The Moonstone is a beautiful diamond that comes from the statue in a temple of India.
The Diamond was delivered to Rachel Verinder, an English lady, on her eighteenth birthday as an inheritance from her uncle, but the very night of the birthday party, the Diamond disappeared !
The Phlegmatic Sergeant Cuff is called in, and with the help of a young boy called ‘Gooseberry’ (because of his rolling and sharp eyes that can look everywhere), will solve the mystery of the missing stone.
Yesterday night, in London, Gooseberry followed a tall man with a big, black beard, dressed like a sailor who stayed at a public-house called ‘The Wheel of Fortune’. Now, Sergeant Cuff, Gooseberry, the narrator and the landlord are knocking at the man’s door, but nobody is answering !!
"Was the man drunk last night?" asked Sergeant Cuff.
"Perfectly sober, sir—or I would never have let him sleep in my house."
"Did he pay for his bed beforehand?"
"No."
"Could he leave the room in any way, without going out by the door?"
"The room is a garret1 ," said the landlord. "But there's a trap-door in the ceiling2 , leading out on to the roof—and a little lower down the street, there's an empty house under repair. Do you think, Sergeant, the blackguard has got off3 in that way, without paying?"
"A sailor," said Sergeant Cuff, "might have done it—early in the morning, before the street was astir4. He would be used to climbing, and his head wouldn't fail him on the roofs of the houses."
As he spoke, the arrival of the carpenter was announced. […]
The carpenter's hammer5 and chisel6 disposed of the resistance of the door in a few minutes. But some article of furniture had been placed against it inside, as a barricade. By pushing at the door, we thrust this obstacle aside, and so got admission to the room. The landlord entered first; the Sergeant second; and I third. The other persons present followed us.
We all looked towards the bed, and all started7.
The man had not left the room. He lay8, dressed, on the bed—with a white pillow over his face, which completely hid it from view.
"What does that mean?" said the landlord, pointing to the pillow.
Sergeant Cuff led the way to the bed, without answering, and removed the pillow.
The man's swarthy face was placid and still; his black hair and beard were slightly, very slightly, discomposed. His eyes stared wide-open, glassy and vacant, at the ceiling. […]. I turned away, and went to the open window. The rest of them remained, where Sergeant Cuff remained, at the bed.
"He's in a fit!" I heard the landlord say.
"He's dead," the Sergeant answered. "Send for the nearest doctor, and send for the police."[…]
I turned again to the window. The moment afterwards, I felt a soft pull at my coat-tails, and a small voice whispered, "Look here, sir!"
Gooseberry had followed us into the room. His loose eyes rolled frightfully—not in terror, but in exultation. He had made a detective-discovery on his own account. "Look here, sir," he repeated—and led me to a table in the corner of the room.
On the table stood a little wooden box, open, and empty. On one side of the box lay some jewellers' cotton. On the other side, was a torn sheet of white paper, with a seal on it, partly destroyed, and with an inscription in writing, which was still perfectly legible9.
The MoonstoneWilkie Collins, 1868
1.a garret : une mansarde. 2. The ceiling : le plafond. 3.to get off : s’enaller/ partir. 4. astir : en movement. 5. Hammer : un marteau. 6. chisel : ciseau. 7. To start:sursauter. 8. Lay : preterit de ‘lie’ : être allongé.
9. Legible :lisible
Global comprehension
Pick out the information in the text or the introduction :
Place / Time / Characters / ProblemsDetailed comprehension
1.L.1- 21 answer the questions and give a title :______
l. 1 à 7 : Who is asking the questions?______
Who is answering the questions?______
l.10-12 What is Sergeant Cuff’s supposition? ______
l.13-18 Why did they call a carpenter ?______
Why was the door still blocked after the carpenter’s work? ______
l.19-21 Why did they all start ? ______
2.L.22- 32. answer the questions and give a title :______
Where is the man?______
What is on his head?______
What are the adjectives used to describe :
- The man’s face? ______
- The man’s black hair and beard______
- The man’s eyes______
What is the problem with the man?______
3.L34-40 : .L.1- 21 answer the questions and give a title :______
Why is Gooseberry excited?______
What are the clues ? ______
Deduce what happened in the room the night before______
______
4. Expression :Imagine the resolution of the investigation. (150 words)
What happened? Who killed him? Why? What did the culprit(s) do with the Moonstone? How did Cuff, Gooseberry and the narrator discover all this?