Chapter Thirteen

Thirteen
I hardly thought it likely that Mrs. Price Ridley had anything so dramatic in view, but I did wonder what had taken herto the police station. Had she really got evidence of importance, or that she thought of importance, to offer? At anyrate, we should soon know.
We found Mrs. Price Ridley talking at a high rate of speed to a somewhat bewildered-looking police constable¹.
That she was extremely indignant I knew from the way the bow in her hat was trembling. Mrs. Price Ridley wearswhat, I believe, are known as “Hats for Matrons”—they make a speciality of them in our adjacent town of MuchBenham. They perch² easily on a superstructure of hair and are somewhat overweighted with large bows of ribbon.
Griselda is always threatening to get a matron’s hat.
Mrs. Price Ridley paused in her flow of words upon our entrance.
“Mrs. Price Ridley?” inquired Colonel Melchett, lifting his hat.
“Let me introduce Colonel Melchett to you, Mrs. Price Ridley,” I said. “Colonel Melchett is our Chief Constable.”
Mrs. Price Ridley looked at me coldly, but produced the semblance³ of a gracious smile for the Colonel.
“We’ve just been round to your house, Mrs. Price Ridley,” explained the Colonel, “and heard you had come downhere.”
Mrs. Price Ridley thawed⁴ altogether.
“Ah!” she said, “I’m glad some notice is being taken of the occurrence. Disgraceful, I call it. Simply disgraceful.”
There is no doubt that murder is disgraceful, but it is not the word I should use to describe it myself. It surprisedMelchett too, I could see.
“Have you any light to throw upon the matter?” he asked.
“That’s your business. It’s the business of the police. What do we pay rates and taxes for, I should like to know?”
One wonders how many times that query⁵ is uttered in a year!
“We’re doing our best, Mrs. Price Ridley,” said the Chief Constable.
“But the man here hadn’t even heard of it till I told him about it!” cried the lady.
We all looked at the constable.
“Lady been rung up on the telephone,” he said. “Annoyed. Matter of obscene language, I understand.”
“Oh! I see.” The Colonel’s brow cleared. “We’ve been talking at cross purposes. You came down here to make acomplaint, did you?”
Melchett is a wise man. He knows that when it is a question of an irate⁶ middle-aged⁷ lady, there is only one thing tobe done—listen to her. When she had said all that she wants to say, there is a chance that she will listen to you.
Mrs. Price Ridley surged into speech.
“Such disgraceful occurrences ought to be prevented. They ought not to occur. To be rung up in one’s own houseand insulted—yes, insulted. I’m not accustomed to such things happening. Ever since the war there has been aloosening of moral fibre. Nobody minds what they say, and as to the clothes they wear—”
“Quite,” said Colonel Melchett hastily. “What happened exactly?”
Mrs. Price Ridley took breath and started again.
“I was rung up—”
“When?”
“Yesterday afternoon—evening to be exact. About half past six. I went to the telephone, suspecting nothing.
Immediately I was foully⁸ attacked, threatened—”
“What actually was said?”
Mrs. Price Ridley got slightly pink.
“That I decline to state.”
“Obscene language,” murmured the constable in a ruminative⁹ bass¹⁰.
“Was bad language used?” asked Colonel Melchett.
“It depends on what you call bad language.”
“Could you understand it?” I asked.
“Of course I could understand it.”
“Then it couldn’t have been bad language,” I said.
Mrs. Price Ridley looked at me suspiciously.
“A refined lady,” I explained, “is naturally unacquainted with bad language.”
“It wasn’t that kind of thing,” said Mrs. Price Ridley. “At first, I must admit, I was quite taken in. I thought it was agenuine message. Then the—er—person became abusive.”
“Abusive?”
“Most abusive. I was quite alarmed.”
“Used threatening language, eh?”
“Yes. I am not accustomed to being threatened.”
“What did they threaten you with? Bodily damage?”
“Not exactly.”
“I’m afraid, Mrs. Price Ridley, you must be more explicit¹¹. In what way were you threatened?”
This Mrs. Price Ridley seemed singularly reluctant to answer.
“I can’t remember exactly. It was all so upsetting. But right at the end—when I was really very upset, this—this—wretch laughed.”
“Was it a man’s voice or a woman’s?”
“It was a degenerate¹² voice,” said Mrs. Price Ridley, with dignity. “I can only describe it as a kind of pervertedvoice. Now gruff, now squeaky. Really a very peculiar¹³ voice.”
“Probably a practical joke,” said the Colonel soothingly¹⁴.
“A most wicked thing to do, if so. I might have had a heart attack.”
“We’ll look into it,” said the Colonel; “eh, Inspector¹⁵? Trace the telephone call. You can’t tell me more definitelyexactly what was said, Mrs. Price Ridley?”
A struggle began in Mrs. Price Ridley’s ample black bosom¹⁶. The desire for reticence¹⁷ fought against a desire forvengeance. Vengeance¹⁸ triumphed.
“This, of course, will go no further,” she began.
“Of course not.”
“This creature began by saying—I can hardly bring myself to repeat it—”
“Yes, yes,” said Melchett encouragingly.
“‘You are a wicked scandal-mongering old woman!’ Me, Colonel Melchett—a scandal-mongering old woman.
‘But this time you’ve gone too far. Scotland Yard are after you for libel.’”
“Naturally, you were alarmed,” said Melchett, biting his moustache to conceal¹⁹ a smile.
“‘Unless you hold your tongue in future, it will be the worse for you—in more ways than one.’ I can’t describe toyou the menacing way that was said. I gasped²⁰, ‘who are you?’ faintly—like that, and the voice answered, ‘TheAvenger.’ I gave a little shriek²¹. It sounded so awful, and then—the person laughed. Laughed! Distinctly. And that wasall. I heard them hang up the receiver. Of course I asked the exchange what number had been ringing me up, but theysaid they didn’t know. You know what exchanges are. Thoroughly²² rude and unsympathetic.”
“Quite,” I said.
“I felt quite faint,” continued Mrs. Price Ridley. “All on edge and so nervous that when I heard a shot in the woods,I do declare I jumped almost out of my skin. That will show you.”
“A shot in the woods?” said Inspector Slack alertly.
“In my excited state, it simply sounded to me like a cannon²³ going off. ‘Oh!’ I said, and sank down on the sofa in astate of prostration²⁴. Clara had to bring me a glass of damson gin.”
“Shocking,” said Melchett. “Shocking. All very trying for you. And the shot sounded very loud, you say? Asthough it were near at hand?”
“That was simply the state of my nerves.”
“Of course. Of course. And what time was all this? To help us in tracing the telephone call, you know.”
“About half past six.”
“You can’t give it us more exactly than that?”
“Well, you see, the little clock on my mantelpiece had just chimed the half hour, and I said, ‘Surely that clock isfast.’ (It does gain, that clock.) And I compared it with the watch I was wearing and that only said ten minutes past,but then I put it to my ear and found it had stopped. So I thought: ‘Well, if that clock is fast, I shall hear the churchtower in a moment or two.’ And then, of course, the telephone bell rang, and I forgot all about it.” She pausedbreathless.
“Well, that’s near enough,” said Colonel Melchett. “We’ll have it looked into for you, Mrs. Price Ridley.”
“Just think of it as a silly joke, and don’t worry, Mrs. Price Ridley,” I said.
She looked at me coldly. Evidently the incident of the pound note still rankled²⁵.
“Very strange things have been happening in this village lately,” she said, addressing herself to Melchett. “Verystrange things indeed. Colonel Protheroe was going to look into them, and what happened to him, poor man? Perhaps Ishall be the next?”
And on that she took her departure, shaking her head with a kind of ominous²⁶ melancholy²⁷. Melchett muttered underhis breath: “No such luck.” Then his face grew grave, and he looked inquiringly at Inspector Slack.
That worthy²⁸ nodded his head slowly.
“This about settles it, sir. That’s three people who heard the shot. We’ve got to find out now who fired it. Thisbusiness of Mr. Redding’s has delayed us. But we’ve got several starting points. Thinking Mr. Redding was guilty, Ididn’t bother to look into them. But that’s all changed now. And now one of the first things to do is look up thattelephone call.”
“Mrs. Price Ridley’s?”
The Inspector grinned.
“No—though I suppose we’d better make a note of that or else we shall have the old girl bothering in here again.
No, I meant that fake call that got the Vicar out of the way.”
“Yes,” said Melchett, “that’s important.”
“And the next thing is to find out what everyone was doing that evening between six and seven. Everyone at OldHall, I mean, and pretty well everyone in the village as well.”
I gave a sigh.
“What wonderful energy you have, Inspector Slack.”
“I believe in hard work. We’ll begin by just noting down your own movements, Mr. Clement²⁹.”
“Willingly. The telephone call came through about half past five.”
“A man’s voice, or a woman’s?”
“A woman’s. At least it sounded like a woman’s. But of course I took it for granted it was Mrs. Abbott speaking.”
“You didn’t recognize it as being Mrs. Abbott’s?”
“No, I can’t say I did. I didn’t notice the voice particularly or think about it.”
“And you started right away? Walked? Haven’t you got a bicycle?”
“No.”
“I see. So it took you—how long?”
“It’s very nearly two miles, whichever way you go.”
“Through Old Hall woods is the shortest way, isn’t it?”
“Actually, yes. But it’s not particularly good going. I went and came back by the footpath³⁰ across the fields.”
“The one that comes out opposite the Vicarage gate?”
“Yes.”
“And Mrs. Clement?”
“My wife was in London. She arrived back by the 6:50 train.”
“Right. The maid I’ve seen. That finishes with the Vicarage. I’ll be off to Old Hall next. And then I want aninterview with Mrs. Lestrange. Queer, her going to see Protheroe the night before he was killed. A lot of queer thingsabout this case.”
I agreed.
Glancing at the clock, I realized that it was nearly lunchtime. I invited Melchett to partake of potluck with us, buthe excused himself on the plea of having to go to the Blue Boar. The Blue Boar gives you a first-rate meal of the jointand two-vegetable type. I thought his choice was a wise one. After her interview with the police, Mary would probablybe feeling more temperamental than usual.

1 constable   

n.(英国)警察，警官

参考例句：

• The constable conducted the suspect to the police station.警官把嫌疑犯带到派出所。
• The constable kept his temper,and would not be provoked.那警察压制着自己的怒气，不肯冒起火来。

2 perch   

n.栖木，高位，杆；v.栖息，就位，位于

参考例句：

• The bird took its perch.鸟停歇在栖木上。
• Little birds perch themselves on the branches.小鸟儿栖歇在树枝上。

3 semblance   

n.外貌，外表

参考例句：

• Her semblance of anger frightened the children.她生气的样子使孩子们感到害怕。
• Those clouds have the semblance of a large head.那些云的形状像一个巨大的人头。

4 thawed   

解冻

参考例句：

• The little girl's smile thawed the angry old man. 小姑娘的微笑使发怒的老头缓和下来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He thawed after sitting at a fire for a while. 在火堆旁坐了一会儿，他觉得暖和起来了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 query   

n.疑问，问号，质问；vt.询问，表示怀疑

参考例句：

• I query very much whether it is wise to act so hastily.我真怀疑如此操之过急地行动是否明智。
• They raised a query on his sincerity.他们对他是否真诚提出质疑。

6 irate   

adj.发怒的，生气

参考例句：

• The irate animal made for us,coming at a full jump.那头发怒的动物以最快的速度向我们冲过来。
• We have received some irate phone calls from customers.我们接到顾客打来的一些愤怒的电话

7 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

8 foully   

ad.卑鄙地

参考例句：

• This internationally known writer was foully condemned by the Muslim fundamentalists. 这位国际知名的作家受到了穆斯林信徒的无礼谴责。
• Two policemen were foully murdered. 两个警察被残忍地杀害了。

9 ruminative   

adj.沉思的，默想的，爱反复思考的

参考例句：

• in a ruminative mood 陷于沉思

10 bass   

n.男低音(歌手)；低音乐器；低音大提琴

参考例句：

• He answered my question in a surprisingly deep bass.他用一种低得出奇的声音回答我的问题。
• The bass was to give a concert in the park.那位男低音歌唱家将在公园中举行音乐会。

11 explicit   

adj.详述的，明确的；坦率的；显然的

参考例句：

• She was quite explicit about why she left.她对自己离去的原因直言不讳。
• He avoids the explicit answer to us.他避免给我们明确的回答。

12 degenerate   

v.退步，堕落；adj.退步的，堕落的；n.堕落者

参考例句：

• He didn't let riches and luxury make him degenerate.他不因财富和奢华而自甘堕落。
• Will too much freedom make them degenerate?太多的自由会令他们堕落吗？

13 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

14 soothingly   

adv.抚慰地，安慰地；镇痛地

参考例句：

• The mother talked soothingly to her child. 母亲对自己的孩子安慰地说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He continued to talk quietly and soothingly to the girl until her frightened grip on his arm was relaxed. 他继续柔声安慰那姑娘，她那因恐惧而紧抓住他的手终于放松了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

16 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

17 reticence   

n.沉默，含蓄

参考例句：

• He breaks out of his normal reticence and tells me the whole story.他打破了平时一贯沈默寡言的习惯，把事情原原本本都告诉了我。
• He always displays a certain reticence in discussing personal matters.他在谈论个人问题时总显得有些保留。

18 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

19 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

20 gasped   

v.喘气( gasp的过去式和过去分词 )；喘息；倒抽气；很想要

参考例句：

• She gasped at the wonderful view. 如此美景使她惊讶得屏住了呼吸。
• People gasped with admiration at the superb skill of the gymnasts. 体操运动员的高超技艺令人赞叹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

22 thoroughly   

adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地

参考例句：

• The soil must be thoroughly turned over before planting.一定要先把土地深翻一遍再下种。
• The soldiers have been thoroughly instructed in the care of their weapons.士兵们都系统地接受过保护武器的训练。

23 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

24 prostration   

n. 平伏, 跪倒, 疲劳

参考例句：

• a state of prostration brought on by the heat 暑热导致的虚脱状态
• A long period of worrying led to her nervous prostration. 长期的焦虑导致她的神经衰弱。

25 rankled   

v.（使）痛苦不已，（使）怨恨不已( rankle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Her comments still rankled. 她的评价仍然让人耿耿于怀。
• The insult rankled in his mind. 这种侮辱使他心里难受。 来自《简明英汉词典》

26 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

27 melancholy   

n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的

参考例句：

• All at once he fell into a state of profound melancholy.他立即陷入无尽的忧思之中。
• He felt melancholy after he failed the exam.这次考试没通过，他感到很郁闷。

28 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

29 clement   

adj.仁慈的；温和的

参考例句：

• A clement judge reduced his sentence.一位仁慈的法官为他减了刑。
• The planet's history contains many less stable and clement eras than the holocene.地球的历史包含着许多不如全新世稳定与温和的地质时期。

30 footpath   

n.小路，人行道

参考例句：

• Owners who allow their dogs to foul the footpath will be fined.主人若放任狗弄脏人行道将受处罚。
• They rambled on the footpath in the woods.他俩漫步在林间蹊径上。