[00:00.44]Lesson 19
[00:02.41]A very dear cat
[00:10.28]Why was Rastus 'very dear' in more ways than one?
[00:16.88]Kidnappers are rarely interested in animals, but they recently took considerable interest in Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay's cat.
[00:26.36]Mrs. Eleanor Ramsay, a very wealthy old lady, has shared a flat with her cat, Rastus, for a great many years.
[00:36.36]Rastus leads an orderly life.
[00:38.82]He usually takes a short walk in the evenings and is always home by seven o'clock.
[00:45.58]One evening, however he failed to arrive.
[00:49.80]Mrs. Ramsay got very worried.
[00:52.41]She looked everywhere for him but could not find him.
[00:57.20]Three days after Rastus' disappearance, Mrs. Ramsay received an anonymous letter.
[01:04.34]The writer stated that Rastus was in safe hands and would be returned immediately if Mrs. Ramsay paid a ransom of 1, 000.
[01:15.73]Mrs.Ramsay was instructed to place the money in a cardboard box and to leave it outside her door.
[01:22.62]At first, she decided to go to the police,
[01:26.66]but fearing that she would never see Rastus again--the letter had made that quite clear--she changed her mind.
[01:36.31]She withdrew 1,000 from her bank and followed the kidnapper's instructions.
[01:41.97]The next morning, the box had disappeared but Mrs.Ramsay was sure that the kidnapper would keep his word.
[01:50.27]Sure enough, Rastus arrived punctually at seven o'clock that evening.
[01:56.58]He looked very well, though he was rather thirsty, for he drank half a bottle of milk.
[02:04.04]The police were astounded when Mrs. Ramsay told them what she had done.
[02:09.64]She explained that Rastus was very dear to her.
[02:13.38]Considering the amount she paid, he was dear in more ways than one!
绑架者很少对动物感兴趣。最近，绑架者却盯上了埃莉诺.拉姆齐太太的猫。埃莉诺.拉姆齐太太是一个非常富有的老妇人，多年来，一直同她养的猫拉斯一起住在一所公寓里。拉斯特斯生活很有规律，傍晚常常出去溜达一会儿，并且总是在7点钟以前回来。可是，有一天晚上，它出去后再也没回来。拉姆齐太太急坏了，四处寻找，但没有找着。
拉斯特斯失踪3天后，拉姆齐太太收到一封匿名信。写信人声称拉斯特斯安然无恙，只要拉姆齐太太愿意支付1,000 英镑赎金，可以立即将猫送还。他让拉姆齐太太把钱放在一个纸盒里，然后将纸盒放在门口。一开始拉姆齐太太打算报告警察，但又害怕再也见不到拉斯特斯——这点，信上说得十分明白——于是便改变了主意。她从银行取出1,000 英镑，并照绑架者的要求做了。第二天早晨，放钱的盒子不见了。但拉姆齐太太确信绑架者是会履行诺言的。果然，当天晚上7点正，拉斯特斯准时回来了。它看上去一切正常，只是口渴得很，喝了半瓶牛奶。拉姆齐太太把她所做的事告诉了警察，警察听后大为吃惊。拉姆齐太太解释说她心疼她的猫拉斯特斯。想到她所花的那笔钱，她的心疼就具有双重意义了。