THREE, FOUR, SHUT THE DOOR 5

V
Alfred was divided between nervousness, enjoyment¹, and a morbid² fear of being blamed for
everything that had occurred! He had only been a fortnight in Mr. Morley’s employment, and
during that fortnight he had consistently and unvaryingly done everything wrong. Persistent³ blame
had sapped his self-confidence.
“He was a bit rattier than usual, perhaps,” said Alfred in answer to a question, “nothing else as I
can remember. I’d never have thought he was going to do himself in.”
Poirot interposed.
“You must tell us,” he said, “everything that you can remember about this morning. You are a
very important witness, and your recollections may be of immense service to us.”
Alfred’s face was suffused⁵ by vivid crimson⁶ and his chest swelled⁷. He had already given Japp a
brief account of the morning’s happenings. He proposed now to spread himself. A comforting
sense of importance oozed⁸ into him.
“I can tell you orl right,” he said. “Just you ask me.”
“To begin with, did anything out of the way happen this morning?”
Alfred reflected a minute and then said rather sadly: “Can’t say as it did. It was orl just as
usual.”
“Did any strangers come to the house?”
“No, sir.”
“Not even among the patients?”
“I didn’t know as you meant the patients. Nobody come what hadn’t got an appointment, if
that’s what you mean. They were all down in the book.”
Japp nodded. Poirot asked:
“Could anybody have walked in from outside?”
“No, they couldn’t. They’d have to have a key, see?”
“But it was quite easy to leave the house?”
“Oh, yes, just turn the handle and go out and pull the door to after you. As I was saying most of
’em do. They often come down the stairs while I’m taking up the next party in the lift, see?”
“I see. Now just tell us who came first this morning and so on. Describe them if you can’t
remember their names.”
Alfred reflected a minute. Then he said: “Lady with a little girl, that was for Mr. Reilly and a
Mrs. Soap or some such name for Mr. Morley.”
Poirot said:
“Quite right. Go on.”
“Then another elderly lady—bit of a toff she was—come in a Daimler. As she went out a tall
military gent come in, and just after him, you came,” he nodded to Poirot.
“Right.”
“Then the American gent came—”
Japp said sharply:
“American?”
“Yes, sir. Young fellow. He was American all right—you could tell by his voice. Come early,
he did. His appointment wasn’t till eleven thirty—and what’s more he didn’t keep it—neither.”
Japp said sharply:
“What’s that?”
“Not him. Come in for him when Mr. Reilly’s buzzer⁹ went at eleven thirty—a bit later it was, as
a matter of fact, might have been twenty to twelve—and he wasn’t there. Must have funked it and
gone away.” He added with a knowledgeable¹⁰ air, “They do sometimes.”
Poirot said:
“Then he must have gone out soon after me?”
“That’s right, sir. You went out after I’d taken up a toff what come in a Rolls. Coo—it was a
loverly car, Mr. Blunt—eleven thirty. Then I come down and let you out, and a lady in. Miss
Some Berry Seal, or something like that—and then I—well, as a matter of fact I just nipped down
to the kitchen to get my elevenses, and when I was down there the buzzer went—Mr. Reilly’s
buzzer—so I come up and, as I say, the American gentleman had hooked it. I went and told Mr.
Reilly and he swore a bit, as is his way.”
Poirot said:
“Continue.”
“Lemme see, what happened next? Oh, yes, Mr. Morley’s buzzer went for that Miss Seal, and
the toff came down and went out as I took Miss Whatsername up in the lift. Then I come down
again and two gentlemen came—one a little man with a funny squeaky voice—I can’t remember
his name. For Mr. Reilly, he was. And a fat foreign gentleman for Mr. Morley.
“Miss Seal wasn’t very long—not above a quarter of an hour. I let her out and then I took up the
foreign gentleman. I’d already taken the other gent into Mr. Reilly right away as soon as he came.”
Japp said:
“And you didn’t see Mr. Amberiotis, the foreign gentleman, leave?”
“No, sir, I can’t say as I did. He must have let himself out. I didn’t see either of those two
gentlemen go.”
“Where were you from twelve o’clock onwards?”
“I always sit in the lift, sir, waiting until the front doorbell or one of the buzzers¹¹ goes.”
Poirot said:
“And you were perhaps reading?”
Alfred blushed again.
“There ain’t no harm in that, sir. It’s not as though I could be doing anything else.”
“Quite so. What were you reading?”
“Death at Eleven-Forty-Five, sir. It’s an American detective story. It’s a corker, sir, it really is!
All about gunmen.”
Poirot smiled faintly. He said:
“Would you hear the front door close from where you were?”
“You mean anyone going out? I don’t think I should, sir. What I mean is, I shouldn’t notice it!
You see, the lift is right at the back of the hall and a little round the corner. The bell rings just
behind it, and the buzzers too. You can’t miss them.”
Poirot nodded and Japp asked:
“What happened next?”
Alfred frowned in a supreme¹² effort of memory.
“Only the last lady, Miss Shirty. I waited for Mr. Morley’s buzzer to go, but nothing happened
and at one o’clock the lady who was waiting, she got rather ratty.”
“It did not occur to you to go up before and see if Mr. Morley was ready?”
Alfred shook his head very positively¹³.
“Not me, sir. I wouldn’t have dreamed of it. For all I knew the last gentleman was still up there.
I’d got to wait for the buzzer. Of course if I’d knowed as Mr. Morley had done himself in—”
Alfred shook his head with morbid relish¹⁴.
Poirot asked:
“Did the buzzer usually go before the patient came down, or the other way about?”
“Depends. Usually the patient would come down the stairs and then the buzzer would go. If
they rang for the lift, that buzzer would go perhaps as I was bringing them down. But it wasn’t
fixed¹⁵ in any way. Sometimes Mr. Morley would be a few minutes before he rang for the next
patient. If he was in a hurry, he’d ring as soon as they were out of the room.”
“I see—” Poirot paused and then went on:
“Were you surprised at Mr. Morley’s suicide, Alfred?”
“Knocked all of a heap, I was. He hadn’t no call to go doing himself in as far as I can see—oh!”
Alfred’s eyes grew large and round. “Oo—er—he wasn’t murdered, was he?”
Poirot cut in before Japp could speak.
“Supposing he were, would it surprise you less?”
“Well, I don’t know, sir, I’m sure. I can’t see who’d want to murder Mr. Morley. He was—well,
he was a very ordinary gentleman, sir. Was he really murdered, sir?”
Poirot said gravely:
“We have to take every possibility into account. That is why I told you you would be a very
important witness and that you must try and recollect⁴ everything that happened this morning.”
He stressed the words and Alfred frowned with a prodigious¹⁶ effort of memory.
“I can’t think of anything else, sir. I can’t indeed.”
Alfred’s tone was rueful.
“Very good, Alfred. And you are quite sure no one except patients came to the house this
morning?”
“No stranger did, sir. That Miss Nevill’s young man came round—and in a rare taking not to
find her here.”
Japp said sharply:
“When was that?”
“Some time after twelve it was. When I told him Miss Nevill was away for the day, he seemed
very put out and he said he’d wait and see Mr. Morley. I told him Mr. Morley was busy right up to
lunch time, but he said: Never mind, he’d wait.”
Poirot asked:
“And did he wait?”
A startled look came into Alfred’s eyes. He said:
“Cor—I never thought of that! He went into the waiting room, but he wasn’t there later. He
must have got tired of waiting, and thought he’d come back another time.”

1 enjoyment   

n.乐趣；享有；享用

参考例句：

• Your company adds to the enjoyment of our visit. 有您的陪同，我们这次访问更加愉快了。
• After each joke the old man cackled his enjoyment.每逢讲完一个笑话，这老人就呵呵笑着表示他的高兴。

2 morbid   

adj.病的；致病的；病态的；可怕的

参考例句：

• Some people have a morbid fascination with crime.一些人对犯罪有一种病态的痴迷。
• It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like.不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。

3 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

4 recollect   

v.回忆，想起，记起，忆起，记得

参考例句：

• He tried to recollect things and drown himself in them.他极力回想过去的事情而沉浸于回忆之中。
• She could not recollect being there.她回想不起曾经到过那儿。

5 suffused   

v.（指颜色、水气等）弥漫于，布满( suffuse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her face was suffused with colour. 她满脸通红。
• Her eyes were suffused with warm, excited tears. 她激动地热泪盈眶。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

6 crimson   

n./adj.深(绯)红色(的)；vi.脸变绯红色

参考例句：

• She went crimson with embarrassment.她羞得满脸通红。
• Maple leaves have turned crimson.枫叶已经红了。

7 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

8 oozed   

v.（浓液等）慢慢地冒出，渗出( ooze的过去式和过去分词 )；使（液体）缓缓流出；（浓液）渗出，慢慢流出

参考例句：

• Blood oozed out of the wound. 血从伤口慢慢流出来。
• Mud oozed from underground. 泥浆从地下冒出来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 buzzer   

n.蜂鸣器；汽笛

参考例句：

• The buzzer went off at eight o'clock.蜂鸣器在8点钟时响了。
• Press the buzzer when you want to talk.你想讲话的时候就按蜂鸣器。

10 knowledgeable   

adj.知识渊博的；有见识的

参考例句：

• He's quite knowledgeable about the theatre.他对戏剧很有心得。
• He made some knowledgeable remarks at the meeting.他在会上的发言颇有见地。

11 buzzers   

n.门铃( buzzer的名词复数 )；蜂音器（的声音）；发嗡嗡声的东西或人；汽笛

参考例句：

• Scout in with Buzzers(Via The Swarm) or whatever fast unit you have. 用技能召唤的蜂群（或者任何你拥有的快速单位）探路。 来自互联网
• Buzzers have the ability to clear garrisoned structures. 蜂群拥有清除驻军建筑得能力。 来自互联网

12 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

13 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

14 relish   

n.滋味，享受，爱好，调味品；vt.加调味料，享受，品味；vi.有滋味

参考例句：

• I have no relish for pop music.我对流行音乐不感兴趣。
• I relish the challenge of doing jobs that others turn down.我喜欢挑战别人拒绝做的工作。

15 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

16 prodigious   

adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• This business generates cash in prodigious amounts.这种业务收益丰厚。
• He impressed all who met him with his prodigious memory.他惊人的记忆力让所有见过他的人都印象深刻。