Ответ:

Yesterday, as I walked down the Strand, I met George, an old friend of mine. He recognized me at once, though I wore a scarf round my face as 1 suffered from toothache. He told me how sorry he was to see me in such a poor way, and added: « came to see you a fortnight ago but unfortunately we prepared the annual accounts and as one of my colleagues were ill, I couldn't find time to get round to you.» All the time he said this, I tried to remember something I wanted to tell.

Eventually I remembered and said to him: «Just before I came out, I received a letter from

Smith, in which he said that he hoped you would call on him soon. He last ... saw you at Marion's birthday party but you talked so animatedly to Robertson that he didn`t dare to interrupt!» Just then I saw another friend of mine: he waved to me from the other side of the road. I said goodbye to George and started to cross the road; while I  crossed a car rushed out from nowhere and knocked me down. Luckily, I fell into an open crate of bananas, which a barrow-boy sold so I sustained no great injury

- though the bananas did!