“I wish,” said Tuppence, roaming moodily1 round the office, “that we couldbefriend a clergyman’s daughter.”
“Why?” asked Tommy.
“You may have forgotten the fact, but I was once a clergyman’s daughtermyself. I remember what it was like. Hence this altruistic2 urge—this spiritof thoughtful consideration for others—this—”
“You are getting ready to be Roger Sheringham, I see,” said Tommy. “Ifyou will allow me to make a criticism, you talk quite as much as he does,but not nearly so well.”
“On the contrary,” said Tuppence. “There is a feminine subtlety3 aboutmy conversation, a je ne sais quoi that no gross male could ever attain4 to. Ihave, moreover, powers unknown to my prototype—do I mean prototype?
Words are such uncertain things, they so often sound well, but mean theopposite of what one thinks they do.”
“Go on,” said Tommy kindly5.
“I was. I was only pausing to take breath. Touching6 these powers, it ismy wish today to assist a clergyman’s daughter. You will see, Tommy, thefirst person to enlist7 the aid of Blunt’s Brilliant Detectives will be a clergy-man’s daughter.”
“I’ll bet you it isn’t,” said Tommy.
“Done,” said Tuppence. “Hist! To your typewriters, Oh! Israel. Onecomes.”
Mr. Blunt’s office was humming with industry as Albert opened the doorand announced:
“Miss Monica Deane.”
A slender, brown-haired girl, rather shabbily dressed, entered and stoodhesitating. Tommy came forward.
“Good morning, Miss Deane. Won’t you sit down and tell us what we cando for you? By the way, let me introduce my confidential8 secretary, MissSheringham.”
“I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Miss Deane,” said Tup-pence. “Your father was in the Church, I think.”
“Yes, he was. But how did you know that?”
“Oh! we have our methods,” said Tuppence. “You mustn’t mind me rat-tling on. Mr. Blunt likes to hear me talk. He always says it gives himideas.”
The girl stared at her. She was a slender creature, not beautiful, but pos-sessing a wistful prettiness. She had a quantity of soft mouse- colouredhair, and her eyes were dark blue and very lovely, though the dark shad-ows round them spoke9 of trouble and anxiety.
“Will you tell me your story, Miss Deane?” said Tommy.
The girl turned to him gratefully.
“It’s such a long rambling10 story,” said the girl. “My name is MonicaDeane. My father was the rector of Little Hampsley in Suffolk. He diedthree years ago, and my mother and I were left very badly off. I went outas a governess, but my mother became a confirmed invalid11, and I had tocome home to look after her. We were desperately12 poor, but one day wereceived a lawyer’s letter telling us that an aunt of my father’s had diedand had left everything to me. I had often heard of this aunt, who hadquarrelled with my father many years ago, and I knew that she was verywell-off, so it really seemed that our troubles were at an end. But mattersdid not turn out quite as well as we had hoped. I inherited the house shehad lived in, but after paying one or two small legacies13, there was nomoney left. I suppose she must have lost it during the war, or perhaps shehad been living on her capital. Still, we had the house, and almost at oncewe had a chance of selling it at quite an advantageous14 price. But, foolishlyperhaps, I refused the offer. We were in tiny, but expensive lodgings15, and Ithought it would be much nicer to live in the Red House, where mymother could have comfortable rooms and take in paying guests to coverour expenses.
“I adhered to this plan, notwithstanding a further tempting16 offer fromthe gentleman who wanted to buy. We moved in, and I advertised for pay-ing guests. For a time, all went well, we had several answers to our advert-isement; my aunt’s old servant remained on with us, and she and Ibetween us did the work of the house. And then these unaccountablethings began to happen.”
“What things?”
“The queerest things. The whole place seemed bewitched. Pictures felldown, crockery flew across the room and broke; one morning we camedown to find all the furniture moved round. At first we thought someonewas playing a pracitcal joke, but we had to give up that explanation. Some-times when we were all sitting down to dinner, a terrific crash would beheard overhead. We would go up and find no one there, but a piece of fur-niture thrown violently to the ground.”
“A poltergeist,” cried Tuppence, much interested.
“Yes, that’s what Dr. O’Neill said—though I don’t know what it means.”
“It’s a sort of evil spirit that plays tricks,” explained Tuppence, who inreality knew very little about the subject, and was not even sure that shehad got the word poltergeist right.
“Well, at any rate, the effect was disastrous17. Our visitors werefrightened to death, and left as soon as possible. We got new ones, andthey too left hurriedly. I was in despair, and, to crown all, our own tiny in-come ceased suddenly—the Company in which it was invested failed.”
“You poor dear,” said Tuppence sympathetically. “What a time you havehad. Did you want Mr. Blunt to investigate this ‘haunting’ business?”
“Not exactly. You see, three days ago, a gentleman called upon us. Hisname was Dr. O’Neill. He told us that he was a member of the Society forPhysical Research, and that he had heard about the curious manifestationsthat had taken place in our house and was much interested. So much so,that he was prepared to buy it from us, and conduct a series of experi-ments there.”
“Well?”
“Of course, at first, I was overcome with joy. It seemed the way out of allour difficulties. But—”
“Yes?”
“Perhaps you will think me fanciful. Perhaps I am. But—oh! I’m sure Ihaven’t made a mistake. It was the same man!”
“What same man?”
“The same man who wanted to buy it before. Oh! I’m sure I’m right.”
“But why shouldn’t it be?”
“You don’t understand. The two men were quite different, differentname and everything. The first man was quite young, a spruce, darkyoung man of thirty odd. Dr. O’Neill is about fifty, he has a grey beard andwears glasses and stoops. But when he talked I saw a gold tooth one sideof his mouth. It only shows when he laughs. The other man had a tooth injust the same position, and then I looked at his ears. I had noticed theother man’s ears, because they were a peculiar18 shape with hardly anylobe. Dr. O’Neill’s were just the same. Both things couldn’t be a coincid-ence, could they? I thought and thought and finally I wrote and said Iwould let him know in a week. I had noticed Mr. Blunt’s advertisementsome time ago—as a matter of fact in an old paper that lined one of thekitchen drawers. I cut it out and came up to town.”
“You were quite right,” said Tuppence, nodding her head with vigour19.
“This needs looking into.”
“A very interesting case, Miss Deane,” observed Tommy.
“We shall be pleased to look into this for you—eh, Miss Sheringham?”
“Rather,” said Tuppence, “and we’ll get to the bottom of it too.”
“I understand, Miss Deane,” went on Tommy, “that the household con-sists of you and your mother and a servant. Can you give me any particu-lars about the servant?”
“Her name is Crockett. She was with my aunt about eight or ten years.
She is an elderly woman, not very pleasant in manner, but a good servant.
She is inclined to give herself airs because her sister married out of herstation. Crockett has a nephew whom she is always telling us is ‘quite thegentleman.’ ”
“H’m,” said Tommy, rather at a loss how to proceed.
Tuppence had been eyeing Monica keenly, now she spoke with suddendecision.
“I think the best plan would be for Miss Deane to come out and lunchwith me. It’s just one o’clock. I can get full details from her.”
“Certainly, Miss Sheringham,” said Tommy. “An excellent plan.”
“Look here,” said Tuppence, when they were comfortably ensconced ata little table in a neighbouring restaurant, “I want to know: Is there anyspecial reason why you want to find out about all this?”
Monica blushed.
“Well, you see—”
“Out with it,” said Tuppence encouragingly.
“Well—there are two men who—who—want to marry me.”
“The usual story, I suppose? One rich, one poor, and the poor one is theone you like!”
“I don’t know how you know all these things,” murmured the girl.
“That’s a sort of law of Nature,” explained Tuppence. “It happens toeverybody. It happened to me.”
“You see, even if I sell the house, it won’t bring us in enough to live on.
Gerald is a dear, but he’s desperately poor—though he’s a very clever en-gineer; and if only he had a little capital, his firm would take him intopartnership. The other, Mr. Partridge, is a very good man, I am sure—andwell-off, and if I married him, it would be an end to all our troubles. But—but—”
“I know,” said Tuppence sympathetically. “It isn’t the same thing at all.
You can go on telling yourself how good and worthy20 he is, and adding uphis qualities as though they were an addition sum—and it all has a simplyrefrigerating effect.”
Monica nodded.
“Well,” said Tuppence, “I think it would be as well if we went down tothe neighbourhood and studied matters upon the spot. What is the ad-dress?”
“The Red House, Stourton-in-the-Marsh.”
Tuppence wrote down the address in her notebook.
“I didn’t ask you,” Monica began—“about terms—” she ended, blushinga little.
“Our payments are strictly21 by results,” said Tuppence gravely. “If thesecret of the Red House is a profitable one, as seems possible from theanxiety displayed to acquire the property, we should expect a small per-centage, otherwise—nothing!”
“Thank you very much,” said the girl gratefully.
“And now,” said Tuppence, “don’t worry. Everything’s going to be allright. Let’s enjoy lunch and talk of interesting things.”
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1
moodily
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| adv.喜怒无常地；情绪多变地；心情不稳地；易生气地 | |
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2
altruistic
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| adj.无私的，为他人着想的 | |
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3
subtlety
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| n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别 | |
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4
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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5
kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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6
touching
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| adj.动人的，使人感伤的 | |
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7
enlist
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| vt.谋取(支持等)，赢得；征募；vi.入伍 | |
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8
confidential
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| adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的 | |
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9
spoke
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| 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 | |
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10
rambling
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| adj.[建]凌乱的，杂乱的 | |
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11
invalid
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| n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的 | |
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12
desperately
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| adv.极度渴望地，绝望地，孤注一掷地 | |
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13
legacies
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| n.遗产( legacy的名词复数 )；遗留之物；遗留问题；后遗症 | |
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14
advantageous
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| adj.有利的；有帮助的 | |
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15
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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16
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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17
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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18
peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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19
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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20
worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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21
strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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