SEVEN, EIGHT, LAY THEM STRAIGHT 1

SEVEN, EIGHT, LAY THEM STRAIGHT
I
Time went on. It was over a month since Mr. Morley’s death, and there was still no news of Miss
Sainsbury Seale.
Japp became increasingly wrathful on the subject.
“Dash it all, Poirot, the woman’s got to be somewhere.”
“Indubitably, mon cher.”
“Either she’d dead or alive. If she’s dead, where’s her body? Say, for instance, she committed
suicide—”
“Another suicide?”
“Don’t let’s get back to that. You still say Morley was murdered—I say it was suicide.”
“You haven’t traced the pistol?”
“No, it’s a foreign make.”
“That is suggestive, is it not?”
“Not in the way you mean. Morley had been abroad. He went on cruises, he and his sister.
Everybody in the British Isles¹ goes on cruises. He may have picked it up abroad. They like to feel
life’s dangerous.”
He paused and said:
“Don’t sidetrack me. I was saying that if—only if, mind you—that blasted woman committed
suicide, if she’d drowned herself for instance, the body would have come ashore² by now. If she
was murdered, the same thing.”
“Not if a weight was attached to her body and it was put into the Thames.”
“From a cellar in Limehouse, I suppose! You’re talking like a thriller³ by a lady novelist.”
“I know—I know. I blush when I say these things!”
“And she was done to death by an international gang of crooks⁴, I suppose?”
Poirot sighed. He said:
“I have been told lately that there really are such things.”
“Who told you so?”
“Mr. Reginald Barnes of Castlegarden Road, Ealing.”
“Well, he might know,” said Japp dubiously⁵. “He dealt with aliens when he was at the Home
Office.”
“And you do not agree?”
“It isn’t my branch—oh yes, there are such things—but they’re rather futile⁶ as a rule.”
There was a momentary⁷ silence as Poirot twirled his moustache.
Japp said:
“We’ve got one or two additional bits of information. She came home from India on the same
boat as Amberiotis. But she was second class and he was first, so I don’t suppose there’s anything
in that, although one of the waiters at the Savoy thinks she lunched there with him about a week or
so before he died.”
“So there may have been a connection between them?”
“There may be—but I can’t feel it’s likely. I can’t see a Missionary⁸ lady being mixed up in any
funny business.”
“Was Amberiotis mixed up in any ‘funny business,’ as you term it?”
“Yes, he was. He was in close touch with some of our Central European friends. Espionage⁹
racket.”
“You are sure of that?”
“Yes. Oh, he wasn’t doing any of the dirty work himself. We wouldn’t have been able to touch
him. Organizing and receiving reports—that was his lay.”
Japp paused and then went on:
“But that doesn’t help us with the Sainsbury Seale. She wouldn’t have been in on that racket.”
“She had lived in India, remember. There was a lot of unrest there last year.”
“Amberiotis and the excellent Miss Sainsbury Seale—I can’t feel that they were teammates.”
“Did you know that Miss Sainsbury Seale was a close friend of the late Mrs. Alistair Blunt?”
“Who says so? I don’t believe it. Not in the same class.”
“She said so.”
“Who’d she say that to?”
“Mr. Alistair Blunt.”
“Oh! That sort of thing. He must be used to that lay. Do you mean that Amberiotis was using
her that way? It wouldn’t work. Blunt would get rid of her with a subscription¹⁰. He wouldn’t ask
her down for a weekend or anything of that kind. He’s not so unsophisticated as that.”
This was so palpably true that Poirot could only agree. After a minute or two, Japp went on with
his summing up of the Sainsbury Seale situation.
“I suppose her body might have been lowered into a tank of acid by a mad scientist—that’s
another solution they’re very fond of in books! But take my word for it, these things are all my eye
and Betty Martin. If the woman is dead, her body has just been quietly buried somewhere.”
“But where?”
“Exactly. She disappeared in London. Nobody’s got a garden there—not a proper one. A lonely
chicken farm, that’s what we want!”
A garden! Poirot’s mind flashed suddenly to that neat prim¹¹ garden in Ealing with its formal
beds. How fantastic if a dead woman should be buried there! He told himself not to be absurd.
“And if she isn’t dead,” went on Japp, “where is she? Over a month now, description published
in the Press, circulated all over England—”
“And nobody has seen her?”
“Oh yes, practically everybody has seen her! You’ve no idea how many middle-aged¹² faded-
looking women wearing olive green cardigan suits there are. She’s been seen on Yorkshire moors¹³,
and in Liverpool hotels, in guest houses in Devon and on the beach at Ramsgate! My men have
spent their time patiently investigating all these reports—and one and all they’ve led nowhere,
except to getting us in wrong with a number of perfectly¹⁴ respectable middle-aged ladies.”
Poirot clicked his tongue sympathetically.
“And yet,” went on Japp, “she’s a real person all right. I mean, sometimes you come across a
dummy¹⁵, so to speak—someone who just comes to a place and poses as a Miss Spinks—when all
the time there isn’t a Miss Spinks. But this woman’s genuine—she’s got a past, a background! We
know all about her from her childhood upwards¹⁶! She’s led a perfectly normal, reasonable life—
and suddenly, hey presto—vanish!”
“There must be a reason,” said Poirot.
“She didn’t shoot Morley, if that’s what you mean. Amberiotis saw him alive after she left—
and we’ve checked up on her movements after she left Queen Charlotte Street that morning.”
Poirot said impatiently:
“I am not suggesting for a moment that she shot Morley. Of course she did not. But all the same
—”
Japp said:
“If you are right about Morley, then it’s far more likely that he told her something which,
although she doesn’t suspect it, gives a clue to his murderer. In that case, she might have been
deliberately¹⁷ got out of the way.”
Poirot said:
“All this involves an organization, some big concern quite out of proportion to the death of a
quiet dentist in Queen Charlotte Street.”
“Don’t you believe everything Reginald Barnes tells you! He’s a funny old bird—got spies and
communists on the brain.”
Japp got up and Poirot said:
“Let me know if you have news.”
When Japp had gone out, Poirot sat frowning down at the table in front of him.
He had definitely the feeling of waiting for something. What was it?
He remembered how he had sat before, jotting¹⁸ down various unrelated facts and a series of
names. A bird had flown past the window with a twig¹⁹ in its mouth.
He, too, had been collecting twigs²⁰. Five, six, picking up sticks …
He had the sticks—quite a number of them now. They were all there, neatly²¹ pigeonholed²² in his
orderly mind—but he had not as yet attempted to set them in order. That was the next step—lay
them straight.
What was holding him up? He knew the answer. He was waiting for something.
Something inevitable²³, foreordained, the next link in the chain. When it came—then—then he
could go on….

1 isles   

岛( isle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the geology of the British Isles 不列颠群岛的地质
• The boat left for the isles. 小船驶向那些小岛。

2 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

3 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

4 crooks   

n.骗子( crook的名词复数 )；罪犯；弯曲部分；（牧羊人或主教用的）弯拐杖v.弯成钩形( crook的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The police are getting after the crooks in the city. 警察在城里追捕小偷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cops got the crooks. 警察捉到了那些罪犯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 dubiously   

adv.可疑地，怀疑地

参考例句：

• "What does he have to do?" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He walked out fast, leaving the head waiter staring dubiously at the flimsy blue paper. 他很快地走出去，撇下侍者头儿半信半疑地瞪着这张薄薄的蓝纸。 来自辞典例句

6 futile   

adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的

参考例句：

• They were killed,to the last man,in a futile attack.因为进攻失败，他们全部被杀，无一幸免。
• Their efforts to revive him were futile.他们对他抢救无效。

7 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。

8 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

9 espionage   

n.间谍行为，谍报活动

参考例句：

• The authorities have arrested several people suspected of espionage.官方已经逮捕了几个涉嫌从事间谍活动的人。
• Neither was there any hint of espionage in Hanley's early life.汉利的早期生活也毫无进行间谍活动的迹象。

10 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

11 prim   

adj.拘泥形式的，一本正经的；n.循规蹈矩，整洁；adv.循规蹈矩地，整洁地

参考例句：

• She's too prim to enjoy rude jokes!她太古板，不喜欢听粗野的笑话！
• He is prim and precise in manner.他的态度一本正经而严谨

12 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

13 moors   

v.停泊，系泊（船只）( moor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• the North York moors 北约克郡的漠泽
• They're shooting grouse up on the moors. 他们在荒野射猎松鸡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

15 dummy   

n.假的东西；(哄婴儿的)橡皮奶头

参考例句：

• The police suspect that the device is not a real bomb but a dummy.警方怀疑那个装置不是真炸弹，只是一个假货。
• The boys played soldier with dummy swords made of wood.男孩们用木头做的假木剑玩打仗游戏。

16 upwards   

adv.向上，在更高处...以上

参考例句：

• The trend of prices is still upwards.物价的趋向是仍在上涨。
• The smoke rose straight upwards.烟一直向上升。

17 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

18 jotting   

n.简短的笔记，略记v.匆忙记下( jot的现在分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下

参考例句：

• All the time I was talking he was jotting down. 每次我在讲话时，他就会记录下来。 来自互联网
• The student considers jotting down the number of the businessman's American Express card. 这论理学生打算快迅速地记录下来下这位商贾的美国运通卡的金额。 来自互联网

19 twig   

n.小树枝，嫩枝；v.理解

参考例句：

• He heard the sharp crack of a twig.他听到树枝清脆的断裂声。
• The sharp sound of a twig snapping scared the badger away.细枝突然折断的刺耳声把獾惊跑了。

20 twigs   

细枝，嫩枝( twig的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some birds build nests of twigs. 一些鸟用树枝筑巢。
• Willow twigs are pliable. 柳条很软。

21 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

22 pigeonholed   

v.把…搁在分类架上( pigeonhole的过去式和过去分词 )；把…留在记忆中；缓办；把…隔成小格

参考例句：

• This document was pigeonholed for quite some time. 这份公文压了不少时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The scheme has been pigeonholed. 这个方案被压下来了。 来自辞典例句

23 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。