ELEVEN, TWELVE, MEN MUST DELVE 3

III
Jane Olivera came running along the path. Her hair streamlined back behind her. Her eyes were
wide with fear. She gasped¹: “Howard?”
Howard Raikes said lightly:
“Hallo, Jane. I’ve just been saving your uncle’s life.”
“Oh!” She stopped. “You have?”
“Your arrival certainly seems to have been very opportune², Mr.—er—” Blunt hesitated.
“This is Howard Raikes, Uncle Alistair. He’s a friend of mine.”
Blunt looked at Raikes—he smiled.
“Oh!” he said. “So you are Jane’s young man! I must thank you.”
With a puffing³ noise as of a steam engine at high pressure Julia Olivera appeared on the scene.
She panted out:
“I heard a shot. Is Alistair—Why—” She stared blankly at Howard Raikes. “You? Why, why,
how dare you?”
Jane said in an icy voice:
“Howard has just saved Uncle Alistair’s life, mother.”
“What? I—I—”
“This man tried to shoot Uncle Alistair and Howard grabbed him and took the pistol away from
him.”
Frank Carter said violently:
“You’re bloody⁴ liars⁵, all of you.”
Mrs. Olivera, her jaw⁶ dropping, said blankly:
“Oh!” It took her a minute or two to readjust her poise⁷. She turned first to Blunt.
“My dear Alistair! How awful! Thank God you’re safe. But it must have been a frightful⁸ shock.
I—I feel quite faint myself. I wonder—do you think I could have just a little brandy?”
Blunt said quickly:
“Of course. Come back to the house.”
She took his arm, leaning on it heavily.
Blunt looked over his shoulder at Poirot and Howard Raikes.
“Can you bring that fellow along?” he asked. “We’ll ring up the police and hand him over.”
Frank Carter opened his mouth, but no words came. He was dead white, and his knees were
wilting⁹. Howard Raikes hauled him along with an unsympathetic hand.
“Come on, you,” he said.
Frank Carter murmured hoarsely¹⁰ and unconvincingly:
“It’s all a lie….”
Howard Raikes looked at Poirot.
“You’ve got precious little to say for yourself for a high-toned sleuth! Why don’t you throw
your weight about a bit?”
“I am reflecting, Mr. Raikes.”
“I guess you’ll need to reflect! I should say you’ll lose your job over this! It isn’t thanks to you
that Alistair Blunt is still alive at this minute.”
“This is your second good deed of the kind, is it not, Mr. Raikes?”
“What the hell do you mean?”
“It was only yesterday, was it not, that you caught and held the man whom you believed to have
shot at Mr. Blunt and the Prime Minister?”
Howard Raikes said:
“Er—yes. I seem to be making a kind of habit of it.”
“But there is a difference,” Hercule Poirot pointed¹¹ out. “Yesterday, the man you caught and held
was not the man who fired the shot in question. You made a mistake.”
Frank Carter said sullenly¹²:
“He’s made a mistake now.”
“Quiet, you,” said Raikes.
Hercule Poirot murmured to himself:
“I wonder….”

1 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 opportune   

adj.合适的，适当的

参考例句：

• Her arrival was very opportune.她来得非常及时。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

3 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

5 liars   

说谎者( liar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The greatest liars talk most of themselves. 最爱自吹自擂的人是最大的说谎者。
• Honest boys despise lies and liars. 诚实的孩子鄙视谎言和说谎者。

6 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

7 poise   

vt./vi. 平衡，保持平衡；n.泰然自若，自信

参考例句：

• She hesitated briefly but quickly regained her poise.她犹豫片刻，但很快恢复了镇静。
• Ballet classes are important for poise and grace.芭蕾课对培养优雅的姿仪非常重要。

8 frightful   

adj.可怕的；讨厌的

参考例句：

• How frightful to have a husband who snores!有一个发鼾声的丈夫多讨厌啊！
• We're having frightful weather these days.这几天天气坏极了。

9 wilting   

萎蔫

参考例句：

• The spectators were wilting visibly in the hot sun. 看得出观众在炎热的阳光下快支撑不住了。
• The petunias were already wilting in the hot sun. 在烈日下矮牵牛花已经开始枯萎了。

10 hoarsely   

adv.嘶哑地

参考例句：

• "Excuse me," he said hoarsely. “对不起。”他用嘶哑的嗓子说。
• Jerry hoarsely professed himself at Miss Pross's service. 杰瑞嘶声嘶气地表示愿为普洛丝小姐效劳。 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

11 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

12 sullenly   

不高兴地，绷着脸，忧郁地

参考例句：

• 'so what?" Tom said sullenly. “那又怎么样呢？”汤姆绷着脸说。
• Emptiness after the paper, I sIt'sullenly in front of the stove. 报看完，想不出能找点什么事做，只好一人坐在火炉旁生气。