chapter 13

He was a gray man, an gray, except for his polished black shoes and two scarlet¹ diamonds in his gray satin tie that looked like the diamonds on roulette layouts. His shirt was gray and his double-breasted suit of soft, beautifully cut flannel². Seeing Carmen he took a gray hat off and his hair underneath³ it was gray and as fine as if it had been sifted⁴ through gauze. His thick gray eyebrows⁵ had that indefinably sporty look. He had a long chin, a nose with a hook to it, thoughtful gray eyes that had a slanted⁶ look because the fold of skin over his upper lid came down over the corner of the lid itself. He stood there politely, one hand touching⁷ the door at his back, the other holding the gray hat and flapping it gently against his thigh⁸. He looked hard, not the hardness of the tough guy. More like the hardness of a well-weathered horseman. But he was no horseman. He was Eddie Mars. He pushed the door shut behind him and put that hand in the lap-seamed pocket of his coat and left the thumb outside to glisten⁹ in the rather dim light of the room. He smiled at Carmen. He had a nice easy smile. She licked her lips and stared at him. The fear went out of her face. She smiled back. "Excuse the casual entrance," he said. "The bell didn't seem to rouse anybody. Is Mr. Geiger around?" I said: "No. We don't know just where he is. We found the door a little open. We stepped inside." He nodded and touched his long chin with the brim of his hat. "You're friends of his, of course?" "Just business acquaintances. We dropped by for a book." "A book, eh?" He said that quickly and brightly and, I thought, a little slyly, as if he knew all about Geiger's books. Then he looked at Carmen again and shrugged¹⁰. I moved towards the door. "We'll trot¹¹ along now," I said. I took hold of her arm. She was staring at Eddie Mars. She liked him. "Any message--if Geiger comes back?" Eddie Mars asked gently. "We won't bother you." "That's too bad," he said, with too much meaning. His gray eyes twinkled and then hardened as I went past him to open the door. He added in a casual tone: "The girl can dust. I'd like to talk to you a little, soldier." I let go of her arm. I gave him a blank stare. "Kidder, eh?" he said nicely. "Don't waste it. I've got two boys outside in a car that always do just what I want them to." Carmen made a sound at my side and bolted through the door. Her steps faded rapidly down hill. I hadn't seen her car, so she must have left it down below. I started to say: "What the hell--!" "Oh, skip it," Eddie Mars sighed. "There's something wrong around here. I'm going to find out what it is. If you want to pick lead out of your belly¹², get in my way." "Well, well," I said, "a tough guy." "Only when necessary, soldier." He wasn't looking at me any more. He was walking around the room, frowning, not paying any attention to me. I looked out above the broken pane¹³ of the front window. The top of a car showed over the hedge. Its motor idled. Eddie Mars found the purple flagon and the two gold-veined glasses on the desk. He sniffed¹⁴ at one of the glasses, then at the flagon. A disgusted smile wrinkled his lips. "The lousy pimp," he said tonelessly. He looked at a couple of books, grunted¹⁵, went on around the desk and stood in front of the little totem pole with the camera eye. He studied it, dropped his glance to the floor in front of it. He moved the small rug with hisfoot, then bent¹⁶ swiftly, his body tense. He went down on the floor with one gray knee. The desk hid him from me partly. There was a sharp exclamation¹⁷ and he came up again. His arm flashed under his coat and a black Luger appeared in his hand. He held it in long brown fingers, not pointing it at me me, not pointing it at anything. "Blood," he said. "Blood on the floor there, under the rug. Quite a lot of blood." "Is that so?" I said, looking interested. He slid into the chair behind the desk and hooked the mulberry-colored phone towards him and shifted the Luger to his left hand. He frowned sharply at the telephone, bringing his thick gray eyebrows close together and making a hard crease¹⁸ in the weathered skin at the top of his hooked nose. "I think we'll have some law," he said. I went over and kicked at the rug that lay where Geiger had lain. "It's old blood," I said. "Dried blood." "Just the same we'll have some law." "Why not?" I said. His eyes went narrow. The veneer¹⁹ had flaked²⁰ off him, leaving a well-dressed hard boy with a Luger. He didn't like my agreeing with him. "Just who the hell are you, soldier?" "Marlowe is the name. I'm a sleuth." "Never heard of you. Who's the girl?" "Client. Geiger was trying to throw a loop on her with some blackmail²¹. We came to talk it over. He wasn't here. The door being open we walked in to wait. Or did I tell you that?" "Convenient," he said. "The door being open. When you didn't have a key." "Yes. How come you had a key?" "Is that any of your business, soldier?" "I could make it my business." He smiled tightly and pushed his hat back on his gray hair. "And I could make your business my business." "You wouldn't like it. The pay's too small." "All right, bright eyes. I own this house. Geiger is my tenant²². Now what do you think of that?" "You know such lovely people." "I take them as they come. They come all kinds." He glanced down at the Luger, shrugged and tucked it back under his arm. "Got any good ideas, soldier?" "Lots of them. Somebody gunned Geiger. Somebody got gunned by Geiger, who ran away. Or it was two other fellows. Or Geiger was running a cult²³ and made blood sacrifices in front of that totem pole. Or he had chicken for dinner and liked to kill his chickens in the front parlor²⁴." The gray man scowled²⁵ at me. "I give up," I said. "Better call your friends downtown." "I don't get it," he snapped. "I don't get your game here." "Go ahead, call the buttons. You'll get a big reaction from it." He thought that over without moving. His lips went back against his teeth. "I don't get that, either," he said tightly. "Maybe it just isn't your day. I know you, Mr. Mars. The Cypress²⁶ Club at Las Olindas. Flash gambling²⁷ for flash people. The local law in your pocket and a well-greased line into L.A. In other words, protection. Geiger was in a racket that needed that too. Perhaps you spared him a little now and then, seeing he's your tenant." His mouth became a hard white grimace²⁸. "Geiger was in what racket?" "The smut book racket." He stared at me for a long level minute. "Somebody got to him," he said softly. "You know something about it. He didn't show at the store today. They don't know where he is. He didn't answer the phone here. I came up tosee about it. I find blood on the floor, under a rug. And you and a girl here." "A little weak," I said. "But maybe you can sell the story to a willing buyer. You missed a little something, though. Somebody moved his books out of the store today--the nice books he rented out." He snapped his fingers sharply and said: "I should have thought of that, soldier. You seem to get around. How do you figure it?" "I think Geiger was rubbed. I think that is his blood. And the books being moved out gives a motive²⁹ for hiding the body for a while. Somebody is taking over the racket and wants a little time to organize." "They can't get away with it," Eddie Mars said grimly. "Who says so? You and a couple of gunmen in your car outside? This is a big town now, Eddie. Some very tough people have checked in here lately. The penalty of growth." "You talk too damned much," Eddie Mars said. He bared his teeth and whistled twice, sharply. A car slammed outside and running steps came through the hedge. Mars flicked³⁰ the Luger out again and pointed³¹ it at my chest. "Open the door." The knob rattled³² and a voice called out. I didn't move. The muzzle³³ of the Luger looked like the mouth of the Second Street tunnel, but I didn't move. Not being bullet proof is an idea I had had to get used to. "Open it yourself, Eddie. Who the hell are you to give me orders? Be nice and I might help you out." He came to his feet rigidly³⁴ and moved around the end of the desk and over to the door. He opened it without taking his eyes off me. Two men tumbled into the room, reaching busily under their arms. One was an obvious pug, a good-looking pale-faced boy with a bad nose and one ear like a club steak. The other man was slim, blond, deadpan³⁶, with close-set eyes and no color in them. Eddie Mars said: "See if this bird is wearing any iron." The blond flicked a short-barreled gun out and stood pointing it at me. The pug sidled over flatfooted and felt my pockets with care. I turned around for like a bored beauty modeling an evening gown. "No gun," he said in a burry voice. "Find out who he is." The pug slipped a hand into my breast pocket and drew out my wallet. He flipped³⁷ it open and studied the contents. "Name's Philip Marlowe, Eddie. Lives at the Hobart Arms on Franklin. Private license³⁸, deputy's badge and all. A shamus." He slipped the wallet back in my pocket, slapped my face lightly and turned away. "Beat it," Eddie Mars said. The two gunmen went out again and closed the door. There was the sound of them getting back into the car. They started its motor and kept it idling once more. "All right. Talk," Eddie Mars snapped. The peaks of his eyebrows made sharp angles against his forehead. "I'm not ready to give out. Killing³⁹ Geiger to grab his racket would be a dumb trick and I'm not sure it happened that way, assuming he has been killed. But I'm sure that whoever got the books knows what's what, and I'm sure that the blonde lady down at his store is scared batty about something or other. And I have a guess who got the books." "Who?" "That's the part I'm not ready to give out. I've got a client, you know." He wrinkled his nose. "That--" he chopped it off quickly. "I expected you would know the girl," I said. "Who got the books, soldier?" "Not ready to talk, Eddie. Why should I?" He put the Luger down on the desk and slapped it with his open palm. "This," he said. "And I might make it worth your while.""That's the spirit. Leave the gun out of it. I can always hear the sound of money. How much are you clinking at me?" "For doing what?" "What did you want done?" He slammed the desk hard. "Listen, soldier. I ask you a question and you ask me another. We're not getting anywhere. I want to know where Geiger is, for my own personal reasons. I didn't like his racket and I didn't protect him. I happen to own this house. I'm not so crazy about that right now. I can believe that whatever you know about all this is under glass, or there would be a flock of johns squeaking⁴⁰ sole leather around this dump. You haven't got anything to sell. My guess is you need a little protection yourself. So cough up." It was a good guess, but I wasn't going to let him know it. I lit a cigarette and blew the match out and flicked it at the glass eye of the totem pole. "You're right," I said. "If anything has happened to Geiger, I'll have to give what I have to the law. Which puts it in the public domain⁴¹ and doesn't leave me anything to sell. So with your permission I'll just drift." His face whitened under the tan. He looked mean, fast and tough for a moment. He made a movement to lift the gun. I added casually⁴²: "By the way, how is Mrs. Mars these days?" I thought for a moment I had kidded him a little too far. His hand jerked at the gun, shaking. His face was stretched out by hard muscles. "Beat it," he said quite softly. "I don't give a damn where you go or what you do when you get there. Only take a word of advice, soldier. Leave me out of your plans or you'll wish your name was Murphy and you lived in Limerick." "Well, that's not so far from Clonmel," I said. "I hear you had a pal³⁵ came from there." He leaned down on the desk, frozen-eyed, unmoving. I went over to the door and opened it and looked back at him. His eyes had followed me, but his lean gray body had not moved. There was hate in his eyes. I went out and through the hedge and up the hill to my car and got into it. I turned it around and drove up over the crest⁴³. Nobody shot at me. After a few blocks I turned off, cut the motor and sat for a few moments. Nobody followed me either. I drove back into Hollywood.

1 scarlet   

n.深红色，绯红色，红衣；adj.绯红色的

参考例句：

• The scarlet leaves of the maples contrast well with the dark green of the pines.深红的枫叶和暗绿的松树形成了明显的对比。
• The glowing clouds are growing slowly pale,scarlet,bright red,and then light red.天空的霞光渐渐地淡下去了，深红的颜色变成了绯红，绯红又变为浅红。

2 flannel   

n.法兰绒；法兰绒衣服

参考例句：

• She always wears a grey flannel trousers.她总是穿一条灰色法兰绒长裤。
• She was looking luscious in a flannel shirt.她穿着法兰绒裙子，看上去楚楚动人。

3 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

4 sifted   

v.筛( sift的过去式和过去分词 )；筛滤；细查；详审

参考例句：

• She sifted through her papers to find the lost letter. 她仔细在文件中寻找那封丢失的信。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She sifted thistles through her thistle-sifter. 她用蓟筛筛蓟。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 eyebrows   

眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Eyebrows stop sweat from coming down into the eyes. 眉毛挡住汗水使其不能流进眼睛。
• His eyebrows project noticeably. 他的眉毛特别突出。

6 slanted   

有偏见的； 倾斜的

参考例句：

• The sun slanted through the window. 太阳斜照进窗户。
• She had slanted brown eyes. 她有一双棕色的丹凤眼。

7 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

8 thigh   

n.大腿；股骨

参考例句：

• He is suffering from a strained thigh muscle.他的大腿肌肉拉伤了，疼得很。
• The thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.股骨连着髋骨。

9 glisten   

vi.（光洁或湿润表面等）闪闪发光，闪闪发亮

参考例句：

• Dewdrops glisten in the morning sun.露珠在晨光下闪闪发光。
• His sunken eyes glistened with delight.他凹陷的眼睛闪现出喜悦的光芒。

10 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 trot   

n.疾走，慢跑；n.老太婆；现成译本；(复数）trots:腹泻（与the 连用）；v.小跑，快步走，赶紧

参考例句：

• They passed me at a trot.他们从我身边快步走过。
• The horse broke into a brisk trot.马突然快步小跑起来。

12 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。

13 pane   

n.窗格玻璃，长方块

参考例句：

• He broke this pane of glass.他打破了这块窗玻璃。
• Their breath bloomed the frosty pane.他们呼出的水气，在冰冷的窗玻璃上形成一层雾。

14 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 grunted   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的过去式和过去分词 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说

参考例句：

• She just grunted, not deigning to look up from the page. 她只咕哝了一声，继续看书，不屑抬起头来看一眼。
• She grunted some incomprehensible reply. 她咕噜着回答了些令人费解的话。

16 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

17 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

18 crease   

n.折缝，褶痕，皱褶；v.(使)起皱

参考例句：

• Does artificial silk crease more easily than natural silk?人造丝比天然丝更易起皱吗？
• Please don't crease the blouse when you pack it.包装时请不要将衬衫弄皱了。

19 veneer   

n.(墙上的)饰面，虚饰

参考例句：

• For the first time her veneer of politeness began to crack.她温文尔雅的外表第一次露出破绽。
• The panel had a veneer of gold and ivory.这木板上面镶饰了一层金和象牙。

20 flaked   

精疲力竭的，失去知觉的，睡去的

参考例句：

• They can see how its colours have faded and where paint has flaked. 他们能看到颜色消退的情况以及油漆剥落的地方。
• The river from end to end was flaked with coal fleets. 这条河上从头到尾处处都漂着一队一队的煤船。

21 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

22 tenant   

n.承租人；房客；佃户；v.租借，租用

参考例句：

• The tenant was dispossessed for not paying his rent.那名房客因未付房租而被赶走。
• The tenant is responsible for all repairs to the building.租户负责对房屋的所有修理。

23 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

24 parlor   

n.店铺，营业室；会客室，客厅

参考例句：

• She was lying on a small settee in the parlor.她躺在客厅的一张小长椅上。
• Is there a pizza parlor in the neighborhood?附近有没有比萨店？

25 scowled   

怒视，生气地皱眉( scowl的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scowled his displeasure. 他满脸嗔色。
• The teacher scowled at his noisy class. 老师对他那喧闹的课堂板着脸。

26 cypress   

n.柏树

参考例句：

• The towering pine and cypress trees defy frost and snow.松柏参天傲霜雪。
• The pine and the cypress remain green all the year round.苍松翠柏，常绿不凋。

27 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

28 grimace   

v.做鬼脸，面部歪扭

参考例句：

• The boy stole a look at his father with grimace.那男孩扮着鬼脸偷看了他父亲一眼。
• Thomas made a grimace after he had tasted the wine.托马斯尝了那葡萄酒后做了个鬼脸。

29 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

30 flicked   

（尤指用手指或手快速地）轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 )； （用…）轻挥； （快速地）按开关； 向…笑了一下（或瞥了一眼等）

参考例句：

• She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
• I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。

31 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

32 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

33 muzzle   

n.鼻口部；口套；枪(炮)口；vt.使缄默

参考例句：

• He placed the muzzle of the pistol between his teeth.他把手枪的枪口放在牙齿中间。
• The President wanted to muzzle the press.总统企图遏制新闻自由。

34 rigidly   

adv.刻板地，僵化地

参考例句：

• Life today is rigidly compartmentalized into work and leisure. 当今的生活被严格划分为工作和休闲两部分。
• The curriculum is rigidly prescribed from an early age. 自儿童时起即已开始有严格的课程设置。

35 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

36 deadpan   

n. 无表情的

参考例句：

• Some people don't catch his deadpan humor,that makes it even funnier.有些人不能了解他那种无表情的幽默，因此更有趣。
• She put the letter on the desk in front of me,her face deadpan,not a flicker of a smile.她把那封信放在我面前的桌子上，故意一 脸严肃，没有一丝的笑容。

37 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

38 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

39 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

40 squeaking   

v.短促地尖叫( squeak的现在分词 )；吱吱叫；告密；充当告密者

参考例句：

• Squeaking floorboards should be screwed down. 踏上去咯咯作响的地板应用螺钉钉住。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Can you hear the mice squeaking? 你听到老鼠吱吱叫吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

41 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

42 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。

43 crest   

n.顶点；饰章；羽冠；vt.达到顶点；vi.形成浪尖

参考例句：

• The rooster bristled his crest.公鸡竖起了鸡冠。
• He reached the crest of the hill before dawn.他于黎明前到达山顶。