PART SIX DECEMBER 27TH VI

PART SIX DECEMBER 27TH VI

There was a momentary¹ pause. Strangely enough, all indignation and all rancour had died down.

Hercule Poirot held his audience under the spell of his personality. They watched him, fascinated,

as he began slowly to speak.

“It is all there, you see. The dead man is the focus and centre of the mystery! We must probe

deep into the heart and mind of Simeon Lee and see what we find there. For a man does not live

and die to himself alone. That which he has, he hands on—to those who come after him. . . .

“What had Simeon Lee to bequeath to his sons and daughter? Pride, to begin with—a pride

which, in the old man, was frustrated² in his disappointment over his children. Then there was the

quality of patience. We have been told that Simeon Lee waited patiently for years in order to

revenge himself upon someone who had done him an injury. We see that that aspect of his

temperament³ was inherited by the son who resembled him least in face. David Lee also could

remember and continue to harbour resentment⁴ through long years. In face, Harry⁵ Lee was the only

one of his children who closely resembled him. That resemblance is quite striking when we

examine the portrait of Simeon Lee as a young man. There is the same high-bridged aquiline⁶ nose,

the long sharp line of the jaw⁷, the backward poise⁸ of the head. I think, too, that Harry inherited

many of his father’s mannerisms — that habit, for instance, of throwing back his head and

laughing, and another habit of drawing his finger along the line of his jaw.

“Bearing all these things in mind, and being convinced that the murder was committed by a

person closely connected with the dead man, I studied the family from the psychological

standpoint. That is, I tried to decide which of them were psychologically possible criminals. And,

in my judgment⁹, only two persons qualified¹⁰ in that respect. They were Alfred Lee and Hilda Lee,

David’s wife. David himself I rejected as a possible murderer. I do not think a person of his

delicate susceptibilities could have faced the actual bloodshed of a cut throat. George Lee and his

wife I likewise rejected. Whatever their desires, I did not think they had the temperament to take a

risk. They were both essentially¹¹ cautious. Mrs. Alfred Lee I felt sure was quite incapable¹² of an act

of violence. She has too much irony¹³ in her nature. About Harry Lee I hesitated. He had a certain

coarse truculence¹⁴ of aspect, but I was nearly sure that Harry Lee, in spite of his bluff¹⁵ and his

bluster¹⁶, was essentially a weakling. That, I now know, was also his father’s opinion. Harry, he

said, was worth no more than the rest. That left me with two people I have already mentioned.

Alfred Lee was a person capable of a great deal of selfless devotion. He was a man who had

controlled and subordinated himself to the will of another for many years. It was always possible

under these conditions for something to snap. Moreover, he might quite possibly have harboured a

secret grudge¹⁷ against his father which might gradually have grown in force through never being

expressed in any way. It is the quietest and meekest¹⁸ people who are often capable of the most

sudden and unexpected violence for the reason that when their control does snap, it does so

entirely¹⁹! The other person I considered was capable of the crime was Hilda Lee. She is the kind of

individual who is capable, on occasions, of taking the law into her own hands—though never

through selfish motives²⁰. Such people judge and also execute. Many Old Testament²¹ characters are

of this type. Jael and Judith, for example.

“And now having got so far I examined the circumstances of the crime itself. And the first

thing that arises—that strikes one in the face, as it were—is the extraordinary conditions under

which that crime took place! Take your minds back to that room where Simeon Lee lay dead. If

you remember, there was both a heavy table and a heavy chair overturned, a lamp, crockery,

glasses, etc. But the chair and the table were especially surprising. They were of solid mahogany.

It was hard to see how any struggle between that frail²² old man and his opponent could result in so

much solid furniture being overturned and knocked down. The whole thing seemed unreal. And

yet surely no one in their senses would stage such an effect if it had not really occurred—unless

possibly Simeon Lee had been killed by a powerful man and the idea was to suggest that the

assailant was a woman or somebody of weak physique.

“But such an idea was unconvincing in the extreme, since the noise of the furniture would

give the alarm and the murderer would thereby²³ have very little time to make his exit. It would

surely be to anyone’s advantage to cut Simeon Lee’s throat as quietly as possible.

“Another extraordinary point was the turning of the key in the lock from the outside. Again,

there seemed no reason for such a proceeding²⁴. It could not suggest suicide, since nothing in the

death itself accorded with suicide. It was not to suggest escape through the windows—for those

windows were so arranged that escape that way was impossible! Moreover, once again, it involved

time. Time which must be precious to the murderer!

“There was one other incomprehensible thing—a piece of rubber cut from Simeon Lee’s

spongebag and a small wooden peg²⁵ shown to me by Superintendent²⁶ Sugden. These had been

picked up from the floor by one of the persons who first entered the room. There again—these

things did not make sense! They meant exactly nothing at all! Yet they had been there.

“The crime, you perceive, is becoming increasingly incomprehensible. It has no order, no

method—enfin, it is not reasonable.

“And now we come to a further difficulty. Superintendent Sugden was sent for by the dead

man; a robbery was reported to him, and he was asked to return an hour and a half later. Why? If it

is because Simeon Lee suspected his granddaughter or some other member of the family, why

does he not ask Superintendent Sugden to wait downstairs while he has his interview straight away

with the suspected party? With the superintendent actually in the house, his lever over the guilty

person would have been much stronger.

“So now we arrive at the point where not only the behaviour of the murderer is extraordinary,

but the behaviour of Simeon Lee also is extraordinary!

“And I say to myself: ‘This thing is all wrong!’ Why? Because we are looking at it from the

wrong angle. We are looking at it from the angle that the murderer wants us to look at it. . . .

“We have three things that do not make sense: the struggle, the turned key, and the snip²⁷ of

rubber. But there must be some way of looking at those three things which would make sense!

And I empty my mind blank and forget the circumstances of the crime and take these things on

their own merits. I say—a struggle. What does that suggest? Violence—breakage—noise . . . The

key? Why does one turn a key? So that no one shall enter? But the key did not prevent that, since

the door was broken down almost immediately. To keep someone in? To keep someone out? A

snip of rubber? I say to myself: ‘A little piece of a spongebag is a little piece of a spongebag, and

that is all!’

“So you would say there is nothing there — and yet that is not strictly²⁸ true, for three

impressions remain: noise—seclusion—blankness. . . .

“Do they fit with either of my two possibles? No, they do not. To both Alfred Lee and Hilda

Lee a quiet murder would have been infinitely²⁹ preferable, to have wasted time in locking the door

from the outside is absurd, and the little piece of spongebag means yet once more—nothing at all!

“And yet I have very strongly the feeling that there is nothing absurd about this crime—that it

is on the contrary, very well planned and admirably executed. That is has, in fact, succeeded!

Therefore that everything that has happened was meant . . .

“And then, going over it again, I got my first glimmer³⁰ of light. . . .

“Blood — so much blood — blood everywhere . . . An insistence³¹ on blood — fresh, wet,

gleaming blood . . . So much blood—too much blood . . .

“And a second thought comes with that. This is a crime of blood—it is in the blood. It is

Simeon Lee’s own blood that rises up against him. . . .”

Hercule Poirot leaned forward.

“The two most valuable clues in this case were uttered quite unconsciously by two different

people. The first was when Mrs. Alfred Lee quoted a line from Macbeth: ‘Who would have

thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?’ The other was a phrase uttered by

Tressilian, the butler. He described how he felt dazed and things seemed to be happening that had

happened before. It was a very simple occurrence that gave him that strange feeling. He heard a

ring at the bell and went to open the door to Harry Lee, and the next day he did the same thing to

Stephen Farr.

“Now why did he have that feeling? Look at Harry Lee and Stephen Farr and you will see

why. They are astoundingly alike! That was why opening the door to Stephen Farr was just like

opening the door to Harry Lee. It might almost have been the same man standing³² there. And then,

only today, Tressilian mentioned that he was always getting muddled³³ between people. No wonder!

Stephen Farr has a high-bridged nose, a habit of throwing his head back when he laughs, and a

trick of stroking his jaw with his forefinger³⁴. Look long and earnestly at the portrait of Simeon Lee

as a young man and you see not only Harry Lee, but Stephen Farr. . . .”

Stephen moved. His chair creaked. Poirot said:

“Remember that outburst of Simeon Lee, his tirade³⁵ against his family. He said, you

remember it, that he would swear he had better sons born the wrong side of the blanket. We are

back again at the character of Simeon Lee. Simeon Lee, who was successful with women and who

broke his wife’s heart! Simeon Lee, who boasted to Pilar that he might have a bodyguard³⁶ of sons

almost the same age! So I came to this conclusion: Simeon Lee had not only his legitimate³⁷ family

in the house, but an unacknowledged and unrecognized son of his own blood.”

Stephen got to his feet. Poirot said:

“That was your real reason, wasn’t it? Not that pretty romance of the girl you met in the train!

You were coming here before you met her. Coming to see what kind of a man your father was.

. . .”

Stephen had gone dead white. He said, and his voice was broken and husky:

“Yes, I’ve always wondered . . . Mother spoke³⁸ about him sometimes. It grew into a kind of

obsession³⁹ with me—to see what he was like! I made a bit of money and I came to England. I

wasn’t going to let him know who I was. I pretended to be old Eb’s son. I came here for one

reason only—to see the man who was my father. . . .”

Superintendent Sugden said in almost a whisper:

“Lord, I’ve been blind . . . I can see it now. Twice I’ve taken you for Mr. Harry Lee and then

seen my mistake, and yet I never guessed!”

He turned on Pilar.

“That was it, wasn’t it? It was Stephen Farr you saw standing outside that door? You

hesitated, I remember, and looked at him before you said it was a woman. It was Farr you saw,

and you weren’t going to give him away.”

There was a gentle rustle⁴⁰. Hilda Lee’s deep voice spoke:

“No,” she said. “You’re wrong. It was I whom Pilar saw. . . .”

Poirot said:

“You, madame? Yes, I thought so. . . .”

Hilda said quietly:

“Self-preservation is a curious thing. I wouldn’t believe I could be such a coward. To keep

silence just because I was afraid!”

Poirot said:

“You will tell us now?”

She nodded.

“I was with David in the music room. He was playing. He was in a very queer mood. I was a

little frightened and I felt my responsibility very keenly because it was I who had insisted on

coming here. David began to play the ‘Dead March,’ and suddenly I made up my mind. However

odd it might seem, I determined⁴¹ that we would both leave at once—that night. I went quietly out

of the music room and upstairs. I meant to go to old Mr. Lee and tell him quite plainly why we

were going. I went along the corridor to his room and knocked on the door. There was no answer.

I knocked again a little louder. There was still no answer. Then I tried the door handle. The door

was locked. And then, as I stood hesitating, I heard a sound inside the room—”

She stopped.

“You won’t believe me, but it’s true! Someone was in there—assaulting Mr. Lee. I heard

tables and chairs overturned and the crash of glass and china, and then I heard that one last

horrible cry that died away to nothing—and then silence.

“I stood there paralysed! I couldn’t move! And then Mr. Farr came running along and

Magdalene and all the others and Mr. Farr and Harry began to batter⁴² on the door. It went down

and we saw the room, and there was no one in it—except Mr. Lee lying dead in all that blood.”

Her quiet voice rose higher. She cried:

“There was no one else there—no one, you understand! And no one had come out of the

room. . . .”

1 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

2 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

4 resentment   

n.怨愤，忿恨

参考例句：

• All her feelings of resentment just came pouring out.她一股脑儿倾吐出所有的怨恨。
• She cherished a deep resentment under the rose towards her employer.她暗中对她的雇主怀恨在心。

5 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。

6 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。

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 poise   

vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信

参考例句：

• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise.她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。
• Ballet classes are important for poise and grace.芭蕾课对培养优雅的姿仪非常重要。

9 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

10 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

11 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

12 incapable   

adj.无能力的，不能做某事的

参考例句：

• He would be incapable of committing such a cruel deed.他不会做出这么残忍的事。
• Computers are incapable of creative thought.计算机不会创造性地思维。

13 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

14 truculence   

n.凶猛，粗暴

参考例句：

• One day, it might even suit the Kremlin to encourage this truculence. 总有一天可能更适于克里姆宁宫去鼓励这种好战。
• Examples of China's truculence as viewed from Washington – abound. 在华盛顿方面看来，中国好斗的例子比比皆是。

15 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。

16 bluster   

v.猛刮；怒冲冲的说；n.吓唬，怒号；狂风声

参考例句：

• We could hear the bluster of the wind and rain.我们能听到狂风暴雨的吹打声。
• He was inclined to bluster at first,but he soon dropped.起初他老爱吵闹一阵，可是不久就不做声了。

17 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

18 meekest   

adj.温顺的，驯服的( meek的最高级 )

参考例句：

• Even the meekest little lamb can turn into a tigress. 多温柔的女人结婚后都会变成母老虎。 来自互联网

19 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

20 motives   

n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
• His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。

21 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

22 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。

23 thereby   

adv.因此，从而

参考例句：

• I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市，因此对它不怎么熟悉。
• He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民，因而得到了投票权。

24 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

25 peg   

n.木栓，木钉；vt.用木钉钉，用短桩固定

参考例句：

• Hang your overcoat on the peg in the hall.把你的大衣挂在门厅的挂衣钩上。
• He hit the peg mightily on the top with a mallet.他用木槌猛敲木栓顶。

26 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。

27 snip   

n.便宜货，廉价货，剪，剪断

参考例句：

• He has now begun to snip away at the piece of paper.现在他已经开始剪这张纸。
• The beautifully made briefcase is a snip at £74.25.这个做工精美的公文包售价才74.25英镑，可谓物美价廉。

28 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

29 infinitely   

adv.无限地，无穷地

参考例句：

• There is an infinitely bright future ahead of us.我们有无限光明的前途。
• The universe is infinitely large.宇宙是无限大的。

30 glimmer   

v.发出闪烁的微光；n.微光，微弱的闪光

参考例句：

• I looked at her and felt a glimmer of hope.我注视她，感到了一线希望。
• A glimmer of amusement showed in her eyes.她的眼中露出一丝笑意。

31 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

32 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。

33 muddled   

adj.混乱的；糊涂的；头脑昏昏然的v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的过去式)；使糊涂；对付，混日子

参考例句：

• He gets muddled when the teacher starts shouting. 老师一喊叫他就心烦意乱。
• I got muddled up and took the wrong turning. 我稀里糊涂地拐错了弯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

34 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。

35 tirade   

n.冗长的攻击性演说

参考例句：

• Her tirade provoked a counterblast from her husband.她的长篇大论激起了她丈夫的强烈反对。
• He delivered a long tirade against the government.他发表了反政府的长篇演说。

36 bodyguard   

n.护卫，保镖

参考例句：

• She has to have an armed bodyguard wherever she goes.她不管到哪儿都得有带武器的保镖跟从。
• The big guy standing at his side may be his bodyguard.站在他身旁的那个大个子可能是他的保镖。

37 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

38 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

39 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

40 rustle   

v.沙沙作响；偷盗(牛、马等)；n.沙沙声声

参考例句：

• She heard a rustle in the bushes.她听到灌木丛中一阵沙沙声。
• He heard a rustle of leaves in the breeze.他听到树叶在微风中发出的沙沙声。

41 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

42 batter   

v.接连重击；磨损；n.牛奶面糊；击球员

参考例句：

• The batter skied to the center fielder.击球手打出一个高飞球到中外野手。
• Put a small quantity of sugar into the batter.在面糊里放少量的糖。