I“Have you heard what’s on at Quarry1 Wood?” said Mrs. Cartwright, putting a packet of FluffyFlakelets and Wonder White into her shopping bag.
“Quarry Wood?” said Elspeth McKay, to whom she was talking. “No, I haven’t heard anythingparticular.” She selected a packet of cereal. The two women were in the recently openedsupermarket making their morning purchases.
“They’re saying the trees are dangerous there. Couple of forestry2 men arrived this morning. It’sthere on the side of the hill where there’s a steep slope and a tree leaning sideways. Could be Isuppose, that a tree could come down there. One of them was struck by lightning last winter butthat was farther over, I think. Anyway, they’re digging round the roots of the trees a bit, and a bitfarther down too. Pity. They’ll make an awful mess of the place.”
“Oh well,” said Elspeth McKay, “I suppose they know what they’re doing. Somebody’s calledthem in, I suppose.”
“They’ve got a couple of the police there, too, seeing that people don’t come near. Making surethey keep away from things. They say something about finding out which the diseased trees arefirst.”
“I see,” said Elspeth McKay.
Possibly she did. Not that anyone had told her but then Elspeth never needed telling.
II
Ariadne Oliver smoothed out a telegram she had just taken as delivered to her at the door. She wasso used to getting telegrams through the telephone, making frenzied3 hunts for a pencil to take themdown, insisting firmly that she wanted a confirmatory copy sent to her, that she was quite startledto receive what she called to herself a “real telegram” again.
“PLEASE BRING MRS BUTLER AND MIRANDA
TO YOUR FLAT AT ONCE. NO TIME TO LOSE.
IMPORTANT SEE DOCTOR FOR OPERATION.”
She went into the kitchen where Judith Butler was making quince jelly.
“Judy,” said Mrs. Oliver, “go and pack a few things, I’m going back to London and you’recoming with me and Miranda, too.”
“It’s very nice of you, Ariadne, but I’ve got a lot of things on here. Anyway, you needn’t rushaway today, need you?”
“Yes, I need to, I’ve been told to,” said Mrs. Oliver.
“Who’s told you—your housekeeper4?”
“No,” said Mrs. Oliver. “Somebody else. One of the few people I obey. Come on. Hurry up.”
“I don’t want to leave home just now. I can’t.”
“You’ve got to come,” said Mrs. Oliver. “The car is ready. I brought it round to the front door.
We can go at once.”
“I don’t think I want to take Miranda. I could leave her here with someone, with the Reynoldsor Rowena Drake.”
“Miranda’s coming, too,” Mrs. Oliver interrupted definitely. “Don’t make difficulties, Judy.
This is serious. I don’t see how you can even consider leaving her with the Reynolds. Two of theReynolds children have been killed, haven’t they?”
“Yes, yes, that’s true enough. You think there’s something wrong with that house. I meanthere’s someone there who—oh, what do I mean?”
“We’re talking too much,” said Mrs. Oliver. “Anyway,” she added, “if anyone is going to bekilled, it seems to me that probably the most likely one would be Ann Reynolds.”
“What’s the matter with the family? Why should they all get killed, one after another? Oh,Ariadne, it’s frightening!”
“Yes,” said Mrs. Oliver, “but there are times when it’s quite right to be frightened. I’ve just hada telegram and I’m acting5 upon it.”
“Oh, I didn’t hear the telephone.”
“It didn’t come through the telephone. It came to the door.”
She hesitated a moment, then she held it out to her friend.
“What’s this mean? Operation?”
“Tonsils, probably,” said Mrs. Oliver. “Miranda had a bad throat last week, hadn’t she? Well,what more likely than that she should be taken to consult a throat specialist in London?”
“Are you quite mad, Ariadne?”
“Probably,” said Mrs. Oliver, “raving mad. Come on. Miranda will enjoy being in London. Youneedn’t worry. She’s not going to have any operation. That’s what’s called ‘cover’ in spy stories.
We’ll take her to a theatre, or an opera or the ballet, whichever way her tastes lie. On the whole Ithink it would be best to take her to the ballet.”
“I’m frightened,” said Judith.
Ariadne Oliver looked at her friend. She was trembling slightly. She looked more than ever,Mrs. Oliver thought, like Undine. She looked divorced from reality.
“Come on,” said Mrs. Oliver, “I promised Hercule Poirot I’d bring you when he gave me theword. Well, he’s given me the word.”
“What’s going on in this place?” said Judith. “I can’t think why I ever came here.”
“I sometimes wondered why you did,” said Mrs. Oliver, “but there’s no accounting6 for wherepeople go to live. A friend of mine went to live in Moreton-in-the-Marsh the other day. I askedhim why he wanted to go and live there. He said he’d always wanted to and thought about it.
Whenever he retired7 he meant to go there. I said that I hadn’t been to it myself but it sounded tome bound to be damp. What was it actually like? He said he didn’t know what it was like becausehe’d never been there himself. But he had always wanted to live there. He was quite sane8, too.”
“Did he go?”
“Yes.”
“Did he like it when he got there?”
“Well, I haven’t heard that yet,” said Mrs. Oliver. “But people are very odd, aren’t they? Thethings they want to do, the things they simply have to do…” She went to the garden and called,“Miranda, we’re going to London.”
Miranda came slowly towards them.
“Going to London?”
“Ariadne’s going to drive us there,” said her mother. “We’ll go and see a theatre there. Mrs.
Oliver thinks perhaps she can get tickets for the ballet. Would you like to go to the ballet?”
“I’d love it,” said Miranda. Her eyes lighted up. “I must go and say goodbye to one of myfriends first.”
“We’re going practically at once.”
“Oh, I shan’t be as long as that, but I must explain. There are things I promised to do.”
She ran down the garden and disappeared through the gate.
“Who are Miranda’s friends?” asked Mrs. Oliver, with some curiosity.”
“I never really know,” said Judith. “She never tells one things, you know. Sometimes I thinkthat the only things that she really feels are her friends are the birds she looks at in the woods. Orsquirrels or things like that. I think everybody likes her but I don’t know that she has anyparticular friends. I mean, she doesn’t bring back girls to tea and things like that. Not as much asother girls do. I think her best friend really was Joyce Reynolds.” She added vaguely9: “Joyce usedto tell her fantastic things about elephants and tigers.” She roused herself. “Well, I must go up andpack, I suppose, as you insist. But I don’t want to leave here. There are lots of things I’m in themiddle of doing, like this jelly and—”
“You’ve got to come,” said Mrs. Oliver. She was quite firm about it.
Judith came downstairs again with a couple of suitcases just as Miranda ran in through the sidedoor, somewhat out of breath.
“Aren’t we going to have lunch first?” she demanded.
In spite of her elfin woodland appearance, she was a healthy child who liked her food.
“We’ll stop for lunch on the way,” said Mrs. Oliver. “We’ll stop at The Black Boy atHaversham. That would be about right. It’s about three-quarters of an hour from here and theygive you quite a good meal. Come on, Miranda, we’re going to start now.”
“I shan’t have time to tell Cathie I can’t go to the pictures with her tomorrow. Oh, perhaps Icould ring her up.”
“Well, hurry up,” said her mother.
Miranda ran into the sitting room where the telephone was situated10. Judith and Mrs. Oliver putsuitcases into the car. Miranda came out of the sitting room.
“I left a message,” she said breathlessly. “That’s all right now.”
“I think you’re mad, Ariadne,” said Judith, as they got into the car. “Quite mad. What’s it allabout?”
“We shall know in due course, I suppose,” said Mrs. Oliver. “I don’t know if I’m mad or he is.”
“He? Who?”
“Hercule Poirot,” said Mrs. Oliver.
III
In London Hercule Poirot was sitting in a room with four other men. One was Inspector11 TimothyRaglan, looking respectful and poker-faced as was his invariable habit when in the presence of hissuperiors; the second was Superintendent12 Spence. The third was Alfred Richmond, ChiefConstable of the County and the fourth was a man with a sharp, legal face from the PublicProsecutor’s office. They looked at Hercule Poirot with varying expressions, or what one mightdescribe as nonexpressions.
“You seem quite sure, Monsieur Poirot.”
“I am quite sure,” said Hercule Poirot. “When a thing arranges itself so, one realizes that it mustbe so, one only looks for reasons why it should not be so. If one does not find the reasons why itshould not be so, then one is strengthened in one’s opinion.”
“The motives14 seem somewhat complex, if I may say so.”
“No,” said Poirot, “not complex really. But so simple that they are very difficult to see clearly.”
The legal gentleman looked sceptical.
“We shall have one piece of definite evidence very soon now,” said Inspector Raglan. “Ofcourse, if there has been a mistake on that point….”
“Ding dong dell, no pussy15 in the well?” said Hercule Poirot. “That is what you mean?”
“Well, you must agree it is only a surmise16 on your part.”
“The evidence pointed17 to it all along. When a girl disappears, there are not many reasons. Thefirst is that she has gone away with a man. The second is that she is dead. Anything else is veryfar-fetched and practically never happens.”
“There are no special points that you can bring to our attention, Monsieur Poirot?”
“Yes. I have been in touch with a well-known firm of estate agents. Friends of mine, whospecialize in real estate in the West Indies, the Aegean, the Adriatic, the Mediterranean18 and otherplaces. They specialize in sunshine and their clients are usually wealthy. Here is a recent purchasethat might interest you.”
He handed over a folded paper.
“You think this ties up?”
“I’m sure it does.”
“I thought the sale of islands was prohibited by that particular government?”
“Money can usually find a way.”
“There is nothing else that you would care to dwell upon?”
“It is possible that within twenty-four hours I shall have for you something that will more orless clinch19 matters.”
“And what is that?”
“An eyewitness20.”
“You mean—”
“An eyewitness to a crime.”
The legal man looked at Poirot with mounting disbelief.
“Where is this eyewitness now?”
“On the way to London, I hope and trust.”
“You sound—disturbed.”
“That is true. I have done what I can to take care of things, but I will admit to you that I amfrightened. Yes, I am frightened in spite of the protective measure I have taken. Because, you see,we are—how shall I describe it?—we are up against ruthlessness, quick reactions, greed pushedbeyond an expectable human limit and perhaps—I am not sure but I think it possible—a touch,shall we say, of madness? Not there originally, but cultivated. A seed that took root and growsfast. And now perhaps has taken charge, inspiring an inhuman21 rather than a human attitude tolife.”
“We’ll have to have a few extra opinions on this,” said the legal man. “We can’t rush intothings. Of course, a lot depends on the—er—forestry business. If that’s positive, we’d have tothink again.”
Hercule Poirot rose to his feet.
“I will take my leave. I have told you all that I know and all that I fear and envisage22 as possible.
I shall remain in touch with you.”
He shook hands all round with foreign precision, and went out.
“The man’s a bit of a mountebank,” said the legal man. “You don’t think he’s a bit touched, doyou? Touched in the head himself, I mean? Anyway, he’s a pretty good age. I don’t know that onecan rely on the faculties23 of a man of that age.”
“I think you can rely upon him,” said the Chief Constable13. “At least, that is my impression.
Spence, I’ve known you a good many years. You’re a friend of his. Do you think he’s become alittle senile?”
“No, I don’t,” said Superintendent Spence. “What’s your opinion, Raglan?”
“I’ve only met him recently, sir. At first I thought his—well, his way of talking, his ideas, mightbe fantastic. But on the whole I’m converted. I think he’s going to be proved right.”
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
quarry
|
|
| n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
forestry
|
|
| n.森林学；林业 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
frenzied
|
|
| a.激怒的；疯狂的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
housekeeper
|
|
| n.管理家务的主妇，女管家 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
acting
|
|
| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
accounting
|
|
| n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
retired
|
|
| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
sane
|
|
| adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
vaguely
|
|
| adv.含糊地，暖昧地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
situated
|
|
| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
inspector
|
|
| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
superintendent
|
|
| n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
constable
|
|
| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
motives
|
|
| n.动机，目的( motive的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
pussy
|
|
| n.(儿语)小猫，猫咪 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
surmise
|
|
| v./n.猜想，推测 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
pointed
|
|
| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
Mediterranean
|
|
| adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
clinch
|
|
| v.敲弯，钉牢；确定；扭住对方 [参]clench | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
eyewitness
|
|
| n.目击者，见证人 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
inhuman
|
|
| adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
envisage
|
|
| v.想象，设想，展望，正视 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
faculties
|
|
| n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |