#683 The Landlady- Roald Dahl
A young seventeen year old man, Billy, has come into town from London. He starts at the local office tomorrow and is looking for a place to stay. He is eager, well-dressed, and full of energy.
“Briskness, he had decided, was the one common characteristic of all successful businessmen.”
He is pointed to an Inn about a half-mile down the road. As he walks however he comes across a boarding house, a bed and breakfast that catches his eye. It’s quaint and quiet but not exactly what he was looking for. Before walking on however, he is drawn back to the house and rings the bell. Immediately a nice old woman answers the door.
“She seemed terribly nice. She looked exactly like the mother of one’s best school-friend welcoming one into the house to stay for the Christmas holidays.”
The price is cheap and the woman, although a little batty, is very nice. He decides to stay the night. As he is signing the register, he notices only two names, the most recent from two years ago! The names sound familiar to him and they might be name of two school boys that went missing, but he cant be sure.
This is the beginning of a haunting tale we never get to see. We are left to wonder if the tea is poisoned, if the woman has kept the other boys upstairs stiffed like the two animals in the drawing room. It’s not likely he will ever get out of that house.
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