Twenty-two COLIN LAMB’S NARRATIVE I

Twenty-two COLIN LAMB’S NARRATIVE¹ I

“So you have returned,” said Hercule Poirot.
He placed a bookmarker carefully to mark his place in the book he was reading. This time a cupof hot chocolate stood on the table by his elbow. Poirot certainly has the most terrible taste indrinks! For once he did not urge me to join him.
“How are you?” I asked.
“I am disturbed. I am much disturbed. They make the renovations, the redecorations, even thestructural alteration² in these flats.”
“Won’t that improve them?”
“It will improve them, yes—but it will be most vexatious to me. I shall have to disarrangemyself. There will be a smell of paint!” He looked at me with an air of outrage³.
Then, dismissing his difficulties with a wave of his hand, he asked:
“You have had the success, yes?”
I said slowly: “I don’t know.”
“Ah—it is like that.”
“I found out what I was sent to find out. I did not find the man himself. I myself do not knowwhat was wanted. Information? Or a body?”
“Speaking of bodies, I read the account of the adjourned⁴ inquest at Crowdean. Wilful⁵ murder bya person or persons unknown. And your body has been given a name at last.”
I nodded.
“Harry Castleton, whoever he may be.”
“Identified by his wife. You have been to Crowdean?”
“Not yet. I thought of going down tomorrow.”
“Oh, you have some leisure time?”
“Not yet. I’m still on the job. My job takes me there—” I paused a moment and then said: “Idon’t know much about what’s been happening while I’ve been abroad—just the mere⁶ fact ofidentification—what do you think of it?”
Poirot shrugged⁷ his shoulders.
“It was to be expected.”
“Yes—the police are very good—”
“And wives are very obliging.”
“Mrs. Merlina Rival! What a name!”
“It reminds me of something,” said Poirot. “Now of what does it remind me?”
He looked at me thoughtfully but I couldn’t help him. Knowing Poirot, it might have remindedhim of anything.
“A visit to a friend—in a country house,” mused⁸ Poirot, then shook his head. “No—it is so longago.”
“When I come back to London, I’ll come and tell you all I can find out from Hardcastle aboutMrs. Merlina Rival,” I promised.
Poirot waved a hand and said: “It is not necessary.”
“You mean you know all about her already without being told?”
“No. I mean that I am not interested in her—”
“You’re not interested—but why not? I don’t get it.” I shook my head.
“One must concentrate on the essentials. Tell me instead of the girl called Edna—who died inthe telephone box in Wilbraham Crescent.”
“I can’t tell you more than I’ve told you already—I know nothing about the girl.”
“So all you know,” said Poirot accusingly, “or all you can tell me is that the girl was a poor littlerabbit, whom you saw in a typewriting office, where she had torn the heel off her shoe in a grating—” he broke off. “Where was that grating, by the way?”
“Really, Poirot, how should I know?”
“You could have known if you had asked. How do you expect to know anything if you do notask the proper questions?”
“But how can it matter where the heel came off?”
“It may not matter. On the other hand, we should know a definite spot where this girl had been,and that might connect up with a person she had seen there—or with an event of some kind whichtook place there.”
“You are being rather farfetched. Anyway I do know it was quite near the office because shesaid so and that she bought a bun and hobbled back on her stocking feet to eat the bun in the officeand she ended up by saying how on earth was she to get home like that?”
“Ah, and how did she get home?” Poirot asked with interest.
I stared at him.
“I’ve no idea.”
“Ah—but it is impossible, the way you never ask the right questions! As a result you knownothing of what is important.”
“You’d better come down to Crowdean and ask questions yourself,” I said, nettled⁹.
“That is impossible at the moment. There is a most interesting sale of authors’ manuscripts nextweek—”
“Still on your hobby?”
“But, yes, indeed.” His eyes brightened. “Take the works of John Dickson Carr or CarterDickson, as he calls himself sometimes—”
I escaped before he could get under way, pleading an urgent appointment. I was in no mood tolisten to lectures on past masters of the art of crime fiction.

1 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

2 alteration   

n.变更，改变；蚀变

参考例句：

• The shirt needs alteration.这件衬衣需要改一改。
• He easily perceived there was an alteration in my countenance.他立刻看出我的脸色和往常有些不同。

3 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

4 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

5 wilful   

adj.任性的，故意的

参考例句：

• A wilful fault has no excuse and deserves no pardon.不能宽恕故意犯下的错误。
• He later accused reporters of wilful distortion and bias.他后来指责记者有意歪曲事实并带有偏见。

6 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

7 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 mused   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的过去式和过去分词 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• \"I wonder if I shall ever see them again, \"he mused. “我不知道是否还可以再见到他们，”他沉思自问。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• \"Where are we going from here?\" mused one of Rutherford's guests. 卢瑟福的一位客人忍不住说道：‘我们这是在干什么？” 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史

9 nettled   

v.拿荨麻打，拿荨麻刺（nettle的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• My remarks clearly nettled her. 我的话显然惹恼了她。
• He had been growing nettled before, but now he pulled himself together. 他刚才有些来火，但现在又恢复了常态。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛