PART SIX DECEMBER 27TH IV

PART SIX DECEMBER 27TH IV

Pilar marched into the drawing room, her head held high.

She went straight up to Lydia, who was sitting in the window with some knitting.

Pilar said:

“Lydia, I have come to tell you that I will not take that money. I am going away—at once.

. . .”

Lydia looked astonished. She laid down her knitting. She said:

“My dear child, Alfred must have explained very badly! It is not in the least a matter of

charity, if that is what you feel. Really, it is not a question of kindness or generosity¹ on our part. It

is a plain matter of right and wrong. In the ordinary course of events your mother would have

inherited this money, and you would have come into it from her. It is your right—your blood right.

It is a matter, not of charity, but of justice!”

Pilar said fiercely:

“And that is why I cannot do it—not when you speak like that—not when you are like that! I

enjoyed coming here. It was fun! It was an adventure, but now you have spoilt it all! I am going

away now, at once—you will never be bothered by me again. . . .”

Tears choked her voice. She turned and ran blindly out of the room.

Lydia stared. She said helplessly:

“I’d no idea she would take it like that!”

Hilda said:

“The child seems quite upset.”

George cleared his throat and said portentously²:

“Er—as I pointed³ out this morning—the principle involved is wrong. Pilar has the wit to see

that for herself. She refuses to accept charity—”

Lydia said sharply:

“It is not charity. It is her right!”

George said:

“She does not seem to think so!”

Superintendent⁴ Sugden and Hercule Poirot came in. The former looked round and asked:

“Where’s Mr. Farr? I want a word with him.”

Before anyone had time to answer, Hercule Poirot said sharply:

“Where is the Señorita Estravados?”

George Lee said with a trace of malicious⁵ satisfaction:

“Going to clear out, so she says. Apparently⁶ she has had enough of her English relations.”

Poirot wheeled round.

He said to Sugden:

“Come!”

As the two men emerged into the hall, there was the sound of a heavy crash and a faraway

shriek⁷.

Poirot cried:

“Quick . . . Come. . . .”

They raced along the hall and up the far staircase. The door of Pilar’s room was open and a

man stood in the doorway⁸. He turned his head as they ran up. It was Stephen Farr.

He said:

“She’s alive. . . .”

Pilar stood crouched⁹ against the wall of her room. She was staring at the floor where a big

stone cannon¹⁰ ball was lying.

She said breathlessly:

“It was on top of my door, balanced there. It would have crashed down on my head when I

came in, but my skirt caught on a nail and jerked me back just as I was coming in.”

Poirot knelt down and examined the nail. On it was a thread of purple tweed. He looked up

and nodded gravely.

“That nail, mademoiselle,” he said, “saved your life.”

The superintendent said, bewildered:

“Look here, what’s the meaning of all this?”

Pilar said:

“Someone tried to kill me!”

She nodded her head several times.

Superintendent Sugden glanced up at the door.

“Booby trap,” he said. “An old-fashioned booby trap—and its purpose was murder! That’s

the second murder planned in this house. But this time it didn’t come off!”

Stephen Farr said huskily:

“Thank God you’re safe.”

Pilar flung out her hands in a wide, appealing gesture.

“Madre de Dios,” she cried. “Why should anyone wish to kill me? What have I done?”

Hercule Poirot said slowly:

“You should rather ask, mademoiselle, what do I know?”

She stared.

“Know? I do not know anything.”

Hercule Poirot said:

“That is where you are wrong. Tell me, Mademoiselle Pilar, where were you at the time of

the murder? You were not in this room.”

“I was. I have told you so!”

Superintendent Sugden said with deceptive¹¹ mildness:

“Yes, but you weren’t speaking the truth when you said that, you know. You told us you

heard your grandfather scream—you couldn’t have heard that if you were in here—Mr. Poirot and

I tested that yesterday.”

“Oh!” Pilar caught her breath.

Poirot said:

“You were somewhere very much nearer his room. I will tell you where I think you were,

mademoiselle. You were in the recess¹² with the statues quite close to your grandfather’s door.”

Pilar said, startled:

“Oh . . . How did you know?”

Poirot said with a faint smile:

“Mr. Farr saw you there.”

Stephen said sharply:

“I did not. That’s an absolute lie!”

Poirot said:

“I ask your pardon, Mr. Farr, but you did see her. Remember your impression that there were

three statues in that recess, not two. Only one person wore a white dress that night, Mademoiselle

Estravados. She was the third white figure you saw. That is so, is it not, mademoiselle?”

Pilar said, after a moment’s hesitation¹³: “Yes, it is true.”

Poirot said gently: “Now tell us, mademoiselle, the whole truth. Why were you there?”

Pilar said:

“I left the drawing room after dinner and I thought I would go and see my grandfather. I

thought he would be pleased. But when I turned into the passage I saw someone else was there at

his door. I did not want to be seen because I knew my grandfather had said he did not want to see

anyone that night. I slipped into the recess in case the person at the door turned round.”

“Then, all at once, I heard the most horrible sounds, tables—chairs”—she waved her hands

—“everything falling and crashing. I did not move. I do not know why. I was frightened. And then

there was a terrible scream”—she crossed herself—“and my heart it stopped beating, and I said,

‘Someone is dead. . . .’ ”

“And then?”

“And then people began coming running along the passage and I came out at the end and

joined them.”

Superintendent Sugden said sharply:

“You said nothing of all this when we first questioned you. Why not?”

Pilar shook her head. She said, with an air of wisdom:

“It is not good to tell too much to the police. I thought, you see, that if I said I was near there

you might think that I had killed him. So I said I was in my room.”

Sugden said sharply:

“If you tell deliberate lies all that it ends in is that you’re bound to come under suspicion.”

Stephen Farr said: “Pilar?”

“Yes?”

“Who did you see standing¹⁴ at the door when you turned into the passage? Tell us.”

Sugden said: “Yes, tell us.”

For a moment the girl hesitated. Her eyes opened, then narrowed. She said slowly:

“I don’t know who it was. It was too dimly lit to see. But it was a woman. . . .”

1 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

2 portentously   

参考例句：

• The lamps had a portentously elastic swing with them. 那儿路面的街灯正带着一种不祥的弹性摇晃着呢！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Louis surveyed me with his shrewd gray eyes and shook his head portentously. 鲁易用他狡猾的灰色眼睛打量着我，预示凶兆般地摇着头。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 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。

5 malicious   

adj.有恶意的，心怀恶意的

参考例句：

• You ought to kick back at such malicious slander. 你应当反击这种恶毒的污蔑。
• Their talk was slightly malicious.他们的谈话有点儿心怀不轨。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

7 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

8 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

9 crouched   

v.屈膝，蹲伏( crouch的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He crouched down beside her. 他在她的旁边蹲了下来。
• The lion crouched ready to pounce. 狮子蹲下身，准备猛扑。

10 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

11 deceptive   

adj.骗人的，造成假象的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• His appearance was deceptive.他的外表带有欺骗性。
• The storyline is deceptively simple.故事情节看似简单，其实不然。

12 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

13 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

14 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。