NINE, TEN, A GOOD FAT HEN 1

NINE, TEN, A GOOD FAT HEN
I
As they came away from the inquest Japp said jubilantly to Poirot:
“A smart piece of work, that. Gave ’em a sensation!”
Poirot nodded.
“You tumbled to it first,” said Japp, “but, you know, I wasn’t happy about that body myself.
After all, you don’t go smashing a dead person’s face and head about for nothing. It’s messy,
unpleasant work, and it was pretty plain there must be some reason for it. And there’s only one
reason there could be—to confuse the identity.” He added generously: “But I shouldn’t have
tumbled so quickly to the fact that it actually was the other woman.”
Poirot said with a smile:
“And yet, my friend, the actual descriptions of the women were not unlike as regards
fundamentals. Mrs. Chapman was a smart, good-looking woman, well made up and fashionably
turned out. Miss Sainsbury Seale was dowdy¹ and innocent of lipstick² or rouge³. But the essentials
were the same. Both were women of forty odd. Both were roughly about the same height and
build. Both had hair turning grey which they touched up to make it appear golden.”
“Yes, of course, when you put it like that. One thing we’ve got to admit—the fair Mabelle put it
over on both of us, good and proper. I’d have sworn she was the genuine article.”
“But, my friend, she was the genuine article. We know all about her past life.”
“We didn’t know she was capable of murder—and that’s what it looks like now. Sylvia didn’t
murder Mabelle. Mabelle murdered Sylvia.”
Hercule Poirot shook his head in a worried fashion. He still found it difficult to reconcile
Mabelle Sainsbury Seale with murder. Yet in his ears he heard the small, ironic⁴ voice of Mr.
Barnes:
“Look among the respectable people….”
Mabelle Sainsbury Seale had been eminently⁵ respectable.
Japp said with emphasis:
“I’m going to get to the bottom of this case, Poirot. That woman isn’t going to put it over on
me.”

1 dowdy   

adj.不整洁的；过旧的

参考例句：

• She was in a dowdy blue frock.她穿了件不大洁净的蓝上衣。
• She looked very plain and dowdy.她长得非常普通，衣也过时。

2 lipstick   

n.口红，唇膏

参考例句：

• Taking out her lipstick,she began to paint her lips.她拿出口红，开始往嘴唇上抹。
• Lipstick and hair conditioner are cosmetics.口红和护发素都是化妆品。

3 rouge   

n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红

参考例句：

• Women put rouge on their cheeks to make their faces pretty.女人往面颊上涂胭脂，使脸更漂亮。
• She didn't need any powder or lip rouge to make her pretty.她天生漂亮，不需要任何脂粉唇膏打扮自己。

4 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

5 eminently   

adv.突出地；显著地；不寻常地

参考例句：

• She seems eminently suitable for the job. 她看来非常适合这个工作。
• It was an eminently respectable boarding school. 这是所非常好的寄宿学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》