1. There was ___a_____knock on __the______door. I opened it and found ____a____small dark man in __a______blue overcoat and ___a____woolen cap.

2. He said he was ___an_____employee of _____the___gas company and had come to read ___the_____meter.

3. But I had ___a_____suspicion that he wasn't speaking ____the____truth because _____x___meter readers usually wear ____x____peaked caps.

4. However, I took him to ___the_____ meter, which is in ____the____dark corner under ____the____ stairs.

5. I asked if he had ____a____ torch; he said he disliked torches and always read _____x___ meters by ____the____light of ___a_____match.

6. I remarked that if there was ___a_____leak in ____a____ gas pipe there might be ____an____ explosion while he was reading ___the_____meter.

7. He said, “As ____a____matter of ____x____fact, there was ___an_____explosion in ____the____last house I visited; and Mr. Smith, ____the____owner of __the______house, was burnt in ___the_____face.”

8. “Mr. Smith was holding ____a____lighted match at ___the_____time of __the______explosion.”

9. To prevent __a______possible repetition of this accident, I lent him ___a_____torch.

10. He switched on ___the_____torch, read ___the_____meter and wrote ___the_____ reading down on ___the_____back of _____an___envelope.

11. I said in ____x____surprise that _____x___meter readers usually put _____the___readings down in __a______book.

12. He said that he had had ___a_____book but that it had been burnt in ___the_____fire in____x____ Mr. Smith's house.

13. By this time I had come to ___the_____conclusion that he wasn't ____a____genuine meter reader; and ____the____moment he left ___the_____house I rang _____the___police.