PART THREE DECEMBER 24TH VI

VI

It was a constable¹ who opened the front door to them and saluted². Behind him, Superintendent³

Sugden advanced down the hall and said:

“Glad you’ve got here, sir. Shall we come into this room here on the left—Mr. Lee’s study?

I’d like to run over the main outlines. The whole thing’s a rum business.”

He ushered⁴ them into a small room on the left of the hall. There was a telephone there and a

big desk covered with papers. The walls were lined with bookcases.

The chief constable said: “Sugden, this is M. Hercule Poirot. You may have heard of him.

Just happened to be staying with me. Superintendent Sugden.”

Poirot made a little bow and looked the other man over. He saw a tall man with square

shoulders and a military bearing who had an aquiline⁵ nose, a pugnacious⁶ jaw⁷ and a large

flourishing chestnut- coloured moustache. Sugden stared hard at Hercule Poirot after

acknowledging the introduction. Hercule Poirot stared hard at Superintendent Sugden’s

moustache. Its luxuriance seemed to fascinate him.

The superintendent said:

“Of course I have heard of you, Mr. Poirot. You were in this part of the world some years

ago, if I remember rightly. Death of Sir Bartholomew Strange. Poisoning case. Nicotine⁸. Not my

district, but of course I heard all about it.”

Colonel Johnson said impatiently:

“Now, then, Sugden, let’s have the facts. A clear case, you said.”

“Yes, sir, it’s murder right enough—not a doubt of that. Mr. Lee’s throat was cut—jugular

vein⁹ severed¹⁰, I understand from the doctor. But there’s something very odd about the whole

matter.”

“You mean—?”

“I’d like you to hear my story first, sir. These are the circumstances: This afternoon, about

five o’clock, I was rung up by Mr. Lee at Addlesfield police station. He sounded a bit odd over the

phone—asked me to come and see him at eight o’clock this evening—made a special point of the

time. Moreover, he instructed me to say to the butler that I was collecting subscriptions¹¹ for some

police charity.”

The chief constable looked up sharply.

“Wanted some plausible¹² pretext¹³ to get you into the house?”

“That’s right, sir. Well, naturally, Mr. Lee is an important person, and I acceded¹⁴ to his

request. I got here a little before eight o’clock, and represented myself as seeking subscriptions for

the Police Orphanage¹⁵. The butler went away and returned to tell me that Mr. Lee would see me.

Thereupon he showed me up to Mr. Lee’s room, which is situated¹⁶ on the first floor, immediately

over the dining room.”

Superintendent Sugden paused, drew a breath and then proceeded in a somewhat official

manner with his report.

“Mr. Lee was seated in a chair by the fireplace. He was wearing a dressing¹⁷ gown. When the

butler had left the room and closed the door, Mr. Lee asked me to sit near him. He then said rather

hesitatingly that he wanted to give me particulars of a robbery. I asked him what had been taken.

He replied that he had reason to believe that diamonds (uncut diamonds, I think he said) to the

value of several thousand pounds had been stolen from his safe.”

“Diamonds, eh?” said the chief constable.

“Yes, sir. I asked him various routine questions, but his manner was very uncertain and his

replies were somewhat vague in character. At last he said, ‘You must understand, Superintendent,

that I may be mistaken in this matter.’ I said, ‘I do not quite understand, sir. Either the diamonds

are missing or they are not missing—one or the other.’ He replied, ‘The diamonds are certainly

missing, but it is just possible, Superintendent, that their disappearance¹⁸ may be simply a rather

foolish kind of practical joke.’ Well, that seemed odd to me, but I said nothing. He went on: ‘It is

difficult for me to explain in detail, but what it amounts to is this: So far as I can see, only two

persons can possibly have the stones. One of those persons might have done it as a joke. If the

other person took them, then they have definitely been stolen.’ I said, ‘What exactly do you want

me to do, sir?’ He said quickly, ‘I want you, Superintendent, to return here in about an hour—no,

make it a little more than that—say nine fifteen. At that time I shall be able to tell you definitely

whether I have been robbed or not.’ I was a little mystified, but I agreed and went away.”

Colonel Johnson commented:

“Curious—very curious. What do you say, Poirot?”

Hercule Poirot said:

“May I ask, Superintendent, what conclusions you yourself drew?”

The superintendent stroked his jaw as he replied carefully:

“Well, various ideas occurred to me, but on the whole, I figured it out this way. There was no

question of any practical joke. The diamonds had been stolen all right. But the old gentleman

wasn’t sure who’d done it. It’s my opinion that he was speaking the truth when he said that it

might have been one of two people—and of those two people one was a servant and the other was

a member of the family.”

Poirot nodded appreciatively.

“Très bien. Yes, that explains his attitude very well.”

“Hence his desire that I should return later. In the interval¹⁹ he meant to have an interview with

the person in question. He would tell them that he had already spoken of the matter to the police

but that, if restitution²⁰ were promptly²¹ made, he could hush²² the matter up.”

Colonel Johnson said:

“And if the suspect didn’t respond?”

“In that case, he meant to place the investigation²³ in our hands.”

Colonel Johnson frowned and twisted his moustache. He demurred²⁴.

“Why not take that course before calling you in?”

“No, no, sir.” The superintendent shook his head. “Don’t you see, if he had done that, it

might have been bluff²⁵. It wouldn’t have been half so convincing. The person might say to himself,

‘The old man won’t call the police in, no matter what he suspects!’ But if the old gentleman says

to him, ‘I’ve already spoken to the police, the superintendent has only just left.’ Then the thief

asks the butler, say, and the butler confirms that. He says, ‘Yes, the superintendent was here just

before dinner.’ Then the chief is convinced the old gentleman means business and it’s up to him to

cough up the stones.”

“H’m, yes, I see that,” said Colonel Johnson. “Any idea, Sugden, who this ‘member of the

family’ might be?”

“No, sir.”

“No indication whatsoever²⁶?”

“None.”

Johnson shook his head. Then he said:

“Well, let’s get on with it.”

Superintendent Sugden resumed his official manner.

“I returned to the house, sir, at nine fifteen precisely²⁷. Just as I was about to ring the front door

bell, I heard a scream from inside the house, and then a confused sound of shouts and a general

commotion²⁸. I rang several times and also used the knocker. It was three or four minutes before the

door was answered. When the footman at last opened it I could see that something momentous²⁹ had

occurred. He was shaking all over and looked as though he was about to faint. He gasped³⁰ out that

Mr. Lee had been murdered. I ran hastily upstairs. I found Mr. Lee’s room in a state of wild

confusion. There had evidently been a severe struggle. Mr. Lee himself was lying in front of the

fire with his throat cut in a pool of blood.”

The chief constable said sharply:

“He couldn’t have done it himself?”

Sugden shook his head.

“Impossible, sir. For one thing, there were the chairs and tables overturned, and the broken

crockery and ornaments³¹, and then there was no sign of the razor or knife with which the crime had

been committed.”

The chief constable said thoughtfully:

“Yes, that seems conclusive³². Anyone in the room?”

“Most of the family were there, sir. Just standing³³ round.”

Colonel Johnson said sharply:

“Any ideas, Sugden?”

The superintendent said slowly:

“It’s a bad business, sir. It looks to me as though one of them must have done it. I don’t see

how anyone from outside could have done it and got away in time.”

“What about the window? Closed or open?”

“There are two windows in the room, sir. One was closed and locked. The other was open a

few inches at the bottom—but it was fixed³⁴ in that position by a burglar screw, and moreover, I’ve

tried it and it’s stuck fast—hasn’t been opened for years, I should say. Also the wall outside is

quite smooth and unbroken—no ivy³⁵ or creepers. I don’t see how anyone could have left that way.”

“How many doors in the room?”

“Just one. The room is at the end of a passage. That door was locked on the inside. When

they heard the noise of the struggle and the old man’s dying scream, and rushed upstairs, they had

to break down the door to get in.”

Johnson said sharply:

“And who was in the room?”

Superintendent Sugden replied gravely:

“Nobody was in the room, sir, except the old man who had been killed not more than a few

minutes previously³⁶.”

1 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

2 saluted   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的过去式和过去分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• The sergeant stood to attention and saluted. 中士立正敬礼。
• He saluted his friends with a wave of the hand. 他挥手向他的朋友致意。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

4 ushered   

v.引，领，陪同( usher的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The secretary ushered me into his office. 秘书把我领进他的办公室。
• A round of parties ushered in the New Year. 一系列的晚会迎来了新年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 aquiline   

adj.钩状的，鹰的

参考例句：

• He had a thin aquiline nose and deep-set brown eyes.他长着窄长的鹰钩鼻和深陷的褐色眼睛。
• The man has a strong and aquiline nose.该名男子有强大和鹰鼻子。

6 pugnacious   

adj.好斗的

参考例句：

• He is a pugnacious fighter.他是个好斗的战士。
• When he was a child,he was pugnacious and fought with everyone.他小时候很好斗，跟每个人都打过架。

7 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

8 nicotine   

n.(化)尼古丁，烟碱

参考例句：

• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。
• Many smokers who are chemically addicted to nicotine cannot cut down easily.许多有尼古丁瘾的抽烟人不容易把烟戒掉。

9 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

10 severed   

v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂

参考例句：

• The doctor said I'd severed a vessel in my leg. 医生说我割断了腿上的一根血管。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We have severed diplomatic relations with that country. 我们与那个国家断绝了外交关系。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 subscriptions   

n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助

参考例句：

• Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 pretext   

n.借口，托词

参考例句：

• He used his headache as a pretext for not going to school.他借口头疼而不去上学。
• He didn't attend that meeting under the pretext of sickness.他以生病为借口，没参加那个会议。

14 acceded   

v.（正式）加入( accede的过去式和过去分词 )；答应；（通过财产的添附而）增加；开始任职

参考例句：

• He acceded to demands for his resignation. 他同意要他辞职的要求。
• They have acceded to the treaty. 他们已经加入了那个条约。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 orphanage   

n.孤儿院

参考例句：

• They dispensed new clothes to the children in the orphanage.他们把新衣服发给孤儿院的小孩们。
• They gave the proceeds of the sale to the orphanage.他们把销售的收入给了这家孤儿院。

16 situated   

adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的

参考例句：

• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
• She is awkwardly situated.她的处境困难。

17 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

18 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

19 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。

20 restitution   

n.赔偿；恢复原状

参考例句：

• It's only fair that those who do the damage should make restitution.损坏东西的人应负责赔偿，这是再公平不过的了。
• The victims are demanding full restitution.受害人要求全额赔偿。

21 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

22 hush   

int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静

参考例句：

• A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
• Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！

23 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

24 demurred   

v.表示异议，反对( demur的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• At first she demurred, but then finally agreed. 她开始表示反对，但最终还是同意了。
• They demurred at working on Sundays. 他们反对星期日工作。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

25 bluff   

v.虚张声势，用假象骗人；n.虚张声势，欺骗

参考例句：

• His threats are merely bluff.他的威胁仅仅是虚张声势。
• John is a deep card.No one can bluff him easily.约翰是个机灵鬼。谁也不容易欺骗他。

26 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

27 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

28 commotion   

n.骚动，动乱

参考例句：

• They made a commotion by yelling at each other in the theatre.他们在剧院里相互争吵，引起了一阵骚乱。
• Suddenly the whole street was in commotion.突然间，整条街道变得一片混乱。

29 momentous   

adj.重要的，重大的

参考例句：

• I am deeply honoured to be invited to this momentous occasion.能应邀出席如此重要的场合，我深感荣幸。
• The momentous news was that war had begun.重大的新闻是战争已经开始。

30 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

31 ornaments   

n.装饰( ornament的名词复数 )；点缀；装饰品；首饰v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The shelves were chock-a-block with ornaments. 架子上堆满了装饰品。
• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments. 一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。 来自《简明英汉词典》

32 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

33 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

34 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

35 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

36 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。