 【M2】 ______

Beside her husband was asleep, snoring loudly, 【M3】 ______

unaware of her wakefulness or of the windows shaking

in their heavy frames. The rain rattled like

hailstones against the panes. How in earth anybody 【M4】 ______

could sleep through that, she wondered—it was

enough to waken the dead and there he was deep

asleep as if it were a calm summer night. You'd

thought he'd be worrying about his journey to the 【M5】______

Rock in the morning and his long six weeks away

from her.

The dog growled again, and throwing back the

bedclothes she got up and groped on the table for the

matchbox. She struck one match but it was a dead

one, and she clicked her tongue in approval. She 【M6】 ______

was never done telling Tom not to put his spent

matches back into the box but he never heeded her.

She struck three before coming upon a good one, and

in the spurt of flame she glanced at the alarm clock

and saw that it was two hours after midnight. She

slipped downstair, lit the lamp and let the dog into 【M7】 ______

the kitchen.

On the floor, Tom's hampers lay ready for the

morning, when the boatmen would have come to 【M8】 ______

row him out to the lighthouse to relieve young Frank

Coady. She looked at the hampers with sharp

calculation, wondering if she had packed everything he 【M9】 ______

needed. She was always sure to forget everything

and he was always sure to bring it up with her as

soon as he stepped ashore for his twoweek leave.

But this time she was sure that she had forgotten

nothing, for she had made a list and ticked each

item off as she packed it into the cases. No, he

couldn't be able to launch any of his ill humour on 【M10】 ______

her this time!

【M1】