Nineteen

Nineteen
I“I t’s too dreadful,” said Miss Knight¹. She put down her parcels and gasped² for breath.
“Something has happened?” asked Miss Marple.
“I really don’t like to tell you about it, dear, I really don’t. It might be a shock to you.”
“If you don’t tell me,” said Miss Marple, “somebody else will.”
“Dear, dear, that’s true enough,” said Miss Knight. “Yes, that’s terribly true. Everybody talks too much, they say.
And I’m sure there’s a lot in that. I never repeat anything myself. Very careful I am.”
“You were saying,” said Miss Marple, “that something rather terrible had happened?”
“It really quite bowled me over,” said Miss Knight. “Are you sure you don’t feel the draught³ from that window,dear?”
“I like a little fresh air,” said Miss Marple.
“Ah, but we mustn’t catch cold, must we?” said Miss Knight archly. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll just pop out and makeyou a nice eggnog. We’d like that, wouldn’t we?”
“I don’t know whether you would like it,” said Miss Marple. “I should be delighted for you to have it if you wouldlike it.”
“Now, now,” said Miss Knight, shaking her finger, “so fond of our joke, aren’t we?”
“But you were going to tell me something,” said Miss Marple.
“Well, you mustn’t worry about it,” said Miss Knight, “and you mustn’t let it make you nervous in anyway,because I’m sure it’s nothing to do with us. But with all these American gangsters⁴ and things like that, well I supposeit’s nothing to be surprised about.”
“Somebody else has been killed,” said Miss Marple, “is that it?”
“Oh, that’s very sharp of you, dear. I don’t know what should put such a thing into your head.”
“As a matter of fact,” said Miss Marple thoughtfully, “I’ve been expecting it.”
“Oh, really!” exclaimed Miss Knight.
“Somebody always sees something,” said Miss Marple, “only sometimes it takes a little while for them to realizewhat it is they have seen. Who is it who’s dead?”
“The Italian butler. He was shot last night.”
“I see,” said Miss Marple thoughtfully. “Yes, very likely, of course, but I should have thought that he’d haverealized before now the importance of what he saw—”
“Really!” exclaimed Miss Knight. “You talk as though you knew all about it. Why should he have been killed?”
“I expect,” said Miss Marple, thoughtfully, “that he tried to blackmail⁵ somebody.”
“He went to London yesterday, they say.”
“Did he now,” said Miss Marple, “that’s very interesting, and suggestive too, I think.”
Miss Knight departed to the kitchen intent on the concoction⁶ of nourishing beverages⁷. Miss Marple remainedsitting thoughtfully till disturbed by the loud aggressive humming of the vacuum cleaner, assisted by Cherry’s voicesinging the latest favourite ditty of the moment, “I Said to You and You Said to Me.”
Miss Knight popped her head round the kitchen door.
“Not quite so much noise, please, Cherry,” she said. “You don’t want to disturb Miss Marple, do you? You mustn’tbe thoughtless, you know.”
She shut the kitchen door again as Cherry remarked, either to herself or the world at large, “And who said youcould call me Cherry, you old jelly-bag?” The vacuum continued to whine⁸ while Cherry sang in a more subduedvoice. Miss Marple called in a high clear voice:
“Cherry, come here a minute.”
Cherry switched off the vacuum and opened the drawing room door.
“I didn’t mean to disturb you by singing, Miss Marple.”
“Your singing is much pleasanter than the horrid⁹ noise that vacuum makes,” said Miss Marple, “but I know one hasto go with the times. It would be no use on earth asking any of you young people to use the dustpan and brush in theold-fashioned way.”
“What, get down on my knees with a dustpan and brush?” Cherry registered alarm and surprise.
“Quite unheard of, I know,” said Miss Marple. “Come in and shut the door. I called you because I wanted to talk toyou.”
Cherry obeyed and came towards Miss Marple looking inquiringly at her.
“We’ve not much time,” said Miss Marple. “That old— Miss Knight I mean—will come in any moment with anegg drink of some kind.”
“Good for you, I expect. It’ll pep you up,” said Cherry encouragingly.
“Had you heard,” asked Miss Marple, “that the butler at Gossington Hall was shot last night?”
“What, the wop?” demanded Cherry.
“Yes. His name is Giuseppe, I understand.”
“No,” said Cherry, “I hadn’t heard that. I heard that Mr. Rudd’s secretary had a heart attack yesterday, andsomebody said she was actually dead—but I suspect that was just a rumour¹⁰. Who told you about the butler?”
“Miss Knight came back and told me.”
“Of course I haven’t seen anyone to speak to this morning,” said Cherry, “not before coming along here. I expectthe news has only just got round. Was he bumped off?” she demanded.
“That seems to be assumed,” said Miss Marple, “whether rightly or wrongly I don’t quite know.”
“This is a wonderful place for talk,” said Cherry. “I wonder if Gladys got to see him or not,” she addedthoughtfully.
“Gladys?”
“Oh, a sort of friend of mine. She lives a few doors away. Works in the canteen at the studios.”
“And she talked to you about Giuseppe?”
“Well, there was something that struck her as a bit funny and she was going to ask him what he thought about it.
But if you ask me it was just an excuse—she’s a bit sweet on him. Of course he’s quite handsome and Italians do havea way with them— I told her to be careful about him, though. You know what Italians are.”
“He went to London yesterday,” said Miss Marple, “and only returned in the evening I understand.”
“I wonder if she managed to get to see him before he went.”
“Why did she want to see him, Cherry?”
“It was just something which she felt was a bit funny,” said Cherry.
Miss Marple looked at her inquiringly. She was able to take the word “funny” at the valuation it usually had for theGladyses of the neighbourhood.
“She was one of the girls who helped at the party there,” explained Cherry. “The day of the fête. You know, whenMrs. Badcock got hers.”
“Yes?” Miss Marple was looking more alert than ever, much as a fox terrier might look at a waiting rat hole.
“And there was something that she saw that struck her as a bit funny.”
“Why didn’t she go to the police about it?”
“Well, she didn’t really think it meant anything, you see,” explained Cherry. “Anyway she thought she’d better askMr. Giuseppe first.”
“What was it that she saw that day?”
“Frankly,” said Cherry, “what she told me seemed nonsense! I’ve wondered, perhaps, if she was just putting me off—and what she was going to see Mr. Giuseppe about was something quite different.”
“What did she say?” Miss Marple was patient and pursuing.
Cherry frowned. “She was talking about Mrs. Badcock and the cocktail¹¹ and she said she was quite near her at thetime. And she said she did it herself.”
“Did what herself?”
“Spilt her cocktail all down her dress, and ruined it.”
“You mean it was clumsiness?”
“No, not clumsiness. Gladys said she did it on purpose—that she meant to do it. Well, I mean, that doesn’t makesense, does it, however you look at it?”
Miss Marple shook her head, perplexed¹². “No,” she said. “Certainly not—no, I can’t see any sense in that.”
“She’d got on a new dress too,” said Cherry. “That’s how the subject came up. Gladys wondered whether she’d beable to buy it. Said it ought to clean all right but she didn’t like to go and ask Mr. Badcock herself. She’s very good atdressmaking, Gladys is, and she said it was lovely stuff. Royal blue artificial taffeta; and she said even if the stuff wasruined where the cocktail stained it, she could take out a seam—half a breadth say—because it was one of those fullskirts.”
Miss Marple considered this dressmaking problem for a moment and then set it aside.
“But you think your friend Gladys might have been keeping something back?”
“Well, I just wondered because I don’t see if that’s all she saw— Heather Badcock deliberately¹³ spilling her cocktailover herself— I don’t see that there’d be anything to ask Mr. Giuseppe about, do you?”
“No, I don’t,” said Miss Marple. She sighed. “But it’s always interesting when one doesn’t see,” she added. “If youdon’t see what a thing means you must be looking at it wrong way round, unless of course you haven’t got fullinformation. Which is probably the case here.” She sighed. “It’s a pity she didn’t go straight to the police.”
The door opened and Miss Knight bustled¹⁴ in holding a tall tumbler with a delicious pale yellow froth on top.
“Now here you are, dear,” she said, “a nice little treat. We’re going to enjoy this.”
She pulled forward a little table and placed it beside her employer. Then she turned a glance on Cherry. “Thevacuum cleaner,” she said coldly, “is left in a most difficult position in the hall. I nearly fell over it. Anyone might havean accident.”
“Right-ho,” said Cherry. “I’d better get on with things.”
She left the room.
“Really,” said Miss Knight, “that Mrs. Baker¹⁵! I’m continually having to speak to her about something or other.
Leaving vacuum cleaners all over the place and coming in here chattering¹⁶ to you when you want to be quiet.”
“I called her in,” said Miss Marple. “I wanted to speak to her.”
“Well, I hope you mentioned the way the beds are made,” said Miss Knight. “I was quite shocked when I came toturn down your bed last night. I had to make it all over again.”
“That was very kind of you,” said Miss Marple.
“Oh, I never grudge¹⁷ being helpful,” said Miss Knight. “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it. To make a certain person weknow as comfortable and happy as possible. Oh dear, dear,” she added, “you’ve pulled out a lot of your knittingagain.”
Miss Marple leaned back and closed her eyes. “I’m going to have a little rest,” she said. “Put the glass here—thankyou. And please don’t come in and disturb me for at least three-quarters of an hour.”
“Indeed I won’t, dear,” said Miss Knight. “And I’ll tell that Mrs. Baker to be very quiet.”
She bustled out purposefully.
II
The good-looking young American glanced round him in a puzzled way.
The ramifications¹⁸ of the housing estate perplexed him.
He addressed himself politely to an old lady with white hair and pink cheeks who seemed to be the only humanbeing in sight.
“Excuse me, ma’am, but could you tell me where to find Blenheim Close?”
The old lady considered him for a moment. He had just begun to wonder if she was deaf, and had prepared himselfto repeat his demand in a louder voice, when she spoke¹⁹.
“Along here to the right, then turn left, second to the right again, and straight on. What number do you want?”
“No. 16.” He consulted a small piece of paper. “Gladys Dixon.”
“That’s right,” said the old lady. “But I believe she works at the Hellingforth Studios. In the canteen. You’ll findher there if you want her.”
“She didn’t turn up this morning,” explained the young man. “I want to get hold of her to come up to GossingtonHall. We’re very shorthanded there today.”
“Of course,” said the old lady. “The butler was shot last night, wasn’t he?”
The young man was slightly staggered by this reply.
“I guess news gets round pretty quickly in these parts,” he said.
“It does indeed,” said the old lady. “Mr. Rudd’s secretary died of some kind of seizure²⁰ yesterday, too, Iunderstand.” She shook her head. “Terrible. Quite terrible. What are we coming to?”

1 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

2 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》

3 draught   

n.拉，牵引，拖；一网（饮，吸，阵)；顿服药量，通风；v.起草，设计

参考例句：

• He emptied his glass at one draught.他将杯中物一饮而尽。
• It's a pity the room has no north window and you don't get a draught.可惜这房间没北窗，没有过堂风。

4 gangsters   

匪徒，歹徒( gangster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gangsters offered him a sum equivalent to a whole year's earnings. 歹徒提出要给他一笔相当于他一年收入的钱。
• One of the gangsters was caught by the police. 歹徒之一被警察逮捕。

5 blackmail   

n.讹诈，敲诈，勒索，胁迫，恫吓

参考例句：

• She demanded ＄1000 blackmail from him.她向他敲诈了1000美元。
• The journalist used blackmail to make the lawyer give him the documents.记者讹诈那名律师交给他文件。

6 concoction   

n.调配(物)；谎言

参考例句：

• She enjoyed the concoction of foreign dishes.她喜欢调制外国菜。
• His story was a sheer concoction.他的故事实在是一纯属捏造之事。

7 beverages   

n.饮料( beverage的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• laws governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 控制酒类销售的法规
• regulations governing the sale of alcoholic beverages 含酒精饮料的销售管理条例

8 whine   

v.哀号，号哭；n.哀鸣

参考例句：

• You are getting paid to think,not to whine.支付给你工资是让你思考而不是哀怨的。
• The bullet hit a rock and rocketed with a sharp whine.子弹打在一块岩石上，一声尖厉的呼啸，跳飞开去。

9 horrid   

adj.可怕的；令人惊恐的；恐怖的；极讨厌的

参考例句：

• I'm not going to the horrid dinner party.我不打算去参加这次讨厌的宴会。
• The medicine is horrid and she couldn't get it down.这种药很难吃，她咽不下去。

10 rumour   

n.谣言，谣传，传闻

参考例句：

• I should like to know who put that rumour about.我想知道是谁散布了那谣言。
• There has been a rumour mill on him for years.几年来，一直有谣言产生，对他进行中伤。

11 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。

12 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。

13 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

14 bustled   

闹哄哄地忙乱，奔忙( bustle的过去式和过去分词 )； 催促

参考例句：

• She bustled around in the kitchen. 她在厨房里忙得团团转。
• The hostress bustled about with an assumption of authority. 女主人摆出一副权威的样子忙来忙去。

15 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

16 chattering   

n. （机器振动发出的）咔嗒声，(鸟等)鸣，啁啾 adj. 喋喋不休的，啾啾声的 动词chatter的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The teacher told the children to stop chattering in class. 老师叫孩子们在课堂上不要叽叽喳喳讲话。
• I was so cold that my teeth were chattering. 我冷得牙齿直打战。

17 grudge   

n.不满，怨恨，妒嫉；vt.勉强给，不情愿做

参考例句：

• I grudge paying so much for such inferior goods.我不愿花这么多钱买次品。
• I do not grudge him his success.我不嫉妒他的成功。

18 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 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。

20 seizure   

n.没收；占有；抵押

参考例句：

• The seizure of contraband is made by customs.那些走私品是被海关没收的。
• The courts ordered the seizure of all her property.法院下令查封她所有的财产。