He reached Mr. Barnes’ House at Ealing at 6:45. He remembered that Mr. Barnes had called that a
good time of day.
Mr. Barnes was at work in his garden.
He said by way of greeting:
“We need rain, M. Poirot—need it badly.”
He looked thoughtfully at his guest. He said:
“You don’t look very well, M. Poirot?”
“Sometimes,” said Hercule Poirot, “I do not like the things I have to do.”
Mr. Barnes nodded his head sympathetically.
He said:
“I know.”
Hercule Poirot looked vaguely1 round at the neat arrangement of the small beds. He murmured:
“It is well-planned, this garden. Everything is to scale. It is small but exact.”
Mr. Barnes said:
“When you have only a small place you’ve got to make the most of it. You can’t afford to make
mistakes in the planning.”
Hercule Poirot nodded.
Barnes went on:
“I see you’ve got your man?”
“Frank Carter?”
“Yes. I’m rather surprised, really.”
“You did not think that it was, so to speak, a private murder?”
“No. Frankly2 I didn’t. What with Amberiotis and Alistair Blunt—I made sure that it was one of
these Espionage3 or Counter-Espionage mix-ups.”
“That is the view you expounded4 to me at our first meeting.”
“I know. I was quite sure of it at the time.”
Poirot said slowly:
“But you were wrong.”
“Yes. Don’t rub it in. The trouble is, one goes by one’s own experience. I’ve been mixed-up in
that sort of thing so much I suppose I’m inclined to see it everywhere.”
Poirot said:
“You have observed in your time a conjurer offer a card, have you not? What is called—forcing
a card?”
“Yes, of course.”
“That is what was done here. Every time that one thinks of a private reason for Morley’s death,
hey presto—the card is forced on one. Amberiotis, Alistair Blunt, the unsettled state of politics—
of the country—” He shrugged5 his shoulders. “As for you, Mr. Barnes, you did more to mislead
me than anybody.”
“Oh, I say, Poirot, I’m sorry. I suppose that’s true.”
“You were in a position to know, you see. So your words carried weight.”
“Well—I believed what I said. That’s the only apology I can make.”
He paused and sighed.
“And all the time, it was a purely6 private motive7?”
“Exactly. It has taken me a long time to see the reason for the murder—although I had one very
definite piece of luck.”
“What was that?”
“A fragment of conversation. Really a very illuminating8 fragment if only I had had the sense to
realize its significance at the time.”
Mr. Barnes scratched his nose thoughtfully with the trowel. A small piece of earth adhered to
the side of his nose.
“Being rather cryptic9, aren’t you?” he asked genially10.
Hercule Poirot shrugged his shoulders. He said:
“I am, perhaps, aggrieved11 that you were not more frank with me.”
“I?”
“Yes.”
“My dear fellow—I never had the least idea of Carter’s guilt12. As far as I knew, he’d left the
house long before Morley was killed. I suppose now they’ve found he didn’t leave when he said
he did?”
Poirot said:
“Carter was in the house at twenty-six minutes past twelve. He actually saw the murderer.”
“Then Carter didn’t—”
“Carter saw the murderer, I tell you!”
Mr. Barnes said:
“Did he recognize him?”
Slowly Hercule Poirot shook his head.
![](../../../skin/default/image/4.jpg)
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1
vaguely
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adv.含糊地,暖昧地 | |
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2
frankly
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adv.坦白地,直率地;坦率地说 | |
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3
espionage
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n.间谍行为,谍报活动 | |
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4
expounded
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论述,详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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5
shrugged
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vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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6
purely
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adv.纯粹地,完全地 | |
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7
motive
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n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的 | |
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8
illuminating
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a.富于启发性的,有助阐明的 | |
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9
cryptic
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adj.秘密的,神秘的,含义模糊的 | |
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10
genially
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adv.亲切地,和蔼地;快活地 | |
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11
aggrieved
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adj.愤愤不平的,受委屈的;悲痛的;(在合法权利方面)受侵害的v.令委屈,令苦恼,侵害( aggrieve的过去式);令委屈,令苦恼,侵害( aggrieve的过去式和过去分词) | |
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12
guilt
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n.犯罪;内疚;过失,罪责 | |
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