PART SIX DECEMBER 27TH II

PART SIX DECEMBER 27TH II

When Pilar left the drawing room she walked slowly along the hall. Stephen Farr was coming in

through the garden door. He said:

“Well? Is the family conclave¹ over? Has the will been read?”

Pilar said, her breath coming fast:

“I have got nothing—nothing at all! It was a will made many years ago. My grandfather left

money to my mother, but because she is dead it does not go to me but goes back to them.”

Stephen said:

“That seems rather hard lines.”

Pilar said:

“If that old man had lived, he would have made another will. He would have left money to

me—a lot of money! Perhaps in time he would have left me all the money!”

Stephen said, smiling:

“That wouldn’t have been very fair either, would it?”

“Why not? He would have liked me best, that is all.”

Stephen said:

“What a greedy child you are. A real little golddigger.”

Pilar said soberly:

“The world is very cruel to women. They must do what they can for themselves—while they

are young. When they are old and ugly no one will help them.”

Stephen said slowly:

“That’s more true than I like to think. But it isn’t quite true. Alfred Lee, for instance, was

genuinely fond of his father in spite of the old man being thoroughly² trying and exacting³.”

Pilar’s chin went up.

“Alfred,” she said, “is rather a fool.”

Stephen laughed.

Then he said:

“Well, don’t worry, lovely Pilar. The Lees are bound to look after you, you know.”

Pilar said disconsolately⁴:

“It will not be very amusing, that.”

Stephen said slowly:

“No, I’m afraid it won’t. I can’t see you living here, Pilar. Would you like to come to South

Africa?”

Pilar nodded.

Stephen said:

“There’s sun there, and space. There’s hard work too. Are you good at work, Pilar?”

Pilar said doubtfully:

“I do not know.”

He said:

“You’d rather sit on a balcony and eat sweets all day long? And grow enormously fat and

have three double chins?”

Pilar laughed and Stephen said:

“That’s better. I’ve made you laugh.”

Pilar said:

“I thought I should laugh this Christmas! In books I have read that an English Christmas is

very gay, that one eats burning raisins⁵ and there is a plum pudding all in flames, and something

that is called a Yule log.”

Stephen said:

“Ah, but you must have a Christmas uncomplicated by murder. Come in here a minute. Lydia

took me in here yesterday. It’s her storeroom.”

He led her into a small room little bigger than a cupboard.

“Look, Pilar, boxes and boxes of crackers⁶, and preserved fruits and oranges and dates and

nuts. And here—”

“Oh!” Pilar clasped her hands. “They are pretty, these gold and silver balls.”

“Those were to hang on a tree, with presents for the servants. And here are little snowmen all

glittering with frost to put on the dinner table. And here are balloons of every colour all ready to

blow up!”

“Oh!” Pilar’s eyes shone. “Oh! can we blow one up? Lydia would not mind. I do love

balloons.”

Stephen said: “Baby! Here, which will you have?”

Pilar said: “I will have a red one.”

They selected their balloons and blew, their cheeks distended⁷. Pilar stopped blowing to laugh,

and her balloon went down again.

She said:

“You look so funny—blowing—with your cheeks puffed⁸ out.”

Her laugh rang out. Then she fell to, blowing industriously¹⁰. They tied up their balloons

carefully and began to play with them, patting them upwards¹¹, sending them to and fro.

Pilar said:

“Out in the hall there would be more room.”

They were sending the balloons to each other, and laughing, when Poirot came along the hall.

He regarded them indulgently.

“So you play les jeux d’enfants? It is pretty, that!”

Pilar said breathlessly:

“Mine is the red one. It is bigger than his. Much bigger. If we took it outside it would go right

up in the sky.”

“Let’s send them up and wish,” said Stephen.

“Oh, yes, that is a good idea.”

Pilar ran to the garden door, Stephen followed. Poirot came behind, still looking indulgent.

“I will wish for a great deal of money,” announced Pilar.

She stood on tiptoe, holding the string of the balloon. It tugged¹² gently as a puff⁹ of wind came.

Pilar let go and it floated along, taken by the breeze.

Stephen laughed.

“You mustn’t tell your wish.”

“No? Why not?”

“Because it doesn’t come true. Now, I’m going to wish.”

He released his balloon. But he was not so lucky. It floated sideways, caught on a holly¹³ bush

and expired with a bang.

Pilar ran to it.

She announced tragically¹⁴:

“It is gone. . . .”

Then, as she stirred the little limp wisp of rubber with her toe, she said:

“So that was what I picked up in Grandfather’s room. He, too, had had a balloon, only his

was a pink one.”

Poirot gave a sharp exclamation¹⁵. Pilar turned inquiringly.

Poirot said:

“It is nothing. I stabbed—no stubbed—the toe.”

He wheeled round and looked at the house.

He said:

“So many windows! A house, mademoiselle, has its eyes — and its ears. It is indeed

regrettable that the English are so fond of open windows.”

Lydia came out on the terrace. She said:

“Lunch is just ready. Pilar, my dear, everything has been settled quite satisfactorily. Alfred

will explain the exact details to you after lunch. Shall we come in?”

They went into the house. Poirot came last. He was looking grave.

1 conclave   

n.秘密会议，红衣主教团

参考例句：

• Signore,I ask and I prey,that you break this conclave.各位阁下，我请求，并祈祷，你们能停止这次秘密会议。
• I met my partner at that conclave and my life moved into a huge shift.我就是在那次大会上遇到了我的伴侣的，而我的生活就转向了一个巨大的改变。

2 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

3 exacting   

adj.苛求的，要求严格的

参考例句：

• He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
• The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移，公众的要求更趋严格。

4 disconsolately   

adv.悲伤地，愁闷地；哭丧着脸

参考例句：

• A dilapidated house stands disconsolately amid the rubbles. 一栋破旧的房子凄凉地耸立在断垣残壁中。 来自辞典例句
• \"I suppose you have to have some friends before you can get in,'she added, disconsolately. “我看得先有些朋友才能进这一行，\"她闷闷不乐地加了一句。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

5 raisins   

n.葡萄干( raisin的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These raisins come from Xinjiang,they taste delicious. 这些葡萄干产自新疆，味道很甜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother put some raisins in the cake. 母亲在糕饼中放了一些葡萄干。 来自辞典例句

6 crackers   

adj.精神错乱的，癫狂的n.爆竹( cracker的名词复数 )；薄脆饼干；（认为）十分愉快的事；迷人的姑娘

参考例句：

• That noise is driving me crackers. 那噪声闹得我简直要疯了。
• We served some crackers and cheese as an appetiser. 我们上了些饼干和奶酪作为开胃品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 distended   

v.（使）膨胀，肿胀( distend的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• starving children with huge distended bellies 鼓着浮肿肚子的挨饿儿童
• The balloon was distended. 气球已膨胀。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 puffed   

adj.疏松的v.使喷出( puff的过去式和过去分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He lit a cigarette and puffed at it furiously. 他点燃了一支香烟，狂吸了几口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance. 他觉得长大了，便自以为了不起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 puff   

n.一口(气)；一阵(风)；v.喷气，喘气

参考例句：

• He took a puff at his cigarette.他吸了一口香烟。
• They tried their best to puff the book they published.他们尽力吹捧他们出版的书。

10 industriously   

参考例句：

• She paces the whole class in studying English industriously. 她在刻苦学习英语上给全班同学树立了榜样。
• He industriously engages in unostentatious hard work. 他勤勤恳恳，埋头苦干。

11 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

12 tugged   

v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She tugged at his sleeve to get his attention. 她拽了拽他的袖子引起他的注意。
• A wry smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. 他的嘴角带一丝苦笑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

14 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

15 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。