Three THE AFFAIR OF THE PINK PEARL（2）

II
Tuppence watched him drive off in the car with a faint misgiving¹.
Tommy was very sure—she herself was not so sure. There were one ortwo things she did not quite understand.
She was still standing² by the window, watching the road, when she sawa man leave the shelter of a gateway³ opposite, cross the road and ring thebell.
In a flash Tuppence was out of the room and down the stairs. GladysHill, the parlourmaid, was emerging from the back part of the house, butTuppence motioned her back authoritatively⁴. Then she went to the frontdoor and opened it.
A lanky⁵ young man with ill- fitting clothes and eager dark eyes wasstanding on the step.
He hesitated a moment, and then said:
“Is Miss Kingston Bruce in?”
“Will you come inside?” said Tuppence.
She stood aside to let him enter, closing the door.
“Mr. Rennie, I think?” she said sweetly.
He shot a quick glance at her.
“Er—yes.”
“Will you come in here, please?”
She opened the study door. The room was empty, and Tuppence enteredit after him, closing the door behind her. He turned on her with a frown.
“I want to see Miss Kingston Bruce.”
“I am not quite sure that you can,” said Tuppence composedly.
“Look here, who the devil are you?” said Mr. Rennie rudely.
“International Detective Agency,” said Tuppence succinctly⁶ — and no-ticed Mr. Rennie’s uncontrollable start.
“Please sit down, Mr. Rennie,” she went on. “To begin with, we know allabout Miss Kingston Bruce’s visit to you this morning.”
It was a bold guess, but it succeeded. Perceiving his consternation⁷, Tup-pence went on quickly.
“The recovery of the pearl is the great thing, Mr. Rennie. No one in thishouse is anxious for—publicity. Can’t we come to some arrangement?”
The young man looked at her keenly.
“I wonder how much you know,” he said thoughtfully. “Let me think fora moment.”
He buried his head in his hands—then asked a most unexpected ques-tion.
“I say, is it really true that young St. Vincent is engaged to be married?”
“Quite true,” said Tuppence. “I know the girl.”
Mr. Rennie suddenly became confidential⁸.
“It’s been hell,” he confided⁹. “They’ve been asking her morning, noonand night—chucking Beatrice at his head. All because he’ll come into atitle some day. If I had my way—”
“Don’t let’s talk politics,” said Tuppence hastily. “Do you mind tellingme, Mr. Rennie, why you think Miss Kingston Bruce took the pearl?”
“I—I don’t.”
“You do,” said Tuppence calmly. “You wait to see the detective, as youthink, drive off and the coast clear, and then you come and ask for her. It’sobvious.If you’d taken the pearl yourself, you wouldn’t be half so upset.”
“Her manner was so odd,” said the young man. “She came this morningand told me about the robbery, explaining that she was on her way to afirm of private detectives. She seemed anxious to say something, and yetnot able to get it out.”
“Well,” said Tuppence. “All I want is the pearl. You’d better go and talkto her.”
But at that moment Colonel Kingston Bruce opened the door.
“Lunch is ready, Miss Robinson. You will lunch with us, I hope. The—”
Then he stopped and glared at the guest.
“Clearly,” said Mr. Rennie, “you don’t want to ask me to lunch. All right,I’ll go.”
“Come back later,” whispered Tuppence, as he passed her.
Tuppence followed Colonel Kingston Bruce, still growling¹⁰ into his mous-tache about the pestilential impudence¹¹ of some people, into a massive din-ing room where the family was already assembled. Only one personpresent was unknown to Tuppence.
“This, Lady Laura, is Miss Robinson, who is kindly¹² assisting us.”
Lady Laura bent¹³ her head, and then proceeded to stare at Tuppencethrough her pince-nez. She was a tall, thin woman, with a sad smile, agentle voice, and very hard shrewd eyes. Tuppence returned her stare,and Lady Laura’s eyes dropped.
After lunch Lady Laura entered into conversation with an air of gentlecuriosity. How was the inquiry¹⁴ proceeding¹⁵? Tuppence laid suitable stresson the suspicion attaching to the parlourmaid, but her mind was not reallyon Lady Laura. Lady Laura might conceal¹⁶ teaspoons¹⁷ and other articles inher clothing, but Tuppence felt fairly sure that she had not taken the pinkpearl.
Presently Tuppence proceeded with her search of the house. Time wasgoing on. There was no sign of Tommy, and, what mattered far more toTuppence, there was no sign of Mr. Rennie. Suddenly Tuppence came outof a bedroom and collided with Beatrice Kingston Bruce, who was goingdownstairs. She was fully-dressed for the street.
“I’m afraid,” said Tuppence, “that you mustn’t go out just now.”
The other girl looked at her haughtily¹⁸.
“Whether I go out or not is no business of yours,” she said coldly.
“It is my business whether I communicate with the police or not,though,” said Tuppence.
In a minute the girl had turned ashy pale.
“You mustn’t—you mustn’t—I won’t go out—but don’t do that.” Sheclung to Tuppence beseechingly²⁰.
“My dear Miss Kingston Bruce,” said Tuppence, smiling, “the case hasbeen perfectly²¹ clear to me from the start—I—”
But she was interrupted. In the stress of her encounter with the girl,Tuppence had not heard the front doorbell. Now, to her astonishment,Tommy came bounding up the stairs, and in the hall below she caughtsight of a big burly man in the act of removing a bowler²² hat.
“Detective Inspector²³ Marriot of Scotland Yard,” he said with a grin.
With a cry, Beatrice Kingston Bruce tore herself from Tuppence’s graspand dashed down the stairs, just as the front door was opened once moreto admit Mr. Rennie.
“Now you have torn it,” said Tuppence bitterly.
“Eh?” said Tommy, hurrying into Lady Laura’s room. He passed on intothe bathroom and picked up a large cake of soap which he brought out inhis hands. The Inspector was just mounting the stairs.
“She went quite quietly,” he announced. “She’s an old hand and knowswhen the game is up. What about the pearl?”
“I rather fancy,” said Tommy, handing him the soap, “that you’ll find itin here.”
The Inspector’s eyes lit up appreciatively.
“An old trick, and a good one. Cut a cake of soap in half, scoop²⁴ out aplace for the jewel, clap it together again, and smooth the join well overwith hot water. A very smart piece of work on your part, sir.”
Tommy accepted the compliment gracefully²⁵. He and Tuppence descen-ded the stairs. Colonel Kingston Bruce rushed at him and shook himwarmly by the hand.
“My dear sir, I can’t thank you enough. Lady Laura wants to thank youalso—”
“I am glad we have given you satisfaction,” said Tommy. “But I’m afraidI can’t stop. I have a most urgent appointment. Member of the Cabinet.”
He hurried out to the car and jumped in. Tuppence jumped in besidehim.
“But Tommy,” she cried. “Haven’t they arrested Lady Laura after all?”
“Oh!” said Tommy. “Didn’t I tell you? They’ve not arrested Lady Laura.
They’ve arrested Elise.”
“You see,” he went on, as Tuppence sat dumbfounded, “I’ve often triedto open a door with soap on my hands myself. It can’t be done—yourhands slip. So I wondered what Elise could have been doing with the soapto get her hands as soapy as all that. She caught up a towel, you remem-ber, so there were no traces of soap on the handle afterwards. But it oc-curred to me that if you were a professional thief, it wouldn’t be a badplan to be maid to a lady suspected of kleptomania²⁶ who stayed about agood deal in different houses. So I managed to get a photo of her as well asof the room, induced her to handle a glass slide and toddled²⁷ off to dear oldScotland Yard. Lightning development of negative, successful identifica-tion of fingerprints—and photo. Elise was a long lost friend. Useful place,Scotland Yard.”
“And to think,” said Tuppence, finding her voice, “that those two youngidiots were only suspecting each other in that weak way they do it inbooks. But why didn’t you tell me what you were up to when you wentoff?”
“In the first place, I suspected that Elise was listening on the landing,and in the second place—”
“Yes?”
“My learned friend forgets,” said Tommy. “Thorndyke never tells untilthe last moment. Besides, Tuppence, you and your pal¹⁹ Janet Smith put oneover on me last time. This makes us all square.”

1 misgiving   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕

参考例句：

• She had some misgivings about what she was about to do.她对自己即将要做的事情存有一些顾虑。
• The first words of the text filled us with misgiving.正文开头的文字让我们颇为担心。

2 standing   

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。

3 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

4 authoritatively   

命令式地，有权威地，可信地

参考例句：

• "If somebody'll come here and sit with him," he snapped authoritatively. “来个人到这儿陪他坐着。”他用发号施令的口吻说。
• To decide or settle(a dispute, for example) conclusively and authoritatively. 判定结论性、权威性地决定或解决（纠纷等）

5 lanky   

adj.瘦长的

参考例句：

• He was six feet four,all lanky and leggy.他身高6英尺4英寸，瘦高个儿，大长腿。
• Tom was a lanky boy with long skinny legs.汤姆是一个腿很细的瘦高个儿。

6 succinctly   

adv.简洁地；简洁地，简便地

参考例句：

• He writes simply and succinctly, rarely adding too much adornment. 他的写作风格朴实简练，很少添加饰词。 来自互联网
• No matter what question you are asked, answer it honestly and succinctly. 总之，不管你在面试中被问到什么问题，回答都要诚实而简明。 来自互联网

7 consternation   

n.大为吃惊，惊骇

参考例句：

• He was filled with consternation to hear that his friend was so ill.他听说朋友病得那么厉害，感到非常震惊。
• Sam stared at him in consternation.萨姆惊恐不安地注视着他。

8 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

9 confided   

v.吐露（秘密，心事等）( confide的过去式和过去分词 )；（向某人）吐露（隐私、秘密等）

参考例句：

• She confided all her secrets to her best friend. 她向她最要好的朋友倾吐了自己所有的秘密。
• He confided to me that he had spent five years in prison. 他私下向我透露，他蹲过五年监狱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 growling   

n.吠声, 咆哮声 v.怒吠, 咆哮, 吼

参考例句：

• We heard thunder growling in the distance. 我们听见远处有隆隆雷声。
• The lay about the deck growling together in talk. 他们在甲板上到处游荡，聚集在一起发牢骚。

11 impudence   

n.厚颜无耻；冒失；无礼

参考例句：

• His impudence provoked her into slapping his face.他的粗暴让她气愤地给了他一耳光。
• What knocks me is his impudence.他的厚颜无耻使我感到吃惊。

12 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

13 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

14 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。

15 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

16 conceal   

v.隐藏，隐瞒，隐蔽

参考例句：

• He had to conceal his identity to escape the police.为了躲避警方，他只好隐瞒身份。
• He could hardly conceal his joy at his departure.他几乎掩饰不住临行时的喜悦。

17 teaspoons   

n.茶匙( teaspoon的名词复数 )；一茶匙的量

参考例句：

• Add two teaspoons of salt. 加两小匙盐。
• Add 3 heaped teaspoons of sugar. 加满满的三匙糖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 haughtily   

adv. 傲慢地, 高傲地

参考例句：

• She carries herself haughtily. 她举止傲慢。
• Haughtily, he stalked out onto the second floor where I was standing. 他傲然跨出电梯，走到二楼，我刚好站在那儿。

19 pal   

n.朋友，伙伴，同志；vi.结为友

参考例句：

• He is a pal of mine.他是我的一个朋友。
• Listen,pal,I don't want you talking to my sister any more.听着，小子，我不让你再和我妹妹说话了。

20 beseechingly   

adv. 恳求地

参考例句：

• She stood up, and almost beseechingly, asked her husband,'shall we go now?" 她站起身来，几乎是恳求似地问丈夫：“我们现在就走吧？”
• Narcissa began to cry in earnest, gazing beseechingly all the while at Snape. 纳西莎伤心地哭了起来，乞求地盯着斯内普。

21 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

22 bowler   

n.打保龄球的人，（板球的）投（球）手

参考例句：

• The bowler judged it well,timing the ball to perfection.投球手判断准确，对球速的掌握恰到好处。
• The captain decided to take Snow off and try a slower bowler.队长决定把斯诺撤下，换一个动作慢一点的投球手试一试。

23 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。

24 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

25 gracefully   

ad.大大方方地；优美地

参考例句：

• She sank gracefully down onto a cushion at his feet. 她优雅地坐到他脚旁的垫子上。
• The new coats blouse gracefully above the hip line. 新外套在臀围线上优美地打着褶皱。

26 kleptomania   

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。

27 toddled   

v.（幼儿等）东倒西歪地走( toddle的过去式和过去分词 )；蹒跚行走；溜达；散步

参考例句：

• It's late — it's time you toddled off to bed. 不早了—你该去睡觉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her two-year-old son toddled into the room. 她的两岁的儿子摇摇摆摆地走进屋里。 来自辞典例句