FIVE, SIX, PICKING UP STICKS 8

VIII
Frank Carter was a fair young man of medium height. His appearance was cheaply smart. He
talked readily and fluently. His eyes were set rather close together and they had a way of shifting
uneasily from side to side when he was embarrassed.
He was inclined to be suspicious and slightly hostile.
“I’d no idea we were to have the pleasure of lunching with you, M. Poirot. Gladys didn’t tell me
anything about it.”
He shot her a rather annoyed glance as he spoke¹.
“It was only arranged yesterday,” said Poirot, smiling. “Miss Nevill is very upset by the
circumstances of Mr. Morley’s death and I wondered if we put our heads together—”
Frank Carter interrupted him rudely.
“Morley’s death? I’m sick of Morley’s death! Why can’t you forget him, Gladys? There wasn’t
anything so wonderful about him that I can see.”
“Oh, Frank, I don’t think you ought to say that. Why, he left me a hundred pounds. I got the
letter about it last night.”
“That’s all right,” admitted Frank grudgingly². “But after all, why shouldn’t he? He worked you
like a nigger—and who pocketed all the fat fees? Why, he did!”
“Well, of course he did—he paid me a very good salary.”
“Not according to my ideas! You’re too humble³ altogether, Gladys, my girl, you let yourself be
put upon, you know. I sized Morley up all right. You know as well as I do that he tried his best to
get you to give me the chuck.”
“He didn’t understand.”
“He understood all right. The man’s dead now—otherwise I can tell you I’d have given him a
piece of my mind.”
“You actually came round to do so on the morning of his death, did you not?” Hercule Poirot
inquired gently.
Frank Carter said angrily:
“Who’s been saying so?”
“You did come round, did you not?”
“What if I did? I wanted to see Miss Nevill here.”
“But they told you she was away.”
“Yes, and that made me pretty suspicious, I can tell you. I told that red-headed oaf I’d wait and
see Morley myself. This business of putting Gladys against me had gone on long enough. I meant
to tell Morley that, instead of being a poor unemployed⁴ rotter, I’d landed a good job and that it
was about time Gladys handed in her notice and thought about her trousseau.”
“But you did not actually tell him so?”
“No, I got tired of waiting in that dingy⁵ mausoleum. I went away.”
“What time did you leave?”
“I can’t remember.”
“What time did you arrive then?”
“I don’t know. Soon after twelve, I should imagine.”
“And you stayed half an hour—or longer—or less than half an hour?”
“I don’t know, I tell you. I’m not the sort of chap who’s always looking at a clock.”
“Was there anyone in the waiting room while you were there?”
“There was an oily fat bloke when I went in, but he wasn’t there long. After that I was alone.”
“Then you must have left before half past twelve—for at that time a lady arrived.”
“Daresay I did. The place got on my nerves as I tell you.”
Poirot eyed him thoughtfully.
The bluster⁶ was uneasy—it did not ring quite true. And yet that might be explained by mere⁷
nervousness.
Poirot’s manner was simple and friendly as he said:
“Miss Nevill tells me that you have been very fortunate and have found a very good job
indeed.”
“The pay’s good.”
“Ten pounds a week, she tells me.”
“That’s right. Not too dusty, is it? Shows I can pull it off when I set my mind to it.”
He swaggered a little.
“Yes, indeed. And the work is not too arduous⁸?”
Frank Carter said shortly:
“Not too bad.”
“And interesting?”
“Oh, yes, quite interesting. Talking of jobs, I’ve always been interested to know how you
private detectives go about things? I suppose there’s not much of the Sherlock Holmes touch
really, mostly divorce nowadays?”
“I do not concern myself with divorce.”
“Really? Then I don’t see how you live.”
“I manage, my friend, I manage.”
“But you’re right at the top of the tree, aren’t you, M. Poirot?” put in Gladys Nevill. “Mr.
Morley used to say so. I mean you’re the sort of person Royalty⁹ calls in, or the Home Office or
Duchesses.”
Poirot smiled upon her.
“You flatter me,” he said.

1 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。

2 grudgingly   

参考例句：

• He grudgingly acknowledged having made a mistake. 他勉强承认他做错了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their parents unwillingly [grudgingly] consented to the marriage. 他们的父母无可奈何地应允了这门亲事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

4 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

5 dingy   

adj.昏暗的，肮脏的

参考例句：

• It was a street of dingy houses huddled together. 这是一条挤满了破旧房子的街巷。
• The dingy cottage was converted into a neat tasteful residence.那间脏黑的小屋已变成一个整洁雅致的住宅。

6 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。

7 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

8 arduous   

adj.艰苦的，费力的，陡峭的

参考例句：

• We must have patience in doing arduous work.我们做艰苦的工作要有耐性。
• The task was more arduous than he had calculated.这项任务比他所估计的要艰巨得多。

9 royalty   

n.皇家，皇族

参考例句：

• She claims to be descended from royalty.她声称她是皇室后裔。
• I waited on tables，and even catered to royalty at the Royal Albert Hall.我做过服务生， 甚至在皇家阿伯特大厅侍奉过皇室的人。