They found Evans waiting in the dining room. He rose respectfully ontheir entrance.
He was a short thickset man. He had very long arms and a habit ofstanding with his hands half clenched1. He was clean shaven with small,rather piglike eyes, yet he had a look of cheerfulness and efficiency thatredeemed his bulldog appearance.
Inspector2 Narracott mentally tabulated3 his impressions.
“Intelligent. Shrewd and practical. Looks rattled4.”
Then he spoke5:
“You’re Evans, eh?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Christian names?”
“Robert Henry.”
“Ah! Now what do you know about this business?”
“Not a thing, sir. It’s fair knocked me over. To think of the Capting beingdone in!”
“When did you last see your master?”
“Two o’clock I should say it was, sir. I cleared away the lunch things andlaid the table here as you see for supper. The Capting, he told me as Ineedn’t come back.”
“What do you usually do?”
“As a general rule, I come back about seven for a couple of hours. Not al-ways—sometimes the Capting would say as I needn’t.”
“Then you weren’t surprised when he told you that yesterday youwouldn’t be wanted again?”
“No, sir. I didn’t come back the evening before either—on account of theweather. Very considerate gentleman, the Capting was, as long as youdidn’t try to shirk things. I knew him and his ways pretty well.”
“What exactly did he say?”
“Well, he looked out of the window and he says, ‘Not a hope of Burnabytoday.’ ‘Shouldn’t wonder,’ he says, ‘if Sittaford isn’t cut off altogether.
Don’t remember such a winter since I was a boy.’ That was his friend Ma-jor Burnaby over to Sittaford that he was referring to. Always comes on aFriday, he does, he and the Capting play chess and do acrostics. And onTuesdays the Capting would go to Major Burnaby’s. Very regular in hishabits was the Capting. Then he said to me: ‘You can go now, Evans, andyou needn’t come till tomorrow morning.’ ”
“Apart from his reference to Major Burnaby, he didn’t speak of expect-ing anyone that afternoon?”
“No, sir, not a word.”
“There was nothing unusual or different in any way in his manner?”
“No, sir, not that I could see.”
“Ah! Now I understand, Evans, that you have lately got married.”
“Yes, sir. Mrs. Belling’s daughter at the Three Crowns. Matter of twomonths ago, sir.”
“And Captain Trevelyan was not overpleased about it.”
A very faint grin appeared for a moment on Evans’s face.
“Cut up rough about it, he did, the Capting. My Rebecca is a fine girl, sir,and a very good cook. And I hoped we might have been able to do for theCapting together, but he—he wouldn’t hear of it. Said he wouldn’t havewomen servants about his house. In fact, sir, things were rather at a dead-lock when this South African lady came along and wanted to take SittafordHouse for the winter. The Capting he rented this place, I came in to do forhim every day, and I don’t mind telling you, sir, that I had been hopingthat by the end of the winter the Capting would have come round to theidea; and that me and Rebecca would go back to Sittaford with him. Why,he would never even know she was in the house. She would keep to thekitchen, and she would manage so that he would never meet her on thestairs.”
“Have you any idea what lay behind Captain Trevelyan’s dislike of wo-men?”
“Nothing to it, sir. Just an ’abit, sir, that’s all. I have seen many a gentle-man like it before. If you ask me, it’s nothing more or less than shyness.
Some young lady or other gives them a snub when they are young—andthey gets the ’abit.”
“Captain Trevelyan was not married?”
“No, indeed, sir.”
“What relations had he? Do you know?”
“I believe he had a sister living at Exeter, sir, and I think I have heardhim mention a nephew or nephews.”
“None of them ever came to see him?”
“No, sir. I think he quarrelled with his sister at Exeter.”
“Do you know her name?”
“Gardner, I think, sir, but I wouldn’t be sure.”
“You don’t know her address?”
“I’m afraid I don’t, sir.”
“Well, doubtless we shall come across that in looking through CaptainTrevelyan’s papers. Now, Evans, what were you yourself doing from fouro’clock onwards yesterday afternoon?”
“I was at home, sir.”
“Where’s home?”
“Just round the corner, sir, 85 Fore6 Street.”
“You didn’t go out at all?”
“Not likely, sir. Why, the snow was coming down a fair treat.”
“Yes, yes. Is there anyone who can support your statement?”
“Beg pardon, sir.”
“Is there anyone who knows that you were at home during that time?”
“My wife, sir.”
“She and you were alone in the house?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well, well, I have no doubt that’s all right. That will be all for thepresent, Evans.”
The ex-sailor hesitated. He shifted from one foot to the other.
“Anything I can do here, sir—in the way of tidying up?”
“No—the whole place is to be left exactly as it is for the present.”
“I see.”
“You had better wait, though, until I have had a look round,” said Narra-cott, “in case there might be any question I want to ask you.”
“Very good, sir.”
Inspector Narracott transferred his gaze from Evans to the room.
The interview had taken place in the dining room. On the table an even-ing meal was set out. A cold tongue, pickles7, a Stilton cheese and biscuits,and on a gas ring by the fire a saucepan containing soup. On the sideboardwas a tantalus, a soda8 water siphon, and two bottles of beer. There wasalso an immense array of silver cups and with them—a rather incongru-ous item—three very new-looking novels.
Inspector Narracott examined one or two of the cups and read the in-scriptions on them.
“Bit of a sportsman, Captain Trevelyan,” he observed.
“Yes, indeed, sir,” said Evans. “Been an athlete all his life, he had.”
Inspector Narracott read the titles of the novels. “Love Turns the Key,”
“The Merry Men of Lincoln,” “Love’s Prisoner.”
“H’m,” he remarked. “The Captain’s taste in literature seems somewhatincongruous.”
“Oh! that, sir.” Evans laughed. “That’s not for reading, sir. That’s theprizes he won in these Railway Pictures Names Competitions. Ten solu-tions the Capting sent in under different names, including mine, becausehe said 85 Fore Street was a likely address to give a prize to! The com-moner your name and address the more likely you were to get a prize inthe Capting’s opinion. And sure enough a prize I got—but not the ?2,000,only three new novels—and the kind of novels, in my opinion, that no onewould ever pay money for in a shop.”
Narracott smiled, then again mentioning that Evans was to wait, he pro-ceeded on his tour of inspection9. There was a large kind of cupboard inone corner of the room. It was almost a small room in itself. Here, packedin unceremoniously, were two pairs of skis, a pair of sculls mounted, tenor10 twelve hippopotamus11 tusks12, rods and lines and various fishing tackleincluding a book of flies, a bag of golf clubs, a tennis racket, an elephant’sfoot stuffed and mounted and a tiger skin. It was clear that, when CaptainTrevelyan had let Sittaford House furnished, he had removed his mostprecious possessions, distrustful of female influence.
“Funny idea—to bring all this with him,” said the Inspector. “The housewas only let for a few months, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right, sir.”
“Surely these things could have been locked up at Sittaford House?”
For the second time in the course of the interview, Evans grinned.
“That would have been much the easiest way of doing it,” he agreed.
“Not that there are many cupboards at Sittaford House. The architect andthe Capting planned it together, and it takes a female to understand thevalue of cupboard room. Still, as you say, sir, that would have been thecommonsense thing to do. Carting them down here was a job—I shouldsay it was a job! But there, the Capting couldn’t bear the idea of anyonemessing around with his things. And lock things up as you will, he says, awoman will always find a way of getting in. It’s curiosity, he says. Betternot lock them up at all if you don’t want her to handle them, he says. Butbest of all, take them along, and then you’re sure to be on the safe side. Sotake ’em along we did, and as I say, it was a job, and came expensive too.
But there, those things of the Capting’s was like his children.”
Evans paused, out of breath.
Inspector Narracott nodded thoughtfully. There was another point onwhich he wanted information, and it seemed to him that this was a goodmoment when the subject had arisen naturally.
“This Mrs. Willett,” he said casually13. “Was she an old friend or acquaint-ance of the Captain’s?”
“Oh no, sir, she was quite a stranger to him.”
“You are sure of that?” said the Inspector, sharply.
“Well—” the sharpness took the old sailor aback. “The Capting never ac-tually said so—but—Oh yes, I’m sure of it.”
“I ask,” explained the Inspector, “because it is a very curious time ofyear for a let. On the other hand, if this Mrs. Willett was acquainted withCaptain Trevelyan and knew the house, she might have written to him andsuggested taking it.”
Evans shook his head.
“ ’Twas the agents—Williamsons—that wrote, said they had an offerfrom a lady.”
Inspector Narracott frowned. He found this business of letting SittafordHouse distinctly odd.
“Captain Trevelyan and Mrs. Willett met, I suppose?” he asked.
“Oh! yes. She came to see the house and he took her over it.”
“And you’re positive they hadn’t met before?”
“Oh! quite, sir.”
“Did they—er—” the Inspector paused, as he tried to frame the questionnaturally. “Did they get on well together? Were they friendly?”
“The lady was.” A faint smile crossed Evans’s lips. “All over him, as youmight say. Admiring the house, and asking him if he’d planned the build-ing of it. Altogether laying it on thick, as you might say.”
“And the Captain?”
The smile broadened.
“That sort of gushing14 lady wasn’t likely to cut any ice with him. Polite hewas, but nothing more. And declined her invitations.”
“Invitations?”
“Yes, to consider the house as his own any time, and drop in, that’s howshe put it—drop in. You don’t drop in to a place when you’re living sixmiles away.”
“She seemed anxious to—well—to see something of the Captain?”
Narracott was wondering. Was that the reason for the taking of thehouse? Was it only a prelude15 to the making of Captain Trevelyan’s ac-quaintance? Was that the real game? It would probably not have occurredto her that the Captain would have gone as far as Exhampton to live. Shemight have calculated on his moving into one of the small bungalows16, per-haps sharing Major Burnaby’s.
Evans’s answer was not very helpful.
“She’s a very hospitable17 lady, by all accounts. Someone in to lunch ordinner every day.”
Narracott nodded. He could learn no more here. But he determined18 toseek an interview with this Mrs. Willett at an early date. Her abrupt19 ar-rival needed looking into.
“Come on, Pollock, we’ll go upstairs now,” he said.
They left Evans in the dining room and proceeded to the upper story.
“All right, do you think?” asked the Sergeant20 in a low voice, jerking hishead over his shoulder in the direction of the closed dining room door.
“He seems so,” said the Inspector. “But one never knows. He’s no fool,that fellow, whatever else he is.”
“No, he’s an intelligent sort of chap.”
“His story seems straightforward21 enough,” went on the Inspector. “Per-fectly clear and aboveboard. Still, as I say, one never knows.”
And with this pronouncement, very typical of his careful and suspiciousmind, the Inspector proceeded to search the rooms on the first floor.
There were three bedrooms and a bathroom. Two of the bedrooms wereempty and had clearly not been entered for some weeks. The third, Cap-tain Trevelyan’s own room, was in exquisite22 and apple- pie order. In-spector Narracott moved about in it, opening drawers and cupboards.
Everything was in its right place. It was the room of a man almost fanatic-ally tidy and neat in his habits. Narracott finished his inspection andglanced into the adjoining bathroom. Here, too, everything was in order.
He gave a last glance at the bed, neatly23 turned down, with folded pyjamaslaid ready.
Then he shook his head.
“Nothing here,” he said.
“No, everything seems in perfect order.”
“There are the papers in the desk in the study. You had better gothrough those, Pollock. I’ll tell Evans that he can go. I may call round andsee him at his own place later.”
“Very good, sir.”
“The body can be removed. I shall want to see Warren, by the way. Helives near here, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, sir.”
“This side of the Three Crowns or the other?”
“The other, sir.”
“Then I’ll take the Three Crowns first. Carry on, Sergeant.”
Pollock went to the dining room to dismiss Evans. The Inspector passedout of the front door and walked rapidly in the direction of the ThreeCrowns.
点击
收听单词发音
收听单词发音 |
1
clenched
|
|
| v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
2
inspector
|
|
| n.检查员，监察员，视察员 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
3
tabulated
|
|
| 把（数字、事实）列成表( tabulate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
4
rattled
|
|
| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
5
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： |
|
|
|
|
6
fore
|
|
| adv.在前面；adj.先前的；在前部的；n.前部 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
7
pickles
|
|
| n.腌菜( pickle的名词复数 )；处于困境；遇到麻烦；菜酱 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
8
soda
|
|
| n.苏打水；汽水 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
9
inspection
|
|
| n.检查，审查，检阅 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
10
tenor
|
|
| n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
11
hippopotamus
|
|
| n.河马 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
12
tusks
|
|
| n.（象等动物的）长牙( tusk的名词复数 )；獠牙；尖形物；尖头 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
13
casually
|
|
| adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
14
gushing
|
|
| adj.迸出的；涌出的；喷出的；过分热情的v.喷，涌( gush的现在分词 )；滔滔不绝地说话 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
15
prelude
|
|
| n.序言，前兆，序曲 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
16
bungalows
|
|
| n.平房( bungalow的名词复数 )；单层小屋，多于一层的小屋 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
17
hospitable
|
|
| adj.好客的；宽容的；有利的，适宜的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
18
determined
|
|
| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
19
abrupt
|
|
| adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
20
sergeant
|
|
| n.警官，中士 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
21
straightforward
|
|
| adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
22
exquisite
|
|
| adj.精美的；敏锐的；剧烈的，感觉强烈的 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
|
23
neatly
|
|
| adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地 | |
参考例句： |
|
|
|
| 欢迎访问英文小说网 |