Poirot was supposed to keep early hours. I left him therefore to go to sleep and went downstairs,pausing to have a few words with the attendant Curtiss on the way.
I found him a stolid1 individual, slow in the uptake, but trustworthy and competent. He had beenwith Poirot since the latter’s return from Egypt. His master’s health, he told me, was fairly good,but he occasionally had alarming heart attacks, and his heart was much weakened in the last fewmonths. It was a case of the engine slowly failing.
Oh well, it had been a good life. Nevertheless my heart was wrung2 for my old friend who wasfighting so gallantly3 every step of the downward way. Even now, crippled and weak, hisindomitable spirit was still leading him to ply4 the craft at which he was so expert.
I went downstairs sad at heart. I could hardly imagine life without Poirot. .?.?.
A rubber was just finished in the drawing room, and I was invited to cut in. I thought it mightserve to distract my mind and I accepted. Boyd Carrington was the one to cut out, and I sat downwith Norton and Colonel and Mrs. Luttrell.
“What do you say now, Mr. Norton,” said Mrs. Luttrell. “Shall you and I take the other two on?
Our late partnership’s been very successful.”
Norton smiled pleasantly, but murmured that perhaps, really, they ought to cut—what?
Mrs. Luttrell assented5, but with rather an ill-grace, I thought.
Norton and I cut together against the Luttrells. I noticed that Mrs. Luttrell was definitelydispleased by this. She bit her lip and her charm and Irish brogue disappeared completely for themoment.
I soon found out why. I played on many future occasions with Colonel Luttrell, and he was notreally such a bad player. He was what I should describe as a moderate player, but inclined to beforgetful. Every now and then he would make some really bad mistake owing to this. But playingwith his wife he made mistake after mistake without ceasing. He was obviously nervous of her,and this caused him to play about three times as badly as was normal. Mrs. Luttrell was a verygood player indeed, though a rather unpleasant one to play with. She snatched every conceivableadvantage, ignored the rules if her adversary6 was unaware7 of them, and enforced themimmediately when they served her. She was also extremely adept8 at a quick sideways glance intoher opponent’s hands. In other words, she played to win.
And I understood soon enough what Poirot had meant by vinegar. At cards her self-restraintfailed, and her tongue lashed9 every mistake her wretched husband made. It was really mostuncomfortable for both Norton and myself, and I was thankful when the rubber came to an end.
We both excused ourselves from playing another on the score of the lateness of the hour.
As we moved away, Norton rather incautiously gave way to his feelings.
“I say, Hastings, that was pretty ghastly. It gets my back up to see that poor old boy bullied10 likethat. And the meek11 way he takes it! Poor chap. Not much of the peppery-tongued Indian Colonelabout him.”
“Ssh,” I warned him, for Norton’s voice had been incautiously raised and I was afraid oldColonel Luttrell would overhear.
“No, but it is too bad.”
I said with feeling: “I shall understand it if he ever takes a hatchet12 to her.”
Norton shook his head. “He won’t. The iron’s entered his soul. He’ll go on: ‘Yes, m’dear, no,m’dear, sorry, m’dear,’ pulling at his moustache and bleating13 meekly14 until he’s put in his coffin15.
He couldn’t assert himself if he tried!”
I shook my head sadly, for I was afraid Norton was right.
We paused in the hall and I noticed that the side door to the garden was open and the windblowing in.
“Ought we to shut that?” I asked.
Norton hesitated a minute before saying: “Well—er—I don’t think everybody’s in yet.”
A sudden suspicion darted16 through my mind.
“Who’s out?”
“Your daughter, I think—and—er—Allerton.”
He tried to make his voice extra casual, but the information coming on top of my conversationwith Poirot made me feel suddenly uneasy.
Judith—and Allerton. Surely Judith, my clever, cool Judith, would not be taken in by a man ofthat type? Surely she would see through him?
I told myself that repeatedly as I undressed, but the vague uneasiness persisted. I could not sleepand lay tossing from side to side.
As is the way with night worries, everything gets exaggerated. A fresh sense of despair and lossswept over me. If only my dear wife were alive. She on whose judgement I had relied for so manyyears. She had always been wise and understanding about the children.
Without her I felt miserably17 inadequate18. The responsibility for their safety and happiness wasmine. Would I be equal to that task? I was not, Heaven help me, a clever man. I blundered—mademistakes. If Judith was to ruin her chances of happiness, if she were to suffer—Desperately I switched the light on and sat up.
It was no good going on like this. I must get some sleep. Getting out of bed I walked over to thewashbasin and looked doubtfully at a bottle of aspirin19 tablets.
No, I needed something stronger than aspirin. I reflected that Poirot, probably, would have somesleeping stuff of some kind. I crossed the passage to his room and stood hesitating a minuteoutside the door. Rather a shame to wake the old boy up.
As I hesitated I heard a footfall and looked round. Allerton was coming along the corridortowards me. It was dimly lit, and until he came near I could not see his face, and wondered for aminute who it was. Then I saw, and stiffened20 all over. For the man was smiling to himself, and Idisliked that smile very much.
He looked up and raised his eyebrows21. “Hullo, Hastings, still about?”
“I couldn’t sleep,” I said shortly.
“Is that all? I’ll soon fix you up. Come with me.”
I followed him into his room, which was the next one to mine. A strange fascination22 drove meto study this man as closely as I could.
“You keep late hours yourself,” I remarked.
“I’ve never been an early bed-goer. Not when there’s sport abroad. These fine evenings aren’tmade to be wasted.”
He laughed—and I disliked the laugh.
I followed him into the bathroom. He opened a little cupboard and took out a bottle of tablets.
“Here you are. This is the real dope. You’ll sleep like a log—and have pleasant dreams too.
Wonderful stuff Slumberyl—that’s the patent name for it.”
The enthusiasm in his voice gave me a slight shock. Was he a drugtaker as well? I saiddoubtfully: “It isn’t—dangerous?”
“It is if you take too much of it. It’s one of the barbiturates—whose toxic23 dose is very near theeffective one.” He smiled, the corners of his mouth sliding up his face in an unpleasant way.
“I shouldn’t have thought you could get it without a doctor’s prescription,” I said.
“You can’t, old boy. Anyway, quite literally24, you can’t. I’ve got a pull in that line.”
I suppose it was foolish of me, but I get these impulses. I said: “You knew Etherington, Ithink?”
At once I knew that it had struck a note of some kind. His eyes grew hard and wary25. He said—and his voice had changed—it was light and artificial: “Oh yes—I knew Etherington. Poor chap.”
Then, as I did not speak, he went on: “Etherington took drugs—of course—but he overdid26 it.
One’s got to know when to stop. He didn’t. Bad business. That wife of his was lucky. If thesympathy of the jury hadn’t been with her, she’d have hanged.”
He passed me over a couple of the tablets. Then he said casually27: “Did you know Etherington aswell?”
I answered with the truth. “No.”
He seemed for a moment at a loss how to proceed. Then he turned it off with a light laugh.
“Funny chap. Not exactly a Sunday school character but he was good company sometimes.”
I thanked him for the tablets and went back to my room.
As I lay down again and turned off the lights I wondered if I had been foolish.
For it came to me very strongly that Allerton was almost certainly X. And I had let him see thatI suspected the fact.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
stolid
|
|
| adj.无动于衷的，感情麻木的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
wrung
|
|
| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
gallantly
|
|
| adv. 漂亮地，勇敢地，献殷勤地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
ply
|
|
| v.(搬运工等)等候顾客，弯曲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
assented
|
|
| 同意，赞成( assent的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
6
adversary
|
|
| adj.敌手，对手 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
unaware
|
|
| a.不知道的，未意识到的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
adept
|
|
| adj.老练的，精通的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
lashed
|
|
| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
bullied
|
|
| adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
meek
|
|
| adj.温顺的，逆来顺受的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
hatchet
|
|
| n.短柄小斧；v.扼杀 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
bleating
|
|
| v.（羊，小牛）叫( bleat的现在分词 )；哭诉；发出羊叫似的声音；轻声诉说 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
meekly
|
|
| adv.温顺地，逆来顺受地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
coffin
|
|
| n.棺材，灵柩 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
darted
|
|
| v.投掷，投射( dart的过去式和过去分词 )；向前冲，飞奔 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
miserably
|
|
| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
inadequate
|
|
| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
aspirin
|
|
| n.阿司匹林 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
stiffened
|
|
| 加强的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
eyebrows
|
|
| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
fascination
|
|
| n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
toxic
|
|
| adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
24
literally
|
|
| adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
25
wary
|
|
| adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
26
overdid
|
|
| v.做得过分( overdo的过去式 )；太夸张；把…煮得太久；（工作等）过度 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
27
casually
|
|
| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |