FIFTEEN, SIXTEEN, MAIDS IN THE KITCHEN 1

FIFTEEN, SIXTEEN, MAIDS IN THE KITCHEN
I
The interview with Agnes Fletcher took place in Hertford, in a somewhat derelict teashop, for
Agnes had been anxious not to tell her story under Miss Morley’s critical eye.
The first quarter of an hour was taken up listening to exactly how particular Agnes’ mother had
always been. Also how Agnes’ father, though a proprietor¹ of licensed² premises³, had never once
had any friction⁴ with the police, closing time being strictly⁵ observed to the second, and indeed
Agnes’ father and mother were universally respected and looked up to in Little Darlingham,
Gloucestershire, and none of Mrs. Fletcher’s family of six (two having died in infancy) had ever
occasioned their parents the least anxiety. And if Agnes, now, were to get mixed up with the
police in any way, Mum and Dad would probably die of it, because as she’d been saying, they’d
always held their heads high, and never had no trouble of any kind with the police.
After this had been repeated, da capo, and with various embellishments, several times, Agnes
drew a little nearer to the subject of the interview.
“I wouldn’t like to say anything to Miss Morley, sir, because it might be, you see, that she’d say
as how I ought to have said something before, but me and cook, we talked it over and we didn’t
see as it was any business of ours, because we’d read quite clear and plain in the paper as how the
master had made a mistake in the drug he was giving and that he’d shot himself and the pistol was
in his hands and everything, so it did seem quite clear, didn’t it, sir?”
“When did you begin to feel differently?” Poirot hoped to get a little nearer the promised
revelation by an encouraging but not too direct question.
Agnes replied promptly⁶.
“Seeing it in the paper about that Frank Carter—Miss Nevill’s young man as was. When I read
as he’d shot at that gentleman where he was gardener, well, I thought, it looks as if he might be
queer in the head, because I do know there’s people it takes like that, think they’re being
persecuted⁷, or something, and that they’re ringed round by enemies, and in the end it’s dangerous
to keep them at home and they have to be took away to the asylum⁸. And I thought that maybe that
Frank Carter was like that, because I did remember that he used to go on about Mr. Morley and
say as Mr. Morley was against him and trying to separate him from Miss Nevill, but of course she
wouldn’t hear a word against him, and quite right too we thought—Emma and me, because you
couldn’t deny as Mr. Carter was very nice-looking and quite the gentleman. But, of course, neither
of us thought he’d really done anything to Mr. Morley. We just thought it was a bit queer if you
know what I mean.”
Poirot said patiently:
“What was queer?”
“It was that morning, sir, the morning Mr. Morley shot himself. I’d been wondering if I dared
run down and get the post. The postman had come but that Alfred hadn’t brought up the letters,
which he wouldn’t do, not unless there was some for Miss Morley or Mr. Morley, but if it was just
for Emma and me he wouldn’t bother to bring them up till lunch time.
“So I went out on the landing and I looked down over the stairs. Miss Morley didn’t like us
going down to the hall, not during the master’s business hours, but I thought maybe as I’d see
Alfred taking in a patient to the master and I’d call down to him as he came back.”
Agnes gasped⁹, took a deep breath and went on: “And it was then I saw him—that Frank Carter,
I mean. Halfway¹⁰ up the stairs he was—our stairs, I mean, above the master’s floor. And he was
standing¹¹ there waiting and looking down—and I’ve come to feel more and more as though there
was something queer about it. He seemed to be listening very intent, if you know what I mean?”
“What time was this?”
“It must have been getting on for half past twelve, sir. And just as I was thinking: There now,
it’s Frank Carter, and Miss Nevill’s away for the day and won’t he be disappointed, and I was
wondering if I ought to run down and tell him because it looked as though that lump of an Alfred
had forgot, otherwise I thought he wouldn’t have been waiting for her. And just as I was
hesitating, Mr. Carter, he seemed to make up his mind, and he slipped down the stairs very quick
and went along the passage towards the master’s surgery, and I thought to myself, the master
won’t like that, and I wondered if there was going to be a row, but just then Emma called me, said
whatever was I up to? and I went up again and then, afterwards, I heard the master had shot
himself and, of course, it was so awful it just drove everything out of my head. But later, when
that Police Inspector¹² had gone I said to Emma, I said, I didn’t say anything about Mr. Carter
having been up with the master this morning, and she said was he? and I told her, and she said
well, perhaps I ought to tell, but anyway I said I’d better wait a bit, and she agreed, because
neither of us didn’t want to get Frank Carter into trouble if we could help. And then, when it came
to the inquest and it come out that the master had made that mistake in a drug and really had got
the wind up and shot himself, quite natural-like—well, then, of course, there was no call to say
anything. But reading that piece in the paper two days ago—Oh! it did give me a turn! And I said
to myself, ‘If he’s one of those loonies that thinks they’re persecuted and goes round shooting
people, well, then maybe he did shoot the master after all!’”
Her eyes, anxious and scared, looked hopefully at Hercule Poirot. He put as much reassurance¹³
into his voice as he could.
“You may be sure that you have done absolutely the right thing in telling me, Agnes,” he said.
“Well, I must say, sir, it does take a load off my mind. You see, I’ve kept saying to myself as
perhaps I ought to tell. And then, you see, I thought of getting mixed up with the police and what
mother would say. She’s always been so particular about us all….”
“Yes, yes,” said Hercule Poirot hastily.
He had had, he felt, as much of Agnes’ mother as he could stand for one afternoon.

1 proprietor   

n.所有人；业主；经营者

参考例句：

• The proprietor was an old acquaintance of his.业主是他的一位旧相识。
• The proprietor of the corner grocery was a strange thing in my life.拐角杂货店店主是我生活中的一个怪物。

2 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

3 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

4 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

5 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

6 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

7 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

8 asylum   

n.避难所，庇护所，避难

参考例句：

• The people ask for political asylum.人们请求政治避难。
• Having sought asylum in the West for many years,they were eventually granted it.他们最终获得了在西方寻求多年的避难权。

9 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》

10 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

13 reassurance   

n.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• He drew reassurance from the enthusiastic applause.热烈的掌声使他获得了信心。
• Reassurance is especially critical when it comes to military activities.消除疑虑在军事活动方面尤为关键。