Mrs. Frobisher often thought to herself that she was useless because of her advanced age, but one day something unusual happened, which brought her great excitement. What was it? Read on.

    It was colder today than usual, Mrs. Frobisher thought, as she reached the seats in Victoria Station.Her leg was troubling her badly, and she sat down with satisfaction.By her side she placed the stick which she had to use when walking. She looked round without much interest.

    There were only a few people on the seats. She never believed that sitting there improved her health in any way; but Dr. Lund had said that she must be out of her flat, and in the open air, for at least two hours every day.

    “Well, with this leg, I can’t walk for two hours a day,” she had replied sharply; “and where are the parks in this part of London?”

    “Take a bus to Hyde Park or to Green Park,” he had said.

    “And who’ll pay for that every day? I’m not a rich woman.”

    Then he had told her to sit in Victoria Station when she got tired of walking; so she sat there every day for an hour or more. It cost her nothing, and it was not as bad as she had feared. The air was fairly fresh because all the trains were electric; but nothing very important ever happened, and it was always dull. She was never sorry when she could go back home and read by her fire, or listen to the radio.

    She looked down at her old shoes. A good pair of shoes was one of her needs, but she had only a little money at present. Perhaps in a few months she could buy a pair; then she would be able to walk better.

    She looked up when a crowd of people from a train rushed through the gate which was just in front of the seats. She often wondered why people came to London every day in such large numbers, and why they were always in such a hurry. Her own days were long and dull, and time passed slowly for her.

    She pulled her coat more closely round her shoulders. The day was cold, and her coat was getting thin; but she was glad enough to have a coat of any kind.

    Once she had been of some importance in the world. She had worked on committeesand she had had a secretary to help her; but that was long ago. Now she was old and poor, and she had a bad leg too. A useless old woman!
She was beginning to think of her fireside in her flat when two policemen walked past her form behind. They made no noise, but sat down together on the seat exactly in front of her.

    Mrs. Frobisher was not at all pleased at this unusual event. They were big men, and she could not see much. The back of a policeman’s coat is a dull view; but it was too much trouble to move.

    One of the men took a photograph from his pocket, and both looked at it for several minutes. It seemed that they wanted to remember it. Mrs. Frobisher, by moving slightly to one side, could see that it was a photograph of a young man.

    A police officer walked past the seat, looked quickly at the two men, went over towards a notice-board on the right-hand side of Gate Number 14, and stood still.

    Mrs. Frobisher, who was no fool, noticed these things with rising excitement. She told herself that something was going to happen. Life was getting more interesting.

    She looked round the station, but could see nothing unusual. Some passengers were hurrying towards the trains; some were buying books; some were drinking coffee; some were waiting near the gates.

    In a few minutes the police officer near the notice-board made a slight sign with his right hand, and the two policemen slowly stood up. They walked in a very careless manner towards the gate in front of the seats. The ticket-collector suddenly appeared and opened the gate. One of the policemen hid himself behind a wall on the left; the other bent down behind the notice-board on the right, near the officer. A train moved slowly into the station and stopped. In a few seconds all the doors of the carriages were open.

    Mrs. Frobisher’s heart was beating faster than usual. “ How would Dr. Lund like to hear my heart now?” she wondered. She forgot the cold, and anxiously held the seat with one hand.

    In a few moments the usual stream of men and women was rushing through the gate. Among these people a young man with his hands in the pockets of a heavy coat walked with long steps. Mrs. Frobisher wished that she could walk like that. He did not seem to understand how lucky he was to possess a strong pair of legs. Probably, she thought, he had never had a pain in his leg in his whole life.

    Quietly the two policemen and their officer left their hiding places and gathered round him. For a moment he looked surprised.

    The officer said a few words, and suddenly the young man jumped backwards and started to run away from the police. One of them caught his arm, but he turned suddenly and escaped. He slipped past the two men and hit the officer in the face, knocking him down. In a moment the criminal was on his way towards the entrance of the station.

    The other people there were so surprised by these events that they stood still with expressions of disbelief on their faces.Mrs. Frobisher’s admiration of the young man changed to anger.

    “Catch him!” she cried, standing up and using her stick for support. The criminal was now rushing towards the seats and the officer was getting up. Her anger increased when she saw red blood on the officer’s face.

    As the criminal reached the seat on her left, she pushed her stick towards him. By chance more than by arrangement,it went between the knees of those wonderful legs, and he fell heavily to the ground with a loud cry.

    A strange sound came from Mrs. Frobisher’s mouth. Her heart was making a terrible noise in her ears.As the stick flew across the station, she fell back on the seat again. She closed her eyes for a moment.

    When she opened them, the criminal was beginning to get up, but the police were beside him before he was on his feet.He had no hope of escape, and was led outside by the policemen.

    The officer picked up Mrs. Frobisher’s stick and took it back to her.“Yours, I think, Madam,”he said, breathing heavily. Then he took out a notebook. “May I have your name and address, please, Madam?”

    “Oh, why?” said Mrs. Frobisher in a weak voice. “I didn’t really hurt him, did I?”

    “You did very well indeed, Madam,” he said. “That man’s a bank robber, and we’ve been trying to catch him for weeks. We were informed that he was on that train from Brighton,and so we waited for him. He almost escaped, as you noticed, but your quick action stopped that. We were delighted when we saw him on the ground.”

    “Then why do you want my name and address?” she asked.

    He pointed to the notice-board on the right. “There’s a notice over there,” he said. “It’s too far away to read from here, but the Southern Bank has offered ￡500 to anyone who helps to catch this man. You helped a great deal, Madam; so, if you’ll kindly give me your name and address,you’ll no doubt receive the money in a short time.”

    “I’m not as useless as I used to think, ”Mrs. Frobisher told herself.

    “I beg your pardon, Madam?” the officer said.

    “Never mind,” she said, and told him who she was.

From A Travele’s Cheque and Other Stories,Longman,1967.

Approximately 1310 words.

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[1] Victoria Station:a railway station in London
[2] she sat down with satisfaction:she was glad that she could finally sit down
[3] Hyde Park:a park in central London
[4] Green park:to the east of Hyde park
[5] She had worked on committees:She had been a member of certain committees
[6] they stood still with expressions of disbelief on their faces:they stood there, shocked by what they saw.
[7] By chance more than by arrangement:It is more correct to say that this happened by chance than by arrangement.
[8] Her heart was making a terrible noise in her ears: She felt her heart beating wildly.
[9] before he was on his feet:before he got up from the ground
[10] Brighton / 'braitn/:a seaside place in southeast England for people to spend their holiday
[11] If you’ll kindly give me your name and address:a polite way of speaking.