His head being turned back, he passed a crook of the road, and looking forward again, beheld the figure of a man, in grave and decent attire, seated at the foot of an old tree. He arose, at Goodman Brown's approach, and walked onward, side by side with him.
"You are late, Goodman Brown," said he. "The clock of the Old South was striking, as I came through Boston; and that is full fifteen minutes agone."
"Faith kept me back awhile," replied the young man, with a tremor in his voice, caused by the sudden appearance of his companion, though not wholly unexpected.
It was now deep dusk in the forest, and deepest in that part of it where these two were journeying. As nearly as could be discerned , the second traveler was about fifty years old, apparently in the same rank of life as Goodman Brown, and bearing a considerable resemblance to him, though perhaps more in expression than features. Still, they might have been taken for father and son. And yet, though the elder person was as simply clad as the younger, and as simple in manner too, he had an indescribable air of one who knew the world, and would not have felt abashed at the governor's dinner-table, or in King William's court, were it possible that his affairs should call him thither . But the only thing about him, that could be fixed upon as remarkable, was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought, that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself like a living serpent. This, of course, must have been an ocular deception, assisted by the uncertain light.
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Stop and ask a question about the text.
Terry's Tips
Making Strategies Work: Questioning
Book Builder allows you to embed prompts and response areas within your book. Make sure to get these responses "out of the box:" use student responses most effectively as the foundation for group discussion about the text.
The "Question Strategy" prompts readers to think about what is unclear or confusing to them as they read. Responses to this strategy, therefore, are ideal for group discussions at the end of each session. Working with students on these questions is critical for keeping students engaged with a text and increasing reading comprehension.
If students are reluctant to share their own questions, do a 'think aloud' in which you model a question about the text. Then, have a group discussion about how to resolve the confusion. When readers have a strategy for asking and answering clarification questions, comprehension increases -- in any text.
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