Sample 18

Sample 18
1 It happened on the Christmas night. It was a dark stormy night. I live in a bungalow, the only house near a deserted street. I was listening to the late radio. The radio as droning out the late night news and I was almost asleep by then. My eyelids were half closed as the radio droned on and on. Suddenly, the radio news was interrupted by a loud bang which woke me out of my doze. It was followed by a frightening warning. “All of the people who listen to this warning must send $50 Singapore dollars to “Gregory” as cash and via mail at Blk 312 Commonwealth Avenue 4 # 67-102. Those who failed to do so shall be killed.“ The message ended abruptly with another loud bang.
2 I was shocked and stood rooted to the spot. I could not understand what was happening to me. One minute I was dozing off and the next minute some crazy threat gets thrown at me. Should I send the money to this “Gregory”? I am not sure of that. So I decided to send the money to “Gregory”. I took all my savings from my bank account and mailed them to “Gregory”. As a student, I gasped " What a big sum of money!" Although it was a big sum of money, I did not want to risk my life.
3 A few days later, I was listening to the radio again late at night as usual. Then, there was a report on the warning "Gregory" posted. I sat up and listened intently with great anticipation to what the reporter has to say. The reporter stated that the warning Gregory posted was a prank pulled on the innocent people to cheat money. Although the police searched the address of "Gregory", "Gregory" seem to have dissapeared into nowhere.
4 It turned out that "Gregory" was a wanted criminal whose real name is Bert Goery. He had been on the loose for a while. He was infamous for tricking other people and making them send money to him. He also burgled houses.
5 Suddenly, I heard noises in the living room. There, while searching the drawers, stood a masked man. He brandished a gun and walked into the master bedroom. He still had not seen me, so I hid behind the next doorway. After he walked into the room, I ambushed him, tackled him to the ground as I am good at tackling in my school's rugby team and hit him on the head with an umbrella. I kept hitting him until he was unconcious. After hearing the commotion, my uncle woke up. He stared at the broken door and me standing next to the masked man.
6 Before I could say anything, he said. "Isn't that the wanted criminal Bert Goery?" I unmasked the man, he sure fitted the description from the police. My uncle called the police immediately. Within five minutes, the police came. I told them all that happened and they confirmed the masked man was Bert Goery. I think "Gregory" had chosen my house as it was deserted and away from publicity. They thanked me profusely and rewarded me a thousand dollars. Much more than what I had sent to Bert. I was a hero! I was so excited that I had done a good job.
7 I snuggled deeper into my blankets. Blankets? What were they doing here? Oh, it was just a dream. Well, not everyone has a chance to catch a wanted man. At least I had the experience of catching a criminal and tackling him. (595)