Chapter 11 Irene Knows Nothing

IRENE WAS THE first to speak, coming to the point with an abruptness¹ which the Frenchman would not have used. "What is it you want to know?"

"I want you to be kind enough to tell me all you can concerning M. Reynard's death."

"I can soon do that. I know nothing. I went out shopping, and when I came back there was a dead man on the floor."

"At what time was that?"

"Oh, during the afternoon. It was a good while after lunch."

"Can't you be more definite than that?"

"Not unless I guess. When anyone sees a dead man the next thing she does isn't to look at the clock. Not unless it's in books."

"You're not trying to be very helpful."

"I'm not trying either way. I 'm trying to make you understand that if you want to find out who did it you're wasting time asking us."

"Who was in the room when you entered?"

"No one except His Excellency. He'd just come in."

"What do you know about Mr. Kindell?"

"He's my cousin."

"Then you probably know the business that brought him over here at the same time as yourselves."

"I might guess, and be wrong. It mayn't have been business at all. He's not the sort who'd go about killing² strange men in other people's rooms, if you mean that."

"I'm sorry to hear that you have so decided³ an opinion. Here is a homicide which appears to have been the act of either your father or this young man, and of which we should greatly prefer that His Excellency should be cleared. I hoped that you might be able to give us a pointer in the right direction."

"Well, I can't. They're both silly ideas. I've told you my father had only just come into the room."

"How do you know that?"

"He told me himself. I could see how angry he was that the man was there."

"Angry? Surely that is a curious reaction to the discovery of a murdered man? Perhaps his annoyance⁴ was that you should see what had occurred?"

"Perhaps it was, more or less. My father is particular about his suite⁵ being private and quiet. It's what he's got a right to expect, being who he is. . . . And if he had found it necessary to shoot someone, I don't see how you should interfere⁶. He's an American citizen. You might say he is America, having the office he has. . . . Extra-territorial you call it, don't you? Or something like that."

M. Samuel permitted himself a slight smile. "The ambassadorial immunity⁷ to which you allude⁸ does not extend to a neutral country. His Excellency is not accredited⁹ to France. But we are anxious to do what we can to spare him from any annoyance if - as we are anxious to think - the crime was not his, or even if he could give us any plausible¹⁰ justification¹¹ for what occurred, our Government might be disposed to receive it in a spirit of tolerance¹². Our trouble is that neither you nor His Excellency will help us at all."

"But we know nothing about it. What can we say more?"

"You could tell me more of Mr. Kindell than you do. Why did he come up to these rooms at about the time the murder occurred?"

"To say good-bye to me, more likely than not. He was going back to England last night."

"Well, he will be coming back now."

"Then he can tell you himself whatever you want to know."

"Yes. He may see that it will be wise to do that."

M. Samuel's tone indicated that it would be better if others were of the same mind. With a sufficient minimum of courtesy he got up to go. He thought that after he had talked to Kindell he might persuade the girl to a greater frankness.

He felt that she had already told him more than she was aware, and a theory which would explain much was already taking place in his practical and experienced mind.

1 abruptness   

n. 突然，唐突

参考例句：

• He hid his feelings behind a gruff abruptness. 他把自己的感情隐藏在生硬鲁莽之中。
• Suddenly Vanamee returned to himself with the abruptness of a blow. 伐那米猛地清醒过来，象挨到了当头一拳似的。

2 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。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 annoyance   

n.恼怒，生气，烦恼

参考例句：

• Why do you always take your annoyance out on me?为什么你不高兴时总是对我出气？
• I felt annoyance at being teased.我恼恨别人取笑我。

5 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

6 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

7 immunity   

n.优惠；免除；豁免，豁免权

参考例句：

• The law gives public schools immunity from taxation.法律免除公立学校的纳税义务。
• He claims diplomatic immunity to avoid being arrested.他要求外交豁免以便避免被捕。

8 allude   

v.提及，暗指

参考例句：

• Many passages in Scripture allude to this concept.圣经中有许多经文间接地提到这样的概念。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles.她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

9 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。

10 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

11 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

12 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。