Hercule Poirot walked home along the deserted1 streets.
An unobtrusive figure joined him.
“Well?” said Mr. Barnes.
Hercule Poirot shrugged2 his shoulders and spread out his hands.
Barnes said:
“What line did he take?”
“He admitted everything and pleaded justification3. He said that this country needed him.”
“So it does,” said Mr. Barnes.
He added after a minute or two:
“Don’t you think so?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Well, then—”
“We may be wrong,” said Hercule Poirot.
“I never thought of that,” said Mr. Barnes. “So we may.”
They walked on for a little way, then Barnes asked curiously4:
“What are you thinking about?”
Hercule Poirot quoted:
“Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”
“Hm—I see—” said Mr. Barnes. “Saul—after the Amalekites. Yes, you could think of it that
way.”
They walked on a little farther, then Barnes said:
“I take the tube here. Good night, Poirot.” He paused, then said awkwardly: “You know—
there’s something I’d like to tell you.”
“Yes, mon ami?”
“Feel I owe it to you. Led you astray unintentionally. Fact of the matter is, Albert Chapman,
Q.X.912.”
“Yes?”
“I’m Albert Chapman. That’s partly why I was interested. I knew, you see, that I’d never had a
wife.”
He hurried away, chuckling5.
Poirot stood stock still. Then his eyes opened, his eyebrows6 rose.
He said to himself:
“Nineteen, twenty, my plate’s empty—”
And went home.
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1
deserted
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adj.荒芜的,荒废的,无人的,被遗弃的 | |
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2
shrugged
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vt.耸肩(shrug的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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3
justification
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n.正当的理由;辩解的理由 | |
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4
curiously
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adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地 | |
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5
chuckling
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轻声地笑( chuckle的现在分词 ) | |
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6
eyebrows
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眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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