Mr. Patton made his living from letting rooms in his rather large house. At the moment, he wanted to let a small room in the attic, but he didn’t leave himself enough time to post an advert in the local paper, so he put up a sign in his window instead. The very same day, a gentleman came to enquire about the room. The man was foreign, though he spoke very good English. He was carrying a suitcase, and by peeking at the label attached to the handle Mr. Patton deduced that the visitor was from Hamburg in Germany. He was rather lean, but he had a learned air and Mr. Patton wondered if he might belong to the legal profession. He seemed to lag behind as they went up the stairs. He was examining fixtures and fittings very closely, and he appeared to be reasonably satisfied, although the fluorescent light in the hall seemed to be hurting his eyes. Mr. Patton paused at the door and waited for the visitor to ascend to the top of the stairs. Then he opened the door and invited the visitor in. when he saw the room, his body went limp and he laid down his suitcase and wiped his forehead with a paper tissue.
The room was small, about three meters square. There was a moldy patch on the ceiling, due to a leak in the roof, and a short length of washing line was strung across the dormer window. Other than this, there was a distinct lack of facilities, which merely consisted of an iron bedstead with a lumpy horsehair mattress, one chair, and an enameled chamber pot, which lay on the floor under the bed. Seeing the look of dismay on his guest’s face, Mr. Patton offered to lend him a wardrobe and a liberal quantity of clothes hangers. The visitor seemed unimpressed when Mr. Patton told him about the limited leisure facilities in the area, and likewise when he heard about the latent traffic problems arising from the construction of the new ring road. He asked if he would be liable to pay local government tax on the room, but even though he wasn’t, he eventually offered Mr. Patton a lot less for the room than Mr. Patton had wanted. However, he did see that his guest’s misgivings were quite legitimate, especially after a large rat poked her head out from the under the bed.
The room was small, about three meters square. There was a moldy patch on the ceiling, due to a leak in the roof, and a short length of washing line was strung across the dormer window. Other than this, there was a distinct lack of facilities, which merely consisted of an iron bedstead with a lumpy horsehair mattress, one chair, and an enameled chamber pot, which lay on the floor under the bed. Seeing the look of dismay on his guest’s face, Mr. Patton offered to lend him a wardrobe and a liberal quantity of clothes hangers. The visitor seemed unimpressed when Mr. Patton told him about the limited leisure facilities in the area, and likewise when he heard about the latent traffic problems arising from the construction of the new ring road. He asked if he would be liable to pay local government tax on the room, but even though he wasn’t, he eventually offered Mr. Patton a lot less for the room than Mr. Patton had wanted. However, he did see that his guest’s misgivings were quite legitimate, especially after a large rat poked her head out from the under the bed.