PART THREE DECEMBER 24TH XV

XV

As the door opened once more, Colonel Johnson looked up. For a moment he took the entering

figure to be that of Harry¹ Lee, but as Stephen Farr advanced into the room he saw his error.

“Sit down, Mr. Farr,” he said.

Stephen sat. His eyes, cool, intelligent eyes, went from one to the other of the three men. He

said:

“I’m afraid I shan’t be much use to you. But please ask me anything that you think may help.

Perhaps I’d better explain, to start with, who I am. My father, Ebenezer Farr, was Simeon Lee’s

partner in South Africa in the old days. I’m talking of over forty years ago.”

He paused.

“My dad talked to me a lot about Simeon Lee—what a personality he was. He and Dad

cleaned up a good bit together. Simeon Lee went home with a fortune and my father didn’t do

badly either. My father always told me that when I came to this country I was to look up Mr. Lee.

I said once that it was a long time ago and that he’d probably not know who I was, but Dad scoffed²

at the idea. He said, ‘When two men have been through what Simeon and I went through, they

don’t forget.’ Well, my father died a couple of years ago. This year I came over to England for the

first time, and I thought I’d act on Dad’s advice and look up Mr. Lee.”

With a slight smile he went on:

“I was just a little nervous when I came along here, but I needn’t have been. Mr. Lee gave me

a warm welcome and absolutely insisted that I should stay with the family over Christmas. I was

afraid I was butting³ in, but he wouldn’t hear of a refusal.”

He added rather shyly:

“They were all very nice to me—Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Lee couldn’t have been nicer. I’m

terribly sorry for them that all this should come upon them.”

“How long have you been here, Mr. Farr?”

“Since yesterday.”

“Did you see Mr. Lee today at all?”

“Yes, I had a chat with him this morning. He was in good spirits then and anxious to hear

about a lot of people and places.”

“That was the last time you saw him?”

“Yes.”

“Did he mention to you that he kept a quantity of uncut diamonds in his safe?”

“No.”

He added before the other could speak:

“Do you mean that this business was murder and robbery?”

“We’re not sure yet,” said Johnson. “Now to come to the events of this evening, will you tell

me, in your own words, what you were doing?”

“Certainly. After the ladies left the dining room I stayed and had a glass of port. Then I

realized that the Lees had family business they wanted to discuss and that my being there was

hampering⁴ them so I excused myself and left them.”

“And what did you do then?”

Stephen Farr leaned back in his chair. His forefinger⁵ caressed⁶ his jaw⁷. He said rather

woodenly:

“I—er—went along to a big room with a parquet⁸ floor—a kind of ballroom⁹, I fancy. There’s

a gramophone there and dance records. I put some records on.”

Poirot said:

“It was possible, perhaps, that someone might join you there?”

A very faint smile curved Stephen Farr’s lips. He answered:

“It was possible, yes. One always hopes.”

And he grinned outright¹⁰.

Poirot said:

“Señorita Estravados is very beautiful.”

Stephen answered:

“She’s easily the best thing to look at that I’ve seen since I came to England.”

“Did Miss Estravados join you?” asked Colonel Johnson.

Stephen shook his head.

“I was still there when I heard the rumpus. I came out into the hall and ran hell for leather to

see what was the matter. I helped Harry Lee to break the door down.”

“And that’s all you have to tell us?”

“Absolutely all, I’m afraid.”

Hercule Poirot leaned forward. He said softly:

“But I think, Monsieur Farr, that you could tell us a good deal if you liked.”

Farr said sharply:

“What d’you mean?”

“You can tell us something that is very important in this case—the character of Mr. Lee. You

say that your father talked much of him to you. What manner of a man was it that he described to

you?”

Stephen Farr said slowly:

“I think I see what you’re driving at. What was Simeon Lee like in his young days? Well—

you want me to be frank, I suppose?”

“If you please.”

“Well, to begin with, I don’t think that Simeon Lee was a highly moral member of society. I

don’t mean that he was exactly a crook¹¹, but he sailed pretty near the wind. His morals were

nothing to boast about anyway. He had charm, though, a good deal of it. And he was fantastically

generous. No one with a hard-luck story ever appealed to him in vain. He drank a bit, but not

overmuch, was attractive to women, and had a sense of humour. All the same, he had a queer

revengeful streak¹² in him. Talk of the elephant never forgets and you talk of Simeon Lee. My father

told me of several cases where Lee waited years to get even with someone who’d done him a nasty

turn.”

Superintendent¹³ Sugden said:

“Two might play at that game. You’ve no knowledge, I suppose, Mr. Farr, of anyone who

Simeon Lee had done a bad turn to out there? Nothing out of the past that could explain the crime

committed here this evening?”

Stephen Farr shook his head.

“He had enemies, of course, must have had, being the man he was. But I know of no specific

case. Besides,” his eyes narrowed, “I understand (as a matter of fact, I’ve been questioning

Tressilian) there have been no strangers in or near the house this evening.”

Hercule Poirot said:

“With the exception of yourself, M. Farr.”

Stephen Farr swung round upon him.

“Oh, so that’s it? Suspicious stranger within the gates! Well, you won’t find anything of that

kind. No back history of Simeon Lee doing Ebenezer Farr down, and Eb’s son coming over to

revenge his dad! No,” he shook his head. “Simeon and Ebenezer had nothing against each other. I

came here, as I’ve told you, out of sheer curiosity. And moreover, I should imagine a gramophone

is as good an alibi¹⁴ as anything else. I never stopped putting on records—somebody must have

heard them. One record wouldn’t give me time to race away upstairs—these passages are a mile

long, anyway—slit¹⁵ an old man’s throat, wash off the blood, and get back again before the others

came rushing up. The idea’s farcical!”

Colonel Johnson said:

“We’re not making any insinuations against you, Mr. Farr.”

Stephen Farr said:

“I didn’t care much for the tone of Mr. Hercule Poirot’s voice.”

“That,” said Hercule Poirot, “is unfortunate!”

He smiled benignly¹⁶ at the other.

Stephen Farr looked angrily at him.

Colonel Johnson interposed quickly:

“Thank you, Mr. Farr. That will be all for the present. You will, of course, not leave this

house.”

Stephen Farr nodded. He got up and left the room, walking with a freely swinging stride.

As the door closed behind him, Johnson said:

“There goes X, the unknown quantity. His story seems straightforward¹⁷ enough. All the same,

he’s the dark horse. He might have pinched those diamonds—might have come here with a bogus

story just to gain admittance. You’d better get his fingerprints¹⁸, Sugden, and see if he’s known.”

“I’ve already got them,” said the superintendent with a dry smile.

“Good man. You don’t overlook much. I suppose you’re on to all the obvious lines?”

Superintendent Sugden checked off on his fingers.

“Check up on those telephone calls—times, etc. Check up on Horbury. What time he left,

who saw him go. Check up all entrances and exits. Check up on staff generally. Check up financial

position of members of family. Get on to the lawyers and check up on will. Search house for the

weapon and for bloodstains on clothing—also possibly diamonds hidden somewhere.”

“That covers everything, I think,” said Colonel Johnson approvingly. “Can you suggest

anything, M. Poirot?”

Poirot shook his head. He said:

“I find the superintendent admirably thorough.”

Sugden said gloomily:

“It won’t be any joke looking through this house for the missing diamonds. Never saw so

many ornaments¹⁹ and knickknacks in my life.”

“The hiding places are certainly abundant,” Poirot agreed.

“And there’s really nothing you would suggest, Poirot?”

The chief constable²⁰ looked a little disappointed—rather like a man whose dog has refused to

do its trick.

Poirot said:

“You will permit that I take a line of my own?”

“Certainly—certainly,” said Johnson at the same moment as Superintendent Sugden said

rather suspiciously:

“What line?”

“I would like,” said Hercule Poirot, “to converse²¹ — very often — very frequently — with

members of the family.”

“You mean you’d like to have another shot at questioning them?” asked the colonel, a little

puzzled.

“No, no, not to question—to converse!”

“Why?” asked Sugden.

Hercule Poirot waved an emphatic²² hand.

“In conversation, points arise! If a human being converses²³ much, it is impossible for him to

avoid the truth!”

Sugden said:

“Then you think someone is lying?”

Poirot sighed.

“Mon cher, everyone lies—in parts like the egg of the English curate. It is profitable to

separate the harmless lies from the vital ones.”

Colonel Johnson said sharply:

“All the same, it’s incredible, you know. Here’s a particularly crude and brutal²⁴ murder—and

whom have we as suspects? Alfred Lee and his wife—both charming, well-bred, quiet people.

George Lee, who’s a Member of Parliament and the essence of respectability. His wife? She’s just

an ordinary modern lovely. David Lee seems a gentle creature and we’ve got his brother Harry’s

word for it that he can’t stand the sight of blood. His wife seems a nice sensible woman—quite

commonplace. Remains²⁵ the Spanish niece and the man from South Africa. Spanish beauties have

hot tempers, but I don’t see that attractive creature slitting²⁶ the old man’s neck in cold blood,

especially as from what has come out she had every reason to keep him alive—at any rate until he

had signed a new will. Stephen Farr’s a possibility—that is to say, he may be a professional crook

and have come here after the diamonds. The old man discovered the loss and Farr slit his throat to

keep him quiet. That could have been so—that gramophone alibi isn’t too good.”

Poirot shook his head.

“My dear friend,” he said. “Compare the physique of M. Stephen Farr and old Simeon Lee. If

Farr decided²⁷ to kill the old man he could have done it in a minute—Simeon Lee couldn’t possibly

have put up that fight against him. Can one believe that that frail²⁸ old man and that magnificent

specimen²⁹ of humanity struggled for some minutes overturning chairs and breaking china? To

imagine such a thing is fantastic!”

Colonel Johnson’s eyes narrowed.

“You mean,” he said, “that it was a weak man who killed Simeon Lee?”

“Or a woman!” said the superintendent.

1 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

2 scoffed   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He scoffed at our amateurish attempts. 他对我们不在行的尝试嗤之以鼻。
• A hundred years ago people scoffed at the idea. 一百年前人们曾嘲笑过这种想法。

3 butting   

用头撞人（犯规动作）

参考例句：

• When they were talking Mary kept butting in. 当他们在谈话时，玛丽老是插嘴。
• A couple of goats are butting each other. 两只山羊在用角互相顶撞。

4 hampering   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• So fraud on cows and development aid is seriously hampering growth. 因此在牛问题上和发展补助上的诈骗严重阻碍了发展。
• Short-termism, carbon-trading, disputing the science-are hampering the implementation of direct economically-led objectives. 短效主义，出售二氧化碳，进行科学辩论，这些都不利于实现以经济为主导的直接目标。

5 forefinger   

n.食指

参考例句：

• He pinched the leaf between his thumb and forefinger.他将叶子捏在拇指和食指之间。
• He held it between the tips of his thumb and forefinger.他用他大拇指和食指尖拿着它。

6 caressed   

爱抚或抚摸…( caress的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His fingers caressed the back of her neck. 他的手指抚摩着她的后颈。
• He caressed his wife lovingly. 他怜爱万分地抚摸着妻子。

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 parquet   

n.镶木地板

参考例句：

• The parquet floors shone like mirrors.镶木地板亮得象镜子。
• The snail left a trail of slime along the parquet floor.蜗牛在镶木地板上留下一道黏液。

9 ballroom   

n.舞厅

参考例句：

• The boss of the ballroom excused them the fee.舞厅老板给他们免费。
• I go ballroom dancing twice a week.我一个星期跳两次交际舞。

10 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

11 crook   

v.使弯曲；n.小偷，骗子，贼；弯曲(处)

参考例句：

• He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.我骂他骗子，他要我向他认错。
• She was cradling a small parcel in the crook of her elbow.她用手臂挎着一个小包裹。

12 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

13 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。

14 alibi   

n.某人当时不在犯罪现场的申辩或证明；借口

参考例句：

• Do you have any proof to substantiate your alibi? 你有证据表明你当时不在犯罪现场吗？
• The police are suspicious of his alibi because he already has a record.警方对他不在场的辩解表示怀疑，因为他已有前科。

15 slit   

n.狭长的切口；裂缝；vt.切开，撕裂

参考例句：

• The coat has been slit in two places.这件外衣有两处裂开了。
• He began to slit open each envelope.他开始裁开每个信封。

16 benignly   

adv.仁慈地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Everyone has to benignly help people in distress. 每一个人应让该亲切地帮助有困难的人。 来自互联网
• This drug is benignly soporific. 这种药物具有良好的催眠效果。 来自互联网

17 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

18 fingerprints   

n.指纹( fingerprint的名词复数 )v.指纹( fingerprint的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Everyone's fingerprints are unique. 每个人的指纹都是独一无二的。
• They wore gloves so as not to leave any fingerprints behind (them). 他们戴着手套，以免留下指纹。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 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》

20 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。

21 converse   

vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反

参考例句：

• He can converse in three languages.他可以用3种语言谈话。
• I wanted to appear friendly and approachable but I think I gave the converse impression.我想显得友好、平易近人些,却发觉给人的印象恰恰相反。

22 emphatic   

adj.强调的，着重的；无可置疑的，明显的

参考例句：

• Their reply was too emphatic for anyone to doubt them.他们的回答很坚决，不容有任何人怀疑。
• He was emphatic about the importance of being punctual.他强调严守时间的重要性。

23 converses   

v.交谈，谈话( converse的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• We now shall derive the converses of these propositions. 现在我们来推导这些命题的逆命题。 来自辞典例句
• No man knows Hell like him who converses most in Heaven. 在天堂里谈话最多的人对地狱最了解。 来自辞典例句

24 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

25 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

26 slitting   

n.纵裂（缝）v.切开，撕开( slit的现在分词 )；在…上开狭长口子

参考例句：

• She is slitting a man's throat. 她正在割一个男人的喉咙。 来自辞典例句
• Different side of slitting direction will improve slitting edge and quality. 应用不同靠刀方向修边分条可帮助顺利排料，并获得更好的分条品质。 来自互联网

27 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。

28 frail   

adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的

参考例句：

• Mrs. Warner is already 96 and too frail to live by herself.华纳太太已经九十六岁了，身体虚弱，不便独居。
• She lay in bed looking particularly frail.她躺在床上，看上去特别虚弱。

29 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。