THREE, FOUR, SHUT THE DOOR 3

III
Tall and grim, Georgina Morley listened to what the two men had said and answered their
questions. She said with emphasis:
“It’s incredible to me—quite incredible—that my brother should have committed suicide!”
Poirot said:
“You realize the alternative, Mademoiselle?”
“You mean—murder.” She paused. Then she said slowly: “It is true—that alternative seems
nearly as impossible as the other.”
“But not quite as impossible?”
“No—because—oh, in the first case, you see, I am speaking of something I know—that is: my
brother’s state of mind. I know he had nothing on his mind—I know that there was no reason—no
reason at all why he should take his own life!”
“You saw him this morning—before he started work?”
“At breakfast—yes.”
“And he was quite as usual—not upset in any way?”
“He was upset—but not in the way you mean. He was just annoyed!”
“Why was that?”
“He had a busy morning in front of him, and his secretary and assistant had been called away.”
“That is Miss Nevill?”
“Yes.”
“What used she to do for him?”
“She did all his correspondence, of course, and kept the appointment book, and filed all the
charts. She also saw to the sterilizing¹ of the instruments and ground up his fillings and handed
them to him when he was working.”
“Had she been with him long?”
“Three years. She is a very reliable girl and we are—were both very fond of her.”
Poirot said:
“She was called away owing to the illness of a relative, so your brother told me.”
“Yes, she got a telegram to say her aunt had had a stroke. She went off to Somerset by an early
train.”
“And that was what annoyed your brother so much?”
“Ye-es.” There was a faint hesitation² in Miss Morley’s answer. She went on rather hurriedly.
“You—you mustn’t think my brother unfeeling. It was only that he thought—just for a moment
—”
“Yes, Miss Morley?”
“Well, that she might have played truant³ on purpose. Oh! Please don’t misunderstand me—I’m
quite certain that Gladys would never do such a thing. I told Henry so. But the fact of the matter is,
that she has got herself engaged to rather an unsuitable young man—Henry was very vexed⁴ about
it—and it occurred to him that this young man might have persuaded her to take a day off.”
“Was that likely?”
“No, I’m sure it wasn’t. Gladys is a very conscientious⁵ girl.”
“But it is the sort of thing the young man might have suggested?”
Miss Morley sniffed⁶.
“Quite likely, I should say.”
“What does he do, this young fellow—what is his name, by the way?”
“Carter, Frank Carter. He is—or was—an insurance clerk, I believe. He lost his job some weeks
ago and doesn’t seem able to get another. Henry said—and I daresay he was right—that he is a
complete rotter. Gladys had actually lent him some of her savings⁷ and Henry was very annoyed
about it.”
Japp said sharply:
“Did your brother try to persuade her to break her engagement?”
“Yes, he did, I know.”
“Then this Frank Carter would, quite possibly, have a grudge⁸ against your brother.”
The Grenadier said robustly⁹:
“Nonsense—that is if you are suggesting that Frank Carter shot Henry. Henry advised the girl
against young Carter, certainly; but she didn’t take his advice—she is foolishly devoted¹⁰ to Frank.”
“Is there anyone else you can think of who had a grudge against your brother?”
Miss Morley shook her head.
“Did he get on well with his partner, Mr. Reilly?”
Miss Morley replied acidly:
“As well as you can ever hope to get on with an Irishman!”
“What do you mean by that, Miss Morley?”
“Well, Irishmen have hot tempers and they thoroughly¹¹ enjoy a row of any kind. Mr. Reilly liked
arguing about politics.”
“That was all?”
“That was all. Mr. Reilly is unsatisfactory in many ways, but he was very skilled in his
profession—or so my brother said.”
Japp persisted:
“How is he unsatisfactory?”
Miss Morley hesitated, then said acidly:
“He drinks too much—but please don’t let that go any further.”
“Was there any trouble between him and your brother on that subject?”
“Henry gave him one or two hints. In dentistry,” continued Miss Morley didactically, “a steady
hand is needed, and an alcoholic¹² breath does not inspire confidence.”
Japp bowed his head in agreement. Then he said:
“Can you tell us anything of your brother’s financial position?”
“Henry was making a good income and he had a certain amount put by. We each had a small
private income of our own left to us by our father.”
Japp murmured with a slight cough:
“You don’t know, I suppose, if your brother left a will?”
“He did—and I can tell you its contents. He left a hundred pounds to Gladys Nevill, otherwise
everything comes to me.”
“I see. Now—”
There was a fierce thump¹³ on the door. Alfred’s face then appeared round it. His goggling¹⁴ eyes
took in each detail of the two visitors as he ejaculated:
“It’s Miss Nevill. She’s back—and in a rare taking. Shall she come in, she wants to know?”
Japp nodded and Miss Morley said:
“Tell her to come here, Alfred.”
“O.K.,” said Alfred, and disappeared. Miss Morley said with a sigh and in obvious capital
letters:
“That Boy is a Sad Trial.”

1 sterilizing   

v.消毒( sterilize的现在分词 )；使无菌；使失去生育能力；使绝育

参考例句：

• The nurse is sterilizing the surgical instruments. 护士在把外科手术器具消毒。 来自辞典例句
• By testing, steam is the ble sterilizing method for herbal medicine. 这些方法难以保证药性，或有残留，要不然就是费用昂贵。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 truant   

n.懒惰鬼，旷课者；adj.偷懒的，旷课的，游荡的；v.偷懒，旷课

参考例句：

• I found the truant throwing stones in the river.我发现那个逃课的学生在往河里扔石子。
• Children who play truant from school are unimaginative.逃学的孩子们都缺乏想像力。

4 vexed   

adj.争论不休的；（指问题等）棘手的；争论不休的问题；烦恼的v.使烦恼( vex的过去式和过去分词 )；使苦恼；使生气；详细讨论

参考例句：

• The conference spent days discussing the vexed question of border controls. 会议花了几天的时间讨论边境关卡这个难题。
• He was vexed at his failure. 他因失败而懊恼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

6 sniffed   

v.以鼻吸气，嗅，闻( sniff的过去式和过去分词 )；抽鼻子（尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气）；抱怨，不以为然地说

参考例句：

• When Jenney had stopped crying she sniffed and dried her eyes. 珍妮停止了哭泣，吸了吸鼻子，擦干了眼泪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The dog sniffed suspiciously at the stranger. 狗疑惑地嗅着那个陌生人。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

8 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。

9 robustly   

adv.要用体力地，粗鲁地

参考例句：

• These three hormones also robustly stimulated thymidine incorporation and inhibited drug-induced apoptosis. 并且这三种激素有利于胸（腺嘧啶脱氧核）苷掺入和抑制药物诱导的细胞凋亡。 来自互联网
• The economy is still growing robustly, but inflation, It'seems, is back. 经济依然强劲增长，但是通胀似乎有所抬头。 来自互联网

10 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

11 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。

12 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

13 thump   

v.重击，砰然地响；n.重击，重击声

参考例句：

• The thief hit him a thump on the head.贼在他的头上重击一下。
• The excitement made her heart thump.她兴奋得心怦怦地跳。

14 goggling   

v.睁大眼睛瞪视， （惊讶的）转动眼珠( goggle的现在分词 )

参考例句：