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Chapter Nine
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Chapter Nine
IE lvira Blake looked up at the sky, noted1 that it was a fine morning and went into a telephone box. She dialledBridget’s number in Onslow Square. Satisfied by the response, she said:
“Hallo? Bridget?”
“Oh Elvira, is that you?” Bridget’s voice sounded agitated2.
“Yes. Has everything been all right?”
“Oh no. It’s been awful. Your cousin, Mrs. Melford, rang up Mummy yesterday afternoon.”
“What, about me?”
“Yes. I thought I’d done it so well when I rang her up at lunchtime. But it seems she got worried about your teeth.
Thought there might be something really wrong with them. Abscesses or something. So she rang up the dentist herselfand found, of course, that you’d never been there at all. So then she rang up Mummy and unfortunately Mummy wasright there by the telephone. So I couldn’t get there first. And naturally Mummy said she didn’t know anything aboutit, and that you certainly weren’t staying here. I didn’t know what to do.”
“What did you do?”
“Pretended I knew nothing about it. I did say that I thought you’d said something about going to see some friendsat Wimbledon.”
“Why Wimbledon?”
“It was the first place came into my head.”
Elvira sighed. “Oh well, I suppose I’ll have to cook up something. An old governess, perhaps, who lives atWimbledon. All this fussing does make things so complicated. I hope Cousin Mildred doesn’t make a real fool ofherself and ring up the police or something like that.”
“Are you going down there now?”
“Not till this evening. I’ve got a lot to do first.”
“You got to Ireland. Was it—all right?”
“I found out what I wanted to know.”
“You sound—sort of grim.”
“I’m feeling grim.”
“Can’t I help you, Elvira? Do anything?”
“Nobody can help me really…It’s a thing I have to do myself. I hoped something wasn’t true, but it is true. I don’tknow quite what to do about it.”
“Are you in danger, Elvira?”
“Don’t be melodramatic, Bridget. I’ll have to be careful, that’s all. I’ll have to be very careful.”
“Then you are in danger.”
Elvira said after a moment’s pause, “I expect I’m just imagining things, that’s all.”
“Elvira, what are you going to do about that bracelet3?”
“Oh, that’s all right. I’ve arranged to get some money from someone, so I can go and—what’s the word—redeemit. Then just take it back to Bollards.”
“D’you think they’ll be all right about it?—No, Mummy, it’s just the laundry. They say we never sent that sheet.
Yes, Mummy, yes, I’ll tell the manageress. All right then.”
At the other end of the line Elvira grinned and put down the receiver. She opened her purse, sorted through hermoney, counted out the coins she needed and arranged them in front of her and proceeded to put through a call. Whenshe got the number she wanted she put in the necessary coins, pressed Button A and spoke4 in a small rather breathlessvoice.
“Hallo, Cousin Mildred. Yes, it’s me…I’m terribly sorry…Yes, I know…well I was going to…yes it was dear oldMaddy, you know our old Mademoiselle…yes I wrote a postcard, then I forgot to post it. It’s still in my pocket now…well, you see she was ill and there was no one to look after her and so I just stopped to see she was all right. Yes, I wasgoing to Bridget’s but this changed things…I don’t understand about the message you got. Someone must havejumbled it up…Yes, I’ll explain it all to you when I get back…yes, this afternoon. No, I shall just wait and see thenurse who’s coming to look after old Maddy—well, not really a nurse. You know one of those—er—practical aidnurses or something like that. No, she would hate to go to hospital…But I am sorry, Cousin Mildred, I really am very,very sorry.” She put down the receiver and sighed in an exasperated5 manner. “If only,” she murmured to herself, “onedidn’t have to tell so many lies to everybody.”
She came out of the telephone box, noting as she did so the big newspaper placards— BIG TRAIN ROBBERY. IRISHMAIL ATTACKED BY BANDITS.
II
Mr. Bollard was serving a customer when the shop door opened. He looked up to see the Honourable6 Elvira Blakeentering.
“No,” she said to an assistant who came forward to her. “I’d rather wait until Mr. Bollard is free.”
Presently Mr. Bollard’s customer’s business was concluded and Elvira moved into the vacant place.
“Good morning, Mr. Bollard,” she said.
“I’m afraid your watch isn’t done quite as soon as this, Miss Elvira,” said Mr. Bollard.
“Oh, it’s not the watch,” said Elvira. “I’ve come to apologize. A dreadful thing happened.” She opened her bag andtook out a small box. From it she extracted the sapphire7 and diamond bracelet. “You will remember when I came inwith my watch to be repaired that I was looking at things for a Christmas present and there was an accident outside inthe street. Somebody was run over I think, or nearly run over. I suppose I must have had the bracelet in my hand andput it into the pocket of my suit without thinking, although I only found it this morning. So I rushed along at once tobring it back. I’m so terribly sorry, Mr. Bollard, I don’t know how I came to do such an idiotic8 thing.”
“Why, that’s quite all right, Miss Elvira,” said Mr. Bollard, slowly.
“I suppose you thought someone had stolen it,” said Elvira.
Her limpid9 blue eyes met him.
“We had discovered its loss,” said Mr. Bollard. “Thank you very much, Miss Elvira, for bringing it back sopromptly.”
“I felt simply awful about it when I found it,” said Elvira. “Well, thank you very much, Mr. Bollard, for being sonice about it.”
“A lot of strange mistakes do occur,” said Mr. Bollard. He smiled at her in an avuncular10 manner. “We won’t thinkof it anymore. But don’t do it again, though.” He laughed with the air of one making a genial11 little joke.
“Oh no,” said Elvira, “I shall be terribly careful in future.”
She smiled at him, turned and left the shop.
“Now I wonder,” said Mr. Bollard to himself, “I really do wonder….”
One of his partners, who had been standing12 near, moved nearer to him.
“So she did take it?” he said.
“Yes. She took it all right,” said Mr. Bollard.
“But she brought it back,” his partner pointed13 out.
“She brought it back,” agreed Mr. Bollard. “I didn’t actually expect that.”
“You mean you didn’t expect her to bring it back?”
“No, not if it was she who’d taken it.”
“Do you think her story is true?” his partner inquired curiously14. “I mean, that she slipped it into her pocket byaccident?”
“I suppose it’s possible,” said Bollard, thoughtfully.
“Or it could be kleptomania15, I suppose.”
“Or it could be kleptomania,” agreed Bollard. “It’s more likely that she took it on purpose…But if so, why did shebring it back so soon? It’s curious—”
“Just as well we didn’t notify the police. I admit I wanted to.”
“I know, I know. You haven’t got as much experience as I have. In this case, it was definitely better not.” He addedsoftly to himself, “The thing’s interesting, though. Quite interesting. I wonder how old she is? Seventeen or eighteen Isuppose. She might have got herself in a jam of some kind.”
“I thought you said she was rolling in money.”
“You may be an heiress and rolling in money,” said Bollard, “but at seventeen you can’t always get your hands onit. The funny thing is, you know, they keep heiresses much shorter of cash than they keep the more impecunious16. It’snot always a good idea. Well, I don’t suppose we shall ever know the truth of it.”
He put the bracelet back in its place in the display case and shut down the lid.

点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 noted 5n4zXc     
adj.著名的,知名的
参考例句:
  • The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
  • Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。
2 agitated dzgzc2     
adj.被鼓动的,不安的
参考例句:
  • His answers were all mixed up,so agitated was he.他是那样心神不定,回答全乱了。
  • She was agitated because her train was an hour late.她乘坐的火车晚点一个小时,她十分焦虑。
3 bracelet nWdzD     
n.手镯,臂镯
参考例句:
  • The jeweler charges lots of money to set diamonds in a bracelet.珠宝匠要很多钱才肯把钻石镶在手镯上。
  • She left her gold bracelet as a pledge.她留下她的金手镯作抵押品。
4 spoke XryyC     
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。
5 exasperated ltAz6H     
adj.恼怒的
参考例句:
  • We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
  • Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。
6 honourable honourable     
adj.可敬的;荣誉的,光荣的
参考例句:
  • I don't think I am worthy of such an honourable title.这样的光荣称号,我可担当不起。
  • I hope to find an honourable way of settling difficulties.我希望设法找到一个体面的办法以摆脱困境。
7 sapphire ETFzw     
n.青玉,蓝宝石;adj.天蓝色的
参考例句:
  • Now let us consider crystals such as diamond or sapphire.现在让我们考虑象钻石和蓝宝石这样的晶体。
  • He left a sapphire ring to her.他留给她一枚蓝宝石戒指。
8 idiotic wcFzd     
adj.白痴的
参考例句:
  • It is idiotic to go shopping with no money.去买东西而不带钱是很蠢的。
  • The child's idiotic deeds caused his family much trouble.那小孩愚蠢的行为给家庭带来许多麻烦。
9 limpid 43FyK     
adj.清澈的,透明的
参考例句:
  • He has a pair of limpid blue eyes.他有一双清澈的蓝眼睛。
  • The sky was a limpid blue,as if swept clean of everything.碧空如洗。
10 avuncular TVTzX     
adj.叔伯般的,慈祥的
参考例句:
  • He began to talk in his most gentle and avuncular manner.他开始讲话了,态度极其和蔼而慈祥。
  • He was now playing the role of disinterested host and avuncular mentor.他现在正扮演着慷慨的主人和伯父似的指导人的角色。
11 genial egaxm     
adj.亲切的,和蔼的,愉快的,脾气好的
参考例句:
  • Orlando is a genial man.奥兰多是一位和蔼可亲的人。
  • He was a warm-hearted friend and genial host.他是个热心的朋友,也是友善待客的主人。
12 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
13 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
14 curiously 3v0zIc     
adv.有求知欲地;好问地;奇特地
参考例句:
  • He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
  • He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。
15 kleptomania c9Rzz     
n.盗窃癖
参考例句:
  • Kleptomania is a mania for stealing things.盗窃癖是一种爱偷东西的躁狂症。
  • The millionaire who was caught shoplifting was found to be suffering from kleptomania.那个因逛街时顺手牵羊而被捉到的百万富翁,被发现有盗窃癖。
16 impecunious na1xG     
adj.不名一文的,贫穷的
参考例句:
  • He is impecunious,does not know anyone who can lend mony.他身无分文,也不认识任何可以借钱的人。
  • They are independent,impecunious and able to tolerate all degrees of discomfort.他们独立自主,囊中羞涩,并且能够忍受各种不便。


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