Eleven

Eleven
I“I simply can’t make you out,” said Cedric Crackenthorpe.
He eased himself down on the decaying wall of a long derelict pigsty¹ and stared at Lucy Eyelesbarrow.
“What can’t you make out?”
“What you’re doing here?”
“I’m earning my living.”
“As a skivvy?” he spoke² disparagingly³.
“You’re out of date,” said Lucy. “Skivvy, indeed! I’m a Household Help, a Professional Domestician, or anAnswer to Prayer, mainly the latter.”
“You can’t like all the things you have to do—cooking and making beds and whirring about with a hoopla orwhatever you call it, and sinking your arms up to the elbows in greasy⁴ water.”
Lucy laughed.
“Not the details, perhaps, but cooking satisfies my creative instincts, and there’s something in me that really revelsin clearing up mess.”
“I live in a permanent mess,” said Cedric. “I like it,” he added defiantly⁵.
“You look as though you did.”
“My cottage in Ibiza is run on simple straightforward⁶ lines. Three plates, two cups and saucers, a bed, a table and acouple of chairs. There’s dust everywhere and smears⁷ of paint and chips of stone—I sculpt⁸ as well as paint—andnobody’s allowed to touch a thing. I won’t have a woman near the place.”
“Not in any capacity?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I was assuming that a man of such artistic⁹ tastes presumably had some kind of love life.”
“My love life, as you call it, is my own business,” said Cedric with dignity. “What I won’t have is woman in hertidying-up interfering¹⁰ bossing capacity.”
“How I’d love to have a go at your cottage,” said Lucy. “It would be a challenge!”
“You won’t get the opportunity.”
“I suppose not.”
Some bricks fell out of the pigsty. Cedric turned his head and looked into its nettle-ridden depths.
“Dear old Madge,” he said. “I remember her well. A sow of most endearing disposition¹¹ and prolific¹² mother.
Seventeen in the last litter, I remember. We used to come here on fine afternoons and scratch Madge’s back with astick. She loved it.”
“Why has this whole place been allowed to get into the state it’s in? It can’t only be the war?”
“You’d like to tidy this up, too, I suppose? What an interfering female you are. I quite see now why you would bethe person to discover a body! You couldn’t even leave a Greco-Roman sarcophagus alone.” He paused and then wenton. “No, it’s not only the war. It’s my father. What do you think of him, by the way?”
“I haven’t had much time for thinking.”
“Don’t evade¹³ the issue. He’s as mean as hell, and in my opinion a bit crazy as well. Of course he hates all of us—except perhaps Emma. That’s because of my grandfather’s will.”
Lucy looked inquiring.
“My grandfather was the man who madea-da-monitch. With the Crunchies and the Cracker¹⁴ Jacks¹⁵ and the CosyCrisps. All the afternoon tea delicacies¹⁶ and then, being far-sighted, he switched on very early to Cheesies and Canapésso that now we cash in on cocktail¹⁷ parties in a big way. Well, the time came when father intimated that he had a soulabove Crunchies. He travelled in Italy and the Balkans and Greece and dabbled¹⁸ in art. My grandfather was peeved¹⁹. Hedecided my father was no man of business and a rather poor judge of art (quite right in both cases), so left all hismoney in trust for his grandchildren. Father had the income for life, but he couldn’t touch the capital. Do you knowwhat he did? He stopped spending money. He came here and began to save. I’d say that by now he’s accumulatednearly as big a fortune as my grandfather left. And in the meantime all of us, Harold, myself, Alfred and Emmahaven’t got a penny of grandfather’s money. I’m a stony-broke painter. Harold went into business and is now aprominent man in the City—he’s the one with the money-making touch, though I’ve heard rumours²⁰ that he’s in QueerStreet lately. Alfred—well, Alfred is usually known in the privacy of the family as Flash Alf—”
“Why?”
“What a lot of things you want to know! The answer is that Alf is the black sheep of the family. He’s not actuallybeen to prison yet, but he’s been very near it. He was in the Ministry²¹ of Supply during the war, but left it ratherabruptly under questionable²² circumstances. And after that there were some dubious²³ deals in tinned fruits—and troubleover eggs. Nothing in a big way—just a few doubtful deals on the side.”
“Isn’t it rather unwise to tell strangers all these things?”
“Why? Are you a police spy?”
“I might be.”
“I don’t think so. You were here slaving away before the police began to take an interest in us. I should say—”
He broke off as his sister Emma came through the door of the kitchen garden.
“Hallo, Em? You’re looking very perturbed²⁴ about something?”
“I am. I want to talk to you, Cedric.”
“I must get back to the house,” said Lucy, tactfully.
“Don’t go,” said Cedric. “Murder has made you practically one of the family.”
“I’ve got a lot to do,” said Lucy. “I only came out to get some parsley.”
She beat a rapid retreat to the kitchen garden. Cedric’s eyes followed her.
“Good-looking girl,” he said. “Who is she really?”
“Oh, she’s quite well known,” said Emma. “She’s made a speciality of this kind of thing. But never mind LucyEyelesbarrow, Cedric, I’m terribly worried. Apparently²⁵ the police think that the dead woman was a foreigner, perhapsFrench. Cedric, you don’t think that she could possibly be— Martine?”
II
For a moment or two Cedric stared at her as though uncomprehending.
“Martine? But who on earth—oh, you mean Martine?”
“Yes. Do you think—”
“Why on earth should it be Martine?”
“Well, her sending that telegram was odd when you come to think of it. It must have been roughly about the sametime… Do you think that she may, after all, have come down here and—”
“Nonsense. Why should Martine come down here and find her way into the Long Barn? What for? It seems wildlyunlikely to me.”
“You don’t think, perhaps, that I ought to tell Inspector²⁶ Bacon—or the other one?”
“Tell him what?”
“Well—about Martine. About her letter.”
“Now don’t you go complicating²⁷ things, sis, by bringing up a lot of irrelevant²⁸ stuff that has nothing to do with allthis. I was never very convinced about that letter from Martine, anyway.”
“I was.”
“You’ve always been good at believing impossible things before breakfast, old girl. My advice to you is, sit tight,and keep your mouth shut. It’s up to the police to identify their precious corpse²⁹. And I bet Harold would say thesame.”
“Oh, I know Harold would. And Alfred, also. But I’m worried, Cedric, I really am worried. I don’t know what Iought to do.”
“Nothing,” said Cedric promptly³⁰. “You keep your mouth shut, Emma. Never go halfway³¹ to meet trouble, that’s mymotto.”
Emma Crackenthorpe sighed. She went slowly back to the house uneasy in her mind.
As she came into the drive, Doctor Quimper emerged from the house and opened the door of his battered³² Austincar. He paused when he saw her, then leaving the car he came towards her.
“Well, Emma,” he said. “Your father’s in splendid shape. Murder suits him. It’s given him an interest in life. I mustrecommend it for more of my patients.”
Emma smiled mechanically. Dr. Quimper was always quick to notice reactions.
“Anything particular the matter?” he asked.
Emma looked up at him. She had come to rely a lot on the kindness and sympathy of the doctor. He had become afriend on whom to lean, not only a medical attendant. His calculated brusqueness did not deceive her—she knew thekindness that lay behind it.
“I am worried, yes,” she admitted.
“Care to tell me? Don’t if you don’t want to.”
“I’d like to tell you. Some of it you know already. The point is I don’t know what to do.”
“I should say your judgment³³ was usually most reliable. What’s the trouble?”
“You remember—or perhaps you don’t—what I once told you about my brother—the one who was killed in thewar?”
“You mean about his having married—or wanting to marry—a French girl? Something of that kind?”
“Yes. Almost immediately after I got that letter, he was killed. We never heard anything of or about the girl. All weknew, actually, was her christian³⁴ name. We always expected her to write or to turn up, but she didn’t. We never heardanything—until about a month ago, just before Christmas.”
“I remember. You got a letter, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Saying she was in England and would like to come and see us. It was all arranged and then, at the lastminute, she sent a wire that she had to return unexpectedly to France.”
“Well?”
“The police think that this woman who was killed—was French.”
“They do, do they? She looked more of an English type to me, but one can’t really judge. What’s worrying youthen, is that just possibly the dead woman might be your brother’s girl?”
“Yes.”
“I think it’s most unlikely,” said Dr. Quimper, adding: “But all the same, I understand what you feel.”
“I’m wondering if I ought not to tell the police about—about it all. Cedric and the others say it’s quite unnecessary.
What do you think?”
“Hm.” Dr. Quimper pursed his lips. He was silent for a moment or two, deep in thought. Then he said, almostunwillingly, “It’s much simpler, of course, if you say nothing. I can understand what your brothers feel about it. Allthe same—”
“Yes?”
Quimper looked at her. His eyes had an affectionate twinkle in them.
“I’d go ahead and tell ’em,” he said. “You’ll go on worrying if you don’t. I know you.”
Emma flushed a little.
“Perhaps I’m foolish.”
“You do what you want to do, my dear—and let the rest of the family go hang! I’d back your judgment against thelot of them any day.”

1 pigsty   

n.猪圈，脏房间

参考例句：

• How can you live in this pigsty?你怎能这住在这样肮脏的屋里呢？
• We need to build a new pigsty for the pigs.我们需修建一个新猪圈。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 disparagingly   

adv.以贬抑的口吻，以轻视的态度

参考例句：

• These mythological figures are described disparagingly as belonging only to a story. 这些神话人物被轻蔑地描述为“仅在传说中出现”的人物。 来自互联网
• In his memoirs he often speaks disparagingly about the private sector. 在他的回忆录里面他经常轻蔑的谈及私营（商业）部门。 来自互联网

4 greasy   

adj. 多脂的，油脂的

参考例句：

• He bought a heavy-duty cleanser to clean his greasy oven.昨天他买了强力清洁剂来清洗油污的炉子。
• You loathe the smell of greasy food when you are seasick.当你晕船时，你会厌恶油腻的气味。

5 defiantly   

adv.挑战地，大胆对抗地

参考例句：

• Braving snow and frost, the plum trees blossomed defiantly. 红梅傲雪凌霜开。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She tilted her chin at him defiantly. 她向他翘起下巴表示挑衅。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

7 smears   

污迹( smear的名词复数 )； 污斑； （显微镜的）涂片； 诽谤

参考例句：

• His evidence was a blend of smears, half truths and downright lies. 他的证词里掺杂着诽谤、部份的事实和彻头彻尾的谎言。
• Anything written with a soft pencil smears easily. 用软铅笔写成的东西容易污成一片。

8 sculpt   

n.雕刻，雕塑，雕刻品，雕塑品

参考例句：

• When I sculpt,my style is expressionistic.我的雕刻风格是表现主义。
• Then,sculpt the remaining fringe parting.然后雕刻剩余的边缘部分。

9 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

10 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

11 disposition   

n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署

参考例句：

• He has made a good disposition of his property.他已对财产作了妥善处理。
• He has a cheerful disposition.他性情开朗。

12 prolific   

adj.丰富的，大量的；多产的，富有创造力的

参考例句：

• She is a prolific writer of novels and short stories.她是一位多产的作家，写了很多小说和短篇故事。
• The last few pages of the document are prolific of mistakes.这个文件的最后几页错误很多。

13 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

14 cracker   

n.（无甜味的）薄脆饼干

参考例句：

• Buy me some peanuts and cracker.给我买一些花生和饼干。
• There was a cracker beside every place at the table.桌上每个位置旁都有彩包爆竹。

15 jacks   

n.抓子游戏；千斤顶( jack的名词复数 )；（电）插孔；[电子学]插座；放弃

参考例句：

• Hydraulic jacks under the machine produce the movement. 是机器下面的液压千斤顶造成的移动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The front end is equipped with hydraulic jacks used for grade adjustment. 前瑞安装有液压千斤顶用来调整坡度。 来自辞典例句

16 delicacies   

n.棘手( delicacy的名词复数 )；精致；精美的食物；周到

参考例句：

• Its flesh has exceptional delicacies. 它的肉异常鲜美。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• After these delicacies, the trappers were ready for their feast. 在享用了这些美食之后，狩猎者开始其大餐。 来自英汉非文学 - 民俗

17 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

18 dabbled   

v.涉猎( dabble的过去式和过去分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资

参考例句：

• He dabbled in business. 他搞过一点生意。 来自辞典例句
• His vesture was dabbled in blood. 他穿的衣服上溅满了鲜血。 来自辞典例句

19 peeved   

adj.恼怒的，不高兴的v.（使）气恼，（使）焦躁，（使）愤怒( peeve的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sounded peeved about not being told. 没人通知他，为此他气哼哼的。
• She was very peeved about being left out. 她为被遗漏而恼怒。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

20 rumours   

n.传闻( rumour的名词复数 )；风闻；谣言；谣传

参考例句：

• The rumours were completely baseless. 那些谣传毫无根据。
• Rumours of job losses were later confirmed. 裁员的传言后来得到了证实。

21 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

22 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

23 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

24 perturbed   

adj.烦燥不安的v.使（某人）烦恼，不安( perturb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I am deeply perturbed by the alarming way the situation developing. 我对形势令人忧虑的发展深感不安。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mother was much perturbed by my illness. 母亲为我的病甚感烦恼不安。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

25 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

26 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。

27 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

28 irrelevant   

adj.不恰当的，无关系的，不相干的

参考例句：

• That is completely irrelevant to the subject under discussion.这跟讨论的主题完全不相关。
• A question about arithmetic is irrelevant in a music lesson.在音乐课上，一个数学的问题是风马牛不相及的。

29 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

30 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

31 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

32 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

33 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

34 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。