Nine THE MAN IN THE MIST（2）

II
Tommy and Tuppence stared at each other in bewilderment.
“Well,” said Tommy, “something’s happened in that house to scare ourfriend Reilly pretty badly.”
Tuppence drew her finger absently across the gatepost.
“He must have put his hand on some wet red paint somewhere,” shesaid idly.
“H’m,” said Tommy. “I think we’d better go inside rather quickly. I don’tunderstand this business.”
In the doorway¹ of the house a white-capped maidservant was standing,almost speechless with indignation.
“Did you ever see the likes of that now, Father,” she burst out, as Tommyascended the steps. “That fellow comes here, asks for the young lady,rushes upstairs without how or by your leave. She lets out a screech² like awild cat—and what wonder, poor pretty dear, and straightaway he comesrushing down again, with the white face on him, like one who’s seen aghost. What will be the meaning of it all?”
“Who are you talking with at the front door, Ellen?” demanded a sharpvoice from the interior of the hall.
“Here’s Missus,” said Ellen, somewhat unnecessarily.
She drew back, and Tommy found himself confronting a grey-haired,middle-aged woman, with frosty blue eyes imperfectly concealed⁴ by pince-nez, and a spare figure clad in black with bugle⁵ trimming.
“Mrs. Honeycott?” said Tommy. “I came here to see Miss Glen.”
“Mrs. Honeycott gave him a sharp glance, then went on to Tuppence andtook in every detail of her appearance.
“Oh, you did, did you?” she said. “Well, you’d better come inside.”
She led the way into the hall and along it into a room at the back of thehouse, facing on the garden. It was a fair-sized room, but looked smallerthan it was, owing to the large amount of chairs and tables crowded intoit. A big fire burned in the grate, and a chintz-covered sofa stood at oneside of it. The wallpaper was a small grey stripe with a festoon of rosesround the top. Quantities of engravings and oil paintings covered thewalls.
It was a room almost impossible to associate with the expensive person-ality of Miss Gilda Glen.
“Sit down,” said Mrs. Honeycott. “To begin with, you’ll excuse me if I sayI don’t hold with the Roman Catholic religion. Never did I think to see aRoman Catholic priest in my house. But if Gilda’s gone over to the ScarletWoman, it’s only what’s to be expected in a life like hers—and I dare say itmight be worse. She mightn’t have any religion at all. I should think moreof Roman Catholics if their priests were married — I always speak mymind. And to think of those convents—quantities of beautiful young girlsshut up there, and no one knowing what becomes of them—well, it won’tbear thinking about.”
Mrs. Honeycott came to a full stop, and drew a deep breath.
Without entering upon a defence of the celibacy⁶ of the priesthood or theother controversial points touched upon, Tommy went straight to thepoint.
“I understand, Mrs. Honeycott, that Miss Glen is in this house.”
“She is. Mind you, I don’t approve. Marriage is marriage and your hus-band’s your husband. As you make your bed, so you must lie on it.”
“I don’t quite understand—” began Tommy, bewildered.
“I thought as much. That’s the reason I brought you in here. You can goup to Gilda after I’ve spoken my mind. She came to me—after all theseyears, think of it!—and asked me to help her. Wanted me to see this manand persuade him to agree to a divorce. I told her straight out I’d havenothing whatever to do with it. Divorce is sinful. But I couldn’t refuse myown sister shelter in my house, could I now?”
“Your sister?” exclaimed Tommy.
“Yes, Gilda’s my sister. Didn’t she tell you?”
Tommy stared at her openmouthed. The thing seemed fantastically im-possible. Then he remembered that the angelic beauty of Gilda Glen hadbeen in evidence for many years. He had been taken to see her act as quitea small boy. Yes, it was possible after all. But what a piquant⁸ contrast. So itwas from this lower middle- class respectability that Gilda Glen hadsprung. How well she had guarded her secret!
“I am not yet quite clear,” he said. “Your sister is married?”
“Ran away to be married as a girl of seventeen,” said Mrs. Honeycottsuccinctly. “Some common fellow far below her in station. And our fathera reverend. It was a disgrace. Then she left her husband and went on thestage. Playacting! I’ve never been inside a theatre in my life. I hold notruck with wickedness. Now, after all these years, she wants to divorce theman. Means to marry some big wig⁹, I suppose. But her husband’s standingfirm—not to be bullied¹⁰ and not to be bribed—I admire him for it.”
“What is his name?” asked Tommy suddenly.
“That’s an extraordinary thing now, but I can’t remember! It’s nearlytwenty years ago, you know, since I heard it. My father forbade it to bementioned. And I’ve refused to discuss the matter with Gilda. She knowswhat I think, and that’s enough for her.”
“It wasn’t Reilly, was it?”
“Might have been. I really can’t say. It’s gone clean out of my head.”
“The man I mean was here just now.”
“That man! I thought he was an escaped lunatic. I’d been in the kitchengiving orders to Ellen. I’d just got back into this room, and was wonderingwhether Gilda had come in yet (she has a latchkey), when I heard her. Shehesitated a minute or two in the hall and then went straight upstairs.
About three minutes later all this tremendous rat-tatting began. I went outinto the hall, and just saw a man rushing upstairs. Then there was a sort ofcry upstairs, and presently down he came again and rushed out like amadman. Pretty goings on.”
Tommy rose.
“Mrs. Honeycott, let us go upstairs at once. I am afraid—”
“What of?”
“Afraid that you have no red wet paint in the house.”
Mrs. Honeycott stared at him.
“Of course I haven’t.”
“That is what I feared,” said Tommy gravely. “Please let us go to yoursister’s room at once.”
Momentarily silenced, Mrs. Honeycott led the way. They caught aglimpse of Ellen in the hall, backing hastily into one of the rooms.
Mrs. Honeycott opened the first door at the top of the stairs. Tommy andTuppence entered close behind her.
Suddenly she gave a gasp¹¹ and fell back.
A motionless figure in black and ermine lay stretched on the sofa. Theface was untouched, a beautiful soulless face like a mature child asleep.
The wound was on the side of the head, a heavy blow with some blunt in-strument had crushed in the skull¹². Blood was dripping slowly on to thefloor, but the wound itself had long ceased to bleed. .?.?.
Tommy examined the prostrate¹³ figure, his face very white.
“So,” he said at last, “he didn’t strangle her after all.”
“What do you mean? Who?” cried Mrs. Honeycott. “Is she dead?”
“Oh, yes, Mrs. Honeycott, she’s dead. Murdered. The question is—bywhom? Not that it is much of a question. Funny—for all his ranting¹⁴ words,I didn’t think the fellow had got it in him.”
He paused a minute, then turned to Tuppence with decision.
“Will you go out and get a policeman, or ring up the police station fromsomewhere?”
Tuppence nodded. She too, was very white. Tommy led Mrs. Honeycottdownstairs again.
“I don’t want there to be any mistake about this,” he said. “Do you knowexactly what time it was when your sister came in?”
“Yes, I do,” said Mrs. Honeycott. “Because I was just setting the clock onfive minutes as I have to do every evening. It loses just five minutes a day.
It was exactly eight minutes past six by my watch, and that never loses orgains a second.”
Tommy nodded. That agreed perfectly³ with the policeman’s story. Hehad seen the woman with the white furs go in at the gate, probably threeminutes had elapsed before he and Tuppence had reached the same spot.
He had glanced at his own watch then and had noted¹⁵ that it was just oneminute after the time of their appointment.
There was just the faint chance that someone might have been waitingfor Gilda Glen in the room upstairs. But if so, he must still be hiding in thehouse. No one but James Reilly had left it.
He ran upstairs and made a quick but efficient search of the premises¹⁶.
But there was no one concealed anywhere.
Then he spoke⁷ to Ellen. After breaking the news to her, and waiting forher first lamentations and invocations to the saints to have exhaustedthemselves, he asked a few questions.
Had any one else come to the house that afternoon asking for Miss Glen?
No one whatsoever¹⁷. Had she herself been upstairs at all that evening? Yesshe’d gone up at six o’clock as usual to draw the curtains—or it might havebeen a few minutes after six. Anyway it was just before that wild fellowcame breaking the knocker down. She’d run downstairs to answer thedoor. And him a black-hearted murderer all the time.
Tommy let it go at that. But he still felt a curious pity for Reilly, and un-willingness to believe the worst of him. And yet there was no one else whocould have murdered Gilda Glen. Mrs. Honeycott and Ellen had been theonly two people in the house.
He heard voices in the hall, and went out to find Tuppence and the po-liceman from the beat outside. The latter had produced a notebook, and arather blunt pencil, which he licked surreptitiously. He went upstairs andsurveyed the victim stolidly¹⁸, merely remarking that if he was to touch any-thing the Inspector¹⁹ would give him beans. He listened to all Mrs. Honey-cott’s hysterical²⁰ outbursts and confused explanations, and occasionally hewrote something down. His presence was calming and soothing²¹.
Tommy finally got him alone for a minute or two on the steps outsideere he departed to telephone headquarters.
“Look here,” said Tommy, “you saw the deceased turning in at the gate,you say. Are you sure she was alone?”
“Oh! she was alone all right. Nobody with her.”
“And between that time and when you met us, nobody came out of thegate?”
“Not a soul.”
“You’d have seen them if they had?”
“Of course I should. Nobody come out till that wild chap did.”
The majesty²² of the law moved portentously²³ down the steps and pausedby the white gatepost, which bore the imprint²⁴ of a hand in red.
“Kind of amateur he must have been,” he said pityingly. “To leave athing like that.”
Then he swung out into the road.

1 doorway   

n.门口，(喻)入门；门路，途径

参考例句：

• They huddled in the shop doorway to shelter from the rain.他们挤在商店门口躲雨。
• Mary suddenly appeared in the doorway.玛丽突然出现在门口。

2 screech   

n./v.尖叫；(发出)刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• He heard a screech of brakes and then fell down. 他听到汽车刹车发出的尖锐的声音,然后就摔倒了。
• The screech of jet planes violated the peace of the afternoon. 喷射机的尖啸声侵犯了下午的平静。

3 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。

4 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

5 bugle   

n.军号，号角，喇叭；v.吹号，吹号召集

参考例句：

• When he heard the bugle call, he caught up his gun and dashed out.他一听到军号声就抓起枪冲了出去。
• As the bugle sounded we ran to the sports ground and fell in.军号一响，我们就跑到运动场集合站队。

6 celibacy   

n.独身(主义)

参考例句：

• People in some religious orders take a vow of celibacy. 有些宗教修会的人发誓不结婚。
• The concept of celibacy carries connotations of asceticism and religious fervor. 修道者的独身观念含有禁欲与宗教热情之意。

7 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。

8 piquant   

adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的

参考例句：

• Bland vegetables are often served with a piquant sauce.清淡的蔬菜常以辛辣的沙司调味。
• He heard of a piquant bit of news.他听到了一则令人兴奋的消息。

9 wig   

n.假发

参考例句：

• The actress wore a black wig over her blond hair.那个女演员戴一顶黑色假发罩住自己的金黄色头发。
• He disguised himself with a wig and false beard.他用假发和假胡须来乔装。

10 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

12 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

13 prostrate   

v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的

参考例句：

• She was prostrate on the floor.她俯卧在地板上。
• The Yankees had the South prostrate and they intended to keep It'so.北方佬已经使南方屈服了,他们还打算继续下去。

14 ranting   

v.夸夸其谈( rant的现在分词 )；大叫大嚷地以…说教；气愤地)大叫大嚷；不停地大声抱怨

参考例句：

• Mrs. Sakagawa stopped her ranting. 坂川太太戛然中断悲声。 来自辞典例句
• He was ranting about the murder of his dad. 他大叫她就是杀死他父亲的凶手。 来自电影对白

15 noted   

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。

16 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

17 whatsoever   

adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么

参考例句：

• There's no reason whatsoever to turn down this suggestion.没有任何理由拒绝这个建议。
• All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,do ye even so to them.你想别人对你怎样，你就怎样对人。

18 stolidly   

adv.迟钝地，神经麻木地

参考例句：

• Too often people sat stolidly watching the noisy little fiddler. 人们往往不动声色地坐在那里，瞧着这位瘦小的提琴手闹腾一番。 来自辞典例句
• He dropped into a chair and sat looking stolidly at the floor. 他坐在椅子上，两眼呆呆地望着地板。 来自辞典例句

19 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。

20 hysterical   

adj.情绪异常激动的，歇斯底里般的

参考例句：

• He is hysterical at the sight of the photo.他一看到那张照片就异常激动。
• His hysterical laughter made everybody stunned.他那歇斯底里的笑声使所有的人不知所措。

21 soothing   

adj.慰藉的；使人宽心的；镇静的

参考例句：

• Put on some nice soothing music.播放一些柔和舒缓的音乐。
• His casual, relaxed manner was very soothing.他随意而放松的举动让人很快便平静下来。

22 majesty   

n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权

参考例句：

• The king had unspeakable majesty.国王有无法形容的威严。
• Your Majesty must make up your mind quickly!尊贵的陛下，您必须赶快做出决定！

23 portentously   

参考例句：

• The lamps had a portentously elastic swing with them. 那儿路面的街灯正带着一种不祥的弹性摇晃着呢！ 来自英汉文学 - 双城记
• Louis surveyed me with his shrewd gray eyes and shook his head portentously. 鲁易用他狡猾的灰色眼睛打量着我，预示凶兆般地摇着头。 来自辞典例句

24 imprint   

n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记

参考例句：

• That dictionary is published under the Longman imprint.那本词典以朗曼公司的名义出版。
• Her speech left its imprint on me.她的演讲给我留下了深刻印象。