LILY KIMBLE

Twelve
LILY KIMBLE
L ily Kimble spread a couple of old newspapers on the kitchen table in readiness for draining the chipped potatoeswhich were hissing¹ in the pan. Humming tunelessly a popular melody of the day she leaned forward aimlesslystudying the newsprint spread out before her.
Then suddenly she stopped humming and called: “Jim—Jim. Listen here, will you?”
Jim Kimble, an elderly man of few words, was washing at the scullery sink. To answer his wife, he used hisfavourite monosyllable.
“Ar?” said Jim Kimble.
“It’s a piece in the paper. Will anyone with any knowledge of Helen Spenlove Halliday, née Kennedy,communicate with Messrs. Reed and Hardy², Southampton Row! Seems to me they might be meaning Mrs. Halliday asI was in service with at St. Catherine’s. Took it from Mrs. Findeyson, they did, she and ’er ’usband. Her name wasHelen right enough—Yes, and she was sister to Dr. Kennedy, him as always said I ought to have had my adenoidsout.”
There was a momentary³ pause as Mrs. Kimble adjusted the frying chips with an expert touch. Jim Kimble wassnorting into the roller towel as he dried his face.
“Course, it’s an old paper, this,” resumed Mrs. Kimble. She studied its date. “Nigh on a week or more old. Wonderwhat it’s all about? Think as there’s any money in it, Jim?”
Mr. Kimble said, “Ar,” noncommittally.
“Might be a will or something,” speculated his wife. “Powerful lot of time ago.”
“Ar.”
“Eighteen years or more, I shouldn’t wonder … Wonder what they’re raking it all up for now? You don’t think itcould be police, do you, Jim?
“Whatever?” asked Mr. Kimble.
“Well, you know what I always thought,” said Mrs. Kimble mysteriously. “Told you at the time, I did, when wewas walking out. Pretending that she’d gone off with a feller. That’s what they say, husbands, when they do theirwives in. Depend upon it, it was murder. That’s what I said to you and what I said to Edie, but Edie she wouldn’t haveit at any price. Never no imagination, Edie hadn’t. Those clothes she was supposed to have took away with her—well,they weren’t right, if you know what I mean. There was a suitcase gone and a bag, and enough clothes to fill ’em, butthey wasn’t right, those clothes. And that’s when I said to Edie, ‘Depend upon it,’ I said, ‘the master’s murdered herand put her in the cellar.’ Only not really the cellar, because that Layonee, the Swiss nurse, she saw something. Out ofthe window. Come to the cinema along of me, she did, though she wasn’t supposed to leave the nursery—but there, Isaid, the child never wakes up—good as gold she was, always, in her bed at night. ‘And madam never comes up to thenursery in the evening,’ I says. ‘Nobody will know if you slip out with me.’ So she did. And when we got in there wasever such a schemozzle going on. Doctor was there and the master ill and sleeping in the dressing⁴ room, and thedoctor looking after him, and it was then he asked me about the clothes, and it seemed all right at the time. I thoughtshe’d gone off all right with that fellow she was so keen on—and him a married man, too—and Edie said she did hopeand pray we wouldn’t be mixed up in any divorce case. What was his name now? I can’t remember. Began with an M—or was it an R? Bless us, your memory does go.”
Mr. Kimble came in from the scullery and ignoring all matters of lesser⁵ moment demanded if his supper was ready.
“I’ll just drain the chips … Wait, I’ll get another paper. Better keep this one. ’T wouldn’t be likely to be police—not after all this time. Maybe it’s lawyers—and money in it. It doesn’t say something to your advantage … but itmight be all the same … Wish I knew who I could ask about it. It says write to some address in London—but I’m notsure I’d like to do a thing like that … not to a lot of people in London … What do you say, Jim?”
“Ar,” said Mr. Kimble, hungrily eyeing the fish and chips.
The discussion was postponed⁶.

1 hissing   

n. 发嘶嘶声, 蔑视 动词hiss的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• The steam escaped with a loud hissing noise. 蒸汽大声地嘶嘶冒了出来。
• His ears were still hissing with the rustle of the leaves. 他耳朵里还听得萨萨萨的声音和屑索屑索的怪声。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

2 hardy   

adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的

参考例句：

• The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
• He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。

3 momentary   

adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的

参考例句：

• We are in momentary expectation of the arrival of you.我们无时无刻不在盼望你的到来。
• I caught a momentary glimpse of them.我瞥了他们一眼。

4 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

5 lesser   

adj.次要的，较小的；adv.较小地，较少地

参考例句：

• Kept some of the lesser players out.不让那些次要的球员参加联赛。
• She has also been affected,but to a lesser degree.她也受到波及，但程度较轻。

6 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。